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| Goin' in. |
Though the temperatures were warm
enough when I retired for the evening that I didn't even
have to cover myself up, it certainly got cold sometime
during the night. I woke around 2 AM freezing cold and dove
into my sleeping bag. The rest of the night I was fine.
I was up by 7 AM. ate some more
GORP for breakfast and remembered that I'd have to redo
my food bag to account for the one less night I'd be on
the trail. That mission completed I quickly broke camp and
started up to the trailhead. En route I stopped to take
a few pictures of the Bighorn range directly to the north
of me. Not really rugged but more rounded in appearance
they were nevertheless impressive to see in the early morning
light.
I arrived at the trailhead by 8:30
AM, got my gear situated, filled out my permit and talked
with the elderly volunteer manning the registration box
for a few minutes. He had some words of wisdom, most of
which I already knew, but listened to him anyway. By 9:00
I was taking my first steps down trail 63 on a beautiful
sunny day. It would be hot later but knew I'd be hiking
through forested terrain for a while and didn't worry about
the heat.
Before starting out I had decided
that I would not push myself today knowing I hadn't had
ample time to get used to the higher altitude. I figured
if I stopped to rest for 5 or 10 minutes on the hour I should
be good. With that in mind I took my first break at 10 AM
at the northern end of a beautiful meadow. I peeled off
my long-sleeved shirt, applied some sunscreen (which will
make Yumi happy to read) and took a good long drink. I felt
so refreshed after that break that I didn't take my 11:00
until 11:25 near the junction of trail #97. Had I waited
just a few minutes longer I could have rested along the
shores of Lake Helen.
As the trail continued to climb
I noticed how pathetically out of shape I was. Last year's
Glacier trip was a piece of cake compared to this. Not only
were the trails here about 4,000 feet higher than Glacier
on the average, they were also more rugged and straight
ahead. Despite my lack of fitness I made it up to the head
of lake Marion by 12:20 and stopped for lunch just short
of Mistymoon Lake. By now it was significantly cooler with
a strong wind which gave me goosebumps and, believe it or
not, numbing fingers. I filtered some water from a small
stream and ate my tuna wraps. For some reason I'm never
really hungry on the trail despite burning more calories
than I would just sitting at home.
I packed my trash and continued
up to Mistymoon Lake. Mistymoon is a beautiful alpine lake.
From what I could see there weren't a lot of good camping
spots near the lake, though there was one primo spot on
a level bench on the western shore.
As I continued up a small rise I
could see Cloud Peak and Bomber Mountain---aptly named for
a Air Force training mission that ended in a crash up there.
I would later meet a man who had been up to Bomber and said
it was one of the eeriest places he had ever been to in
his life. On sunny days you can see sunlight reflecting
off the wreckage.
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| Paint Rock Creek as it tumbles toward
Lake Solitude. |
Once I made it to the top of the
rise I could see that it was now pretty much all downhill
to Lake Solitude. There was one small snowfield that had
to be crossed which posed no problems. Once past the snow
I was able to look down to the valley below to another beautiful
meadow with a small falls nearby which was very near the
headwaters of Paint Rock Creek. Another great camping spot.
The trail continued to parallel Paint Rock Creek downstream.
Once I made it down to the valley floor the Creek had to
be crossed. But where was the trail. I hiked about 50 yards
downstream on what looked like a trail, but it petered out.
Back I went and eventually found the crossing. To change
shoes, or not to change shoes? Maybe early in the morning
I could have rock-hopped across, but not now. Besides, it
was time for a break anyway as it was already 2:30.
Once I changed out of my sandals
and back into my boots I decided that I would just hike
to the next good camping spot. I didn't know that I wouldn't
be able to find a good place near water until I got down
to the Lake a little over an hour later. Paint Rock Creek,
now on my right, was stunning and just as pretty as anything
I'd ever seen. It was unlucky that the creek had scoured
a deep gorge as if to keep campers at a distance. Just when
I thought the creek couldn't possibly be any more scenic
I came to a stunning waterfall just minutes before reaching
lake Solitude.
Lake Solitude was just that. As
I emerged from the woods to another beautiful meadow I could
see I had the entire head of the lake to myself. It took
a few minutes to find a campsite that had already been impacted
and decided this would be my home for the night. I set up
my tent as quickly as possible and tried to nap. I was exhausted
and set my alarm for 7:10.
After trying to sleep for about
an hour I gave it up and started dinner. Again, I wasn't
that hungry but made a full pot of teriyaki noodles and
7 ounces of precooked chicken. It was all Icould do to finish
off the pot and a ziplock bag of instant cheesecake pudding.
I have to report that my new MSR Pocket Rocket stove performed
great. I don't think I'll ever go back to a white gas stove
again---though I will keep my Svea 123 just because.
Dinner cleaned up I forced myself
to walk over through the wet meadow and over to the creek's
outlet to filter some water and get a few pictures. That
chore done I ambled back to camp and decided to sit on a
boulder and write in my journal (actually a 5' x 3"
50-page notebook). The mosquitoes, however, had different
plans for me and I quickly dove into the tent for refuge.
After writing for about an hour I watched the shadows slowly
creep across the canyon walls, eventually fading into black.
A good time to think about the day,
I came to realize that I wasn't going to spend 5 nights
in the wilderness alone. My right knee was sore, I really
wanted to watch the boys play soccer and I wanted to surprise
Yumi by picking her up at the airport. The biggest factor,
however, was that it is much more fun to be able to share
in the adventure with someone you love. I decided to hike
out the next day and drive back to Wisconsin.
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