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| Ward enjoying his coffee while watching his gear dry |
Knowing we didn't have a very strenuous day, we slept in until 7:30. My personal wake up call was discovering a saggy tent due to a tremendous amount of condensation that had formed overnight. Brad and Ward also had wet tents and soon we all had our sleeping bags draped over rocks drying in the morning sun.
Not wanting to waste any of my 9 pre-cooked bacon strips I had remaining, I chose to make an extremely greasy Spam, bacon and cheddar roll up. Don't try this at home. I thought I was going to puke by the time I'd finished my backcountry heart attack but at least managed to finish off all my opened packages of cheddar, bacon and Spam.
Once my kitchen was packed up and food tucked safely into the Ursack, I decided to move my tent to better take advantage of the sun to get the thing dry. It would only take about a half hour to almost dry out completely. My dry sleeping bag was already crammed into its stuff sack. By 9 AM we were on our way.
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| Reflections in Golden Lake |
We hiked across the bay and were soon following the outlet stream down to Hidden Lake. This was actually one of the few times that we had to think a little to determine the best way through the boulders and a sometimes narrow gorge. Our reward was an absolutely stunning view of a large meadow covered with every type of wildflower imaginable including Bear Grass.
Again, we followed our self-imposed ruling that such scenery warranted a break. After a drink and snack, as well as some of the only staged photos of the trip, we continued to pick our way downstream and eventually down to the valley floor.
If we hadn't been hiking for only a half hour, I would have been content to set up camp right here. I made another mental note that if ever Yumi and I get out here---and the only way that will happen is if the common mosquito becomes extinct---THIS is where I'd like to spend a night.
After an easy stream crossing which required required throwing on the Crocs (I walked in the creek for probably 150 yards because it felt so good) we left the meadows and began climbing the hillside en route to an unnamed lake midway between Lonesome and Hidden Lakes. Why we did this I can't recall. What I do remember is the warm temperatures which were by far the warmest of the trip.
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| The meadows below Golden Lake. |
Passing through many meadows and past small lakes we soon found ourselves high above Hidden Lake anyway, the result of our lack of desire to do any more climbing than necessary. We worked our way over to the lake we were originally trying to get to and soon found ourselves looking down at T Lake just in time for lunch.
The topography was now starkly different than it was only a few minutes before: a lot less rock, more grass and flowers. Only the abundance of mosquitoes reminded us we were still in the Beartooth backcountry, making our lunch a miserable affair. Brad and Ward were poring over the maps looking for a place to camp for the night, but I was harboring thoughts of just hiking out and maybe spending a day driving through Yellowstone which, I assumed, neither had been to before. Like spoiled brat who didn't get exactly what he wants, I knew I wouldn't be satisfied camping "down there".
As we were shouldering our packs Brad suddenly realized his wedding band was missing. Uh oh. I had just gone through the same thing only a month earlier when I lost mine while rafting and felt for the guy. Hopefully his wife would be as understanding as Yumi was and didn't think he was off sowing his wild oats!
We spent a few minutes looking around our lunch area for the missing ring without luck. As he so aptly put it, Brad's vacation had just got a little more expensive.
We'd decided on hiking over to an unnamed lake near Ewe Lake which required more climbing than we would have liked but eventually found a nice spot to set up camp around 1:30. Way too early for a very average camp, but it was what it was. What it was, was hot so we were left with the dilemma of sitting outside with head nets or taking it indoors to the tents and baking under Silnylon. We all chose the tents and tried to get a little rest and were blessed by a light breeze kicking up just enough to keep things tolerable inside.
After about an hour Ward and I popped outside and talked for a while as Brad slept. Even then, it was shaping up to be a long afternoon and evening, only broken up by dinner and a short hike upstream to a small tarn.
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| We knew we were moving lower when we started hiking more on grass than rock. |
We spent the rest of the evening talking about the incredible trip we were about to complete in only a few hours and the T-shirts I was going to have to have made up to commemorate same. Brad suggested "powered by Spam" be incorporated in the design which broke us all up. Once I get the time, I think I'm going to do it.
Once we got inside our tents for the night my mind began turning, thinking of everything that had to be done at home after being gone for two weeks. Suddenly, I was feeling pretty low so began concentrating on the logistics of the drive home.
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| Looking outside my tent at our
last camp
(12T 611300 4982758) |
I was looking forward to meeting "hikerjer" in Billings tomorrow night for dinner but began to wonder if we'd be able to do so once I thought about it. Jerry wouldn't be available until around 5 PM which meant we'd have a large part of the next day to kill up to then.
I knew it would take some time to drive the Beartooth Highway and we'd need to grab a shower and lunch in Red Lodge. So yeah, maybe it was possible. It was also possible we'd all want to get home as soon as possible?
My thoughts were interrupted by the pitter patter of a light rain beginning to fall. Great, our last night out and NOW we're going to get pounded on by the weather. Yeah, nothing like packing a wet tent away until we get home. Ditto a damp sleeping bag.
Luckily, nothing came of it and I was eventually able to fall asleep after having to make a pee run at 10:30. At least I was finally rehydrated.
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