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| Looking back at Cloud Peak |
We awoke the next morning to some very chilly temperatures. I slept great for the first time since my nap at Marion Lake on our first night. I did have to sneak out of the tent once during the night when nature called and to tighten up the Contrail, but I felt great. I was definitely acclimated now.
My giddiness was abruptly halted by 7:15 when the damned mosquitoes made their first appearance. Again, WTF? I was still bundled up in my down jacket. Were those annoying bastards now immune to cold?
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| Too much time on my hands at Helen Lake |
We decided to pack up and forget about breakfast this morning for reasons I still don’t know. We also didn’t know where we were going today other than back towards the trailhead. There were a few possibilities I’d marked on the GPS during the hike in but nothing was etched in stone.
So off we went at 9:30. Realistically, we could have hiked out by early afternoon but spent the day taking numerous breaks. At one point we thought about crossing West Tensleep Creek above Lake Helen and finding a spot to camp on the east side of the lake, then climbing up to point 10,940 in hopes of getting some good looks of Florence Canyon. In theory, this was a great idea but I don’t think either of us really wanted anything to do with another climb even if it was only about 1000’ so that didn't happen.
Around 11:15 we decided to stop at t he shore of Lake Helen and do brunch. This was t he same spot I’d stopped to eat on my way out in 2005 so I was anxious to see if the trout still had a taste for string cheese. There weren’t as many fish along the shore this time but the few we did see were quite good-sized, though they wanted nothing to do with cheese.
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| My messy interior at camp.(13T 322593 4909751) |
We spent the next two hours lazing about doing absolutely nothing but looking for fish, insects to feed them, the mountains to the north. At one point I decided to test my skill as a cairn maker which was good for a half hour of fun before I used it for target practice and destroyed it. It was a glorious way to spend the noon hour.
After we left at 1:30, we only hiked a half hour before finding a nice site just above Helen Lake’s outlet stream. There were a lot of good sites, many overused, in the shade which we took full advantage of while snoozing away another hour or so. Some clouds were building by this time, but no foul weather materialized and by dinnertime the sun was out once again.
My appetite was definitely back as I cooked up the rest of my beef sticks and made another melt/quesadilla as well as a small portion of some dehydrated Jamaican chicken.
The rest of the evening was spent down by the lake watching the trout rise. The views of Cloud Peak to the north were absolutely gorgeous and it hit me that nearly half the trip was now over.
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| Looking north from the Helen Lake outlet stream |
It had been the perfect trip to get us acclimatized and me into hiking shape. Not too stressful with enough scenery, adventure and solitude mixed in.
Tomorrow promised to be a busy day so we decided to get up early and make a quick dash back to the trailhead in hopes we could make it back to Buffalo in time for breakfast at Pistol Pete's, which was highly recommended.
Not only did we have breakfast to think about, but also a resupply, laundry, finding a motel room and making contact with Blue Sage from the backpacker.com message boards. I also had to do something about my face, which by now I had discovered was a peeling mass of red flesh. Yeah, we'd be busy.
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