My poor neglected blog...
Last weekend a SAR friend and I hiked up to Spectacle Lake. Disclaimer: If you've never gone backpacking before, and you're carrying all of your gear, eleven miles one way is... far. We got to the trail head at about 0800 and set off after a group of (crazy) teenagers doing a trail run. By the time we caught up to them coming back out, we had almost reached Pete Lake.
We took a little rest on a boulder overlooking Pete Lake. For some reason I didn't get any photos of the actual lake - just a million of Jack... typical.
We continued on, and came to Lemah Creek. Apparently when you have to wade the creek, it's called a "primitive crossing." We changed into water shoes and made the crossing through a thigh high creek with a bit of power in the current as well as an ankle deep second channel. It was a great chance to cool down before the climbing began.
After the creek, we meandered through a very mellow series of gentle hills before reaching the burned section. I think this was from a fire in 2009, though I'm not positive. It was amazing to walk through - and eerie. The gray trees were ghostly and offered little to no shelter from the heat of the day. Still, the trail wasn't too steep, so we could really take in the magnitude of the fire. From the looks of it, the trail was almost the boundary line - one side was normal green forest, the other, barren ashy trees, and you could follow that line up over the hill in front of us. Truly a sight.
After the burn, we entered into a series of 11 (they were long) switchbacks which led up to Delotte Falls. We met a through hiker up at the bridge... which made me feel crazy. He was the real deal - full beard, super skinny, sitting in the mist of the falls, happy as can be. I think he was eating a full loaf of bread and jar of peanut butter!
After the falls, it was "one or two" more switchbacks until we turned off for the Spectacle Lake trail. A little farther than I had emotionally/mentally prepared for, let's say that. Plus, bees. Poor Jack, I looked down and he had several in his fur. Nothing like a shot of adrenaline to kick on the after burners to get us the heck out of there.
And then.
Once we got down and found a space to set up camp along the middle section, the tent went up and Jack and I took a nap. Can you guess which camp is mine?
We came out an hour or so later and went for a most refreshing swim (brr) and then made some dinner. Crunchy mac and cheese has never tasted so good. My friend had filtered enough water to fill my reservoir back up, bless him...
Evening was approaching and once the sun went down behind the mountains, it got chilly. We didn't get much of a sunset, but the reflections on the water were beautiful.
Around 7, we tucked in for the night. I woke up a few hours later for a dog potty break and snapped a few pictures of the moon over the Three Queens. Notice how "a few hours later," the sun is still setting. :)
After a most uncomfortable night, we got up to a crisp and silent lake. Jack and I sat on a big rock in the sun and watched the other campers start to wake up. Of course, his occasional bark piercing the morning air probably didn't make anyone very happy.
Because it was getting warm, we decided to pack up and get moving so we could make it through the burn area before the heat really set in. We had a little breakfast, and were greeted by a little friend. Jack was very interested in him (I named him George) but didn't want to give chase until Tule, my friend's dog, tried to pounce. A gave George a few peanuts before he scurried away over the rocks.
We climbed out of the canyon and started our trek back. Thankfully the climb out was the majority of the climbing on the trip back. Still, the legs were a little wonky from all the walking the day before.
After we had crossed the creek again, and passed Pete Lake, I thought we were home free. Ugh. Just didn't have anything left in the tank. Even though at this point we were passing people with no gear, no water, and no intention of being in wilderness for more than a couple of hours, I was tired. We passed several horses, one of which was sans rider and tucked away in the bushes. Lovely. Glad Jack finally listened to me and came back - I may have said the "f word" a couple of times to encourage him.
I think I started seeing the reflection of car metal with about .5 miles to go. The last time we took a break, the pack was absolutely excruciating to heave back onto my sore shoulders so I vowed to not take it off again. I definitely had thoughts of pulling out my massive, cheap tent and chucking it into the woods... but that would have required taking the darn thing off again. The fit was just not good - too much weight on my shoulders. I also found that my ankles got really sore from the height of the boots. All of these things flashed through my brain with every one of those last steps.
When my hiking buddy finally turned the corner to the trail head in front of me.. oooh was I happy. Jack jumped right into the back of the car and collapsed into his crate. We both had a good long drink of water and headed back through Roslyn and home.
The experience was amazing. For a first backpacking trip, it may have been a little punishing, but I definitely have the bug. We just need a little (a lot) of conditioning.
Glad to be home.
