Elevation gain of 2500 feet in 4.2 miles...I didn't think we'd ever get to the top..forever uphill climb out of standing bear hostel..took all morning!
As we gained elevation, we entered a frozen forest..ice varying from 1/4 to 1 inch thick on everything..trees and limbs were fallen and falling as we passed..very scary and beautiful at the same time. the ice had begun to melt and fall off all around us. Turns out that ice crashing through the trees sounds very similar to tree limbs cracking as they fall...all I could do was throw my hands over my head whenever I heard the cracking in a lame attempt at protecting my noggin...a few people got whacked on the head pretty hard...a guy named zen said he blacked out a bit...
Then we emerge onto this frozen meadow...eerie..the line of old posts with white blazes across an icy field for about 200 yards, then re enter the icy forest..this must have had more southern exposure as there was less ice and the falling chunks weren't so big...downhill a sloppy muddy mess..I finally arrived at groundhog shelter. When streak arrived at 2ish, we decided to go 3 more miles to brown gap to make the next day a little easier since we had time..otherwise we'd have two 13 mile days to get into hot springs...so I wrote zag and goat a note& secured it to the shelter sign with a rock (the shelter was 0.2 miles off the trail, and was nasty with litter, and there were rat traps underneath it..not a good sign)
Streak and I go ahead to brown gap, a horrible series of up and down hills that is not welcome at the end of the day..we found water, campsite, bear hanging trees, and started a fire...of course they didn't get out note in a timely manner and eventually trudged into camp none too happy, and rightfully so....better later, though, hanging a bear bag without the aid of cables is always good for a laugh. Zag and I use the Pct method using a carabiner and a stick rather than tying of to a tree...
We had our liquor minis by the fire and all slept well...one day I will set up my tent on a level site and not slide all night.
Oh yeah, I used some rubber cement I found in the hiker box at the hostel to repair my shoe...didn't hold well..
great Job, your post are daily read for me, witty and full of adventure.
ReplyDeletePictures are a plus, enjoy while u r on the journey, might not agree but one day you will love too revisit the same path.
pInder
Black bears, cemented shoes, falling tree branches, lonely trails, etc. You can always say "never a dull moment" and I can say never,never,never or maybe!
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