Skillern June 2017 Days 2 and 3

Heading for a morning dip in the hot spring. 

It's definitely still hot. 

Looking up at the trail on the route to the pool. 

If I didn't know there was a pool around the corner, I might not walk this way.

Ambrose knows where the pool is. 

The hot water cascading down into the smaller-than-I-remember-but-still-satisfying pool. 

I don't remember if this sign for Skillern Hot Springs used to be here or not. 

The water is definitely running higher than I've seen before. 

Ambrose red-dy to head for the car. 

Some of my favorite flowers near Skillern Creek. 

Skillern Creek is also flowing pretty high. 

A lovely day for a hike - quite unlike our hike out. 

The view from the high road of the trail. 

Here I haven't yet realized that I need to plug the drain with the wooden dowel provided at what used to be a secret and hidden roadside hot spring... 

But now it is labeled by a sign. It's still a nice treat, but now I can't make the spring a surprise for anyone like my first visit was. 

Skillern June 2017 Day 1

Ambrose is ready to go despite the clouds. 

So am I!

Heading out to Skillern from Big Smoky Canyon Campground .

The water's higher than I remember from previous years, but we don't have to cross it. 

This is a new feature of the trail. 

Ambrose crosses Calf Creek. 

Hard to tell from the picture, but it's started to rain. 

Raining enough that we put on our pack covers. Mine is improvised from my bird seed bag seat because I forgot to make sure I had a big trash bag for that purpose packed. Whoops!

Something odd about this sign... 

I took a break under the tree to the left to get out of the rain before heading up the high road. 

Ambrose heading up towards Poison Creek.

That tiny red dot is Ambrose coming down off the high road. 

Skillern Creek required a boots off crossing this time. 

We made it to the campsite before anyone else and claimed the stone chair spot. It's a bit different now that a huge tree trunk has split off. 

I got cold and grumpy in the rain. How now, when the clouds were so darn close to us you could practically reach out and touch them? 

Solo 2017 Travel Day Photo Summary

Ambrose and I hiked out to the border of Idaho and Nevada so I wouldn't have to start my hike with an out and back. 

A few desert flowers poking up from the dirt. 

Snow-capped mountains in the distance. 

We followed a rutted road. No way people drive out to the border to start the Idaho Centennial Trail.

It looks so flat, but I doubt I could reach that mountain in a straight shot. 

A secure border. 

Looking back into Idaho from the marker. 

Panorama from the border fence. This is Idaho. 

I believe the feature down there is called a draw. And of course there's a butte on the right. 

Heading back to the car to set up for the night. 

A fence secured by a loop of wire. 

The start of my road in the morning. 

Solo 2017 Day 4 Photo Summary

I got myself up before the sunrise so I could get started.  

Heading down into the valley. 

This fence was very difficult to unhook and harder to rehook. 

Difficult to make out from this distance but that little dot on top of the hill is a horse. Rider and dog were herding sheep.

Still seeing the ICT signs. 

I met up with Ambrose here and got on with slack packing. I didn't want to keep going but I did. 

Not a bad picture of a bird. 

Walking on pavement was pure torture, especially in the hot sunlight. 

The little black specks are swallows. There were hundreds cycling around the bridge. 

Every step was agony at this point, but the scenery was still nice. 

I took a break at this tree to put my feet up. 

I made it to Hammett. And I chose to stop short of my 100 mile goal, because I had wrecked my body enough.