Frank Church Tour de Meadows 2018 Day 7

It was so hot, even overnight, that I had trouble falling asleep even without pitching a tent. I have no idea how Bill managed it, especially with Mike probably acting as a space heater in his tent. Usually, in the morning, especially before the sun rises, I don't want to leave my sleeping bag. Not this morning. It just wasn't cold, though it was pretty dark. None of us wanted to be caught by the high heat of the afternoon when we were only about ten miles from the trailhead.

Ambrose and I packed up and got ready to go faster than Bill, so we set off before he did, around 20 to 6 in the morning. We all knew he and Mike were going to catch up and pass us, so we might as well get a head start!

We said our goodbyes there at the campsite, and then Ambrose and I headed off, using headlamps to light the trail. After crossing Monumental Bridge, I took off ahead of him. 

Unfortunately, my camera doesn't take very good pictures in the dark so I didn't get a chance to record much of the scenery we passed in the early morning. But it was pretty neat to be hiking along and look back to see Ambrose's headlamp bobbing along. And then to see Bill's approaching at speed. 

I stepped aside and bade Bill and Mike another farewell. And then I watched Bill's headlamp disappear ahead, but not before I could see the lay of the trail ahead, curving around to the left to follow the course of the creek.

As it got light out, I found I needed to dig a hole, so I picked a spot and hiked up and off the trail, dropping my pack on the trail so Ambrose would know that I was no longer ahead of him when he caught up. He wasn't actually that far behind me.

And he got farther ahead of me than I expected. When I caught up to him, we took a break, and then we ran into a sidestream crossing. It was Little Ramey Creek, which we'd already crossed a few days ago, much farther upstream. The flow was wide and fast, but not so deep that we couldn't cross. Too deep for boots on, though, so we stopped again and I switched over to crossing shoes, which until that moment, had been just extra weight on my pack. Ambrose hadn't brought any, so he took the liners out of his boots for the crossing.

The water was cold, of course, and I got through as quickly as I safely could, knowing Ambrose was waiting for me to finish crossing so he could get his feet dry. Dry-er, anyway. 

After that, I hiked ahead, but always waited for Ambrose at break times so we could stick together while we were still on unfamiliar trail. Our next break was just before the junction with the Copper Camp trail. I wanted to make it to the junction, but the sun was up and it was getting hot. I wanted to change to my skort more than I wanted to keep walking until I got to the junction. 

I liked this part of the trail along Big Creek. It wasn't too challenging, so I knew Ambrose would be able to handle it next year when he came out this way to resupply me on my ICT hike. But it also wasn't boring. The scenery was nice and continued to vary, with neat rock formations and plenty of bends to the creek.

At the next break, I stopped right before I would have passed by a couple of fishermen. I didn't want to go by strangers alone, so I stopped and waited for Ambrose since it was just about break time. I didn't want them to see me as a woman hiking alone.

We made pretty good time and took the next break by Beaver Creek. Since we both knew the trail from there, I took off with the intent of getting to the car before noon. Ambrose also wanted to get to the car before noon but his chances weren't as good as mine.

As I continued to walk, I started to feel the need to dig a hole again, but I was close enough to the trailhead that I decided to just press on as fast as I could. I hiked with a purpose and pretty much ignored the world around me in favor of putting one foot in front of the other. I remember pausing once because I thought I heard voices, but I hear voices a lot in the wilderness, especially when there's water nearby. A trick of the mind and the ear.

When I got to the trailhead, I still had a bit of road to traverse. There was a backpack by the trailhead, but I didn't stop to examine it or wait for its owner. Instead, I started marching up the hill to the pit toilet. A truck drove by and the driver asked if I needed a ride, and I told him, no, I just need the potty. It was wonderful to get to the stinky pit toilet that has an unlockable door.

And I made it before noon, just.

I settled in to wait for Ambrose. He showed up about half an hour later, muttering, "Jack. Is an idiot."

He may have included some extra adjectives in there that I'll just go ahead and leave out throughout this tale.

Ambrose had been hiking along when he heard shouting. Since he wasn't in a hurry to reach the pit toilet, he stopped and looked around, to discover that a man was high up on the rocks above the trail. The man, noticing he had Ambrose's attention, proceeded to roll a tire sized boulder down the steep ridge, nearly hitting Ambrose in the process.

It becomes clear through pantomime that the man is stuck. Ambrose directs him down, and the man still manages to slip, slide and skid his way into cutting up his legs. Once he is down on the trail, he introduces himself as Jack.

He's looking for his dog.

Ambrose looks up, sees a dog on the trail and asks, that dog?

Yes.

That dog.

Ambrose proceeds to wash this man's cuts with his own drinking water, gives the man some chews to eat and water to drink, and offers to escort the man back to the trailhead, since he clearly isn't up to the challenges of being alone on a trail, even less than a mile from the trailhead.

The man declines Ambrose's offer multiple times and proceeds to continue on the trail, with his fanny pack, his dog, and his flip flops.

Though who knows how long he managed to keep the dog with him this time.

After that, I drove us to the Big Creek Lodge and we had an expensive, but good, lunch before driving home.

Ambrose hikes away from the campsite, while Mike waits. 

Yes, dark, but also, not hot. 

Boggy little "stream"

Still pretty hazy this morning.

The trail stays right next to Big Creek.

The size of Big Creek varies pretty widely.

Ambrose crossing Little Ramey Creek

I lucked into getting that soft effect with this little waterfall.

A little climbing in the morning haze light.

Maybe we'll try the Copper Camp trail some time.

Another stream crossing. 

This one is too muddy to dampen my hat with.

I liked the rock formations along the creek.

I still don't know what these berries are.

Some nice hiking trail here.

This territory's starting to look familiar.

Grouse!

I imagined I kept seeing Mike's paw prints, though these could have belonged to any dog.

Tree problems for tall people.

Trailhead!

Ambrose made it! 

Frank Church Tour de Meadows 2018 Day 6

We didn't have quite as far to go on this day, and a lot of the hiking would be downhill - losing all that elevation we had gained the day before. So we left a bit later, when the sky was actually light, but before the sun crested the ridge.

The start of the trail was nice. We had left the burned area behind and walked through shaded forest on a well-maintained dirt trail. I walked ahead because the men had business to attend to. The morning sky was hazy, but the air didn't smell particularly smoky.

When the trail turned along a ridgeline, I stopped and dropped my pack at the side of the trail to tend to some business of my own. This time, I would not be caught out in sight of the trail. I was going to hike far enough off to be isolated. I could see Ambrose making his way towards me, but I didn't wait for him. He would pass my pack and know I was behind him.

I climbed over the top of the ridge to get out of sight to dig my hole. A "toilet" with a view. When I made it back to my pack, it was just about time for break, but everyone was past me by now, so I had no way of telling them. I just had to hope they would figure it out.

And they did. They were stopped about a twenty minute walk from where I'd dropped my pack, sitting on the grass at the side of the trail in some shade. I joined them to take a break, but didn't let the group linger long. The weather was currently perfect for hiking, and it wasn't going to stay that way, so we had best make the most of it while we could.

We hiked as a group for the next section, along ridges, making our way to the fast descent that was coming up on the map, a zig-zag squiggle that would drop us a couple thousand feet down to Crooked Creek. The haze both concealed the views and added a degree of mystique to them.

The first drop was short, but steep, making Ambrose slow his pace for safety, while Bill and I went ahead. I stayed in the lead for a while, and I think Bill slowed down at one point, because I was ahead of both of them until I saw a campsite down across the ravine. I sat on a log and waited for the men to catch up so I could point it out to them.

We walked on as a group for a little bit before taking a break. There turned out to be a trail heading over to the campsite, so now we know how to get there. After the break, which was not in shade due to unfavorable terrain, Bill and Mike took the lead. I was in the middle while Ambrose took the rear guard position. The trail got truly steep at this point, and we were switchbacking a long way down to the creek.

I hoped to make it in one stretch, but my alarm rang for a break just after crossing a creek. I didn't want to stop there because it was in shade and I actually felt a bit cold. But I did wait for Ambrose to get a bit closer before I hiked on, hoping to reach the bottom soon.

When it became clear that wasn't happening, I stopped in some shade to wait for Ambrose so I could make him take a break. Bill was nowhere in sight, so I trusted that he would be taking breaks on his own schedule.

After the break, I went ahead on down to the creek. Bill was lounging in his chair above the creek. I dumped my pack so I could go find a place to dig a hole. When I came back from my business, Ambrose was walking along the trail in search of a better place to get water, since the trail was pretty high above the creek at this point.

So I went back to get my pack from where Bill was sitting and then followed Ambrose. I walked by a small stagnant pool and figured he wouldn't want to stop there. And I crossed a tiny side stream, and I wondered why he hadn't stopped there.

Then I heard Ambrose yelling ahead. I thought he said, "Stay there!" So I frowned and sat down at the side of the trail, figuring he had good reason. Then I realized he was yelling, "Hey bear!"

And I got up and found him sitting on the creek bank, still yelling, "Hey bear!"

Because just before I'd walked up, a bear had walked up, startling Ambrose - for a moment, he thought it was Mike, but then he realized what was happening. Lucky for him, the bear as just as startled and took off downstream before Ambrose could do more than blink.

So we figured we'd let the bear get a good head start while we ate lunch. And then it was only a few more miles until Big Creek where we'd camp for the night. Bill and Mike went first, and then Ambrose. I lingered to take some pictures of a flower, but I caught up to Ambrose pretty quick.

And then it was a hot slog along the creek through fairly overgrown trail until Big Creek. At Monumental Bridge, I didn't see Bill. I looked around a bit, but didn't want to go too far from the trail junction before Ambrose arrived. So I sat on the bridge and waited. Bill and Mike eventually appeared from over the bridge, and then Ambrose came.

We crossed the bridge together to find a good spot to camp. There weren't a lot of great options, because we needed shade to hide from the hot sun. The place we found barely had enough shade for all of us, but we managed. And took turns dipping into Big Creek to cool off.

Ambrose and I ended up cowboy camping because it was so warm. And we decided that we'd split up the next morning, since Bill could hike faster and had a much longer drive home.

Mike is ready to go already!

Pretty nice trail to start the day.

Clearly, there has been some recent work on it.

Haze obscuring distant ridges.

The men were just past those trees, sitting on the grass and taking a break. 

More cute Mike.

Starting to head downhill.

Where's Ambrose?

Neat little campsite.

Trail down to campsite.

Pretty flowers. No idea what they are.

The serious downhill begins.

Still heading down.

Cool little stream. 

Glad I saw this bugger before I slipped my trekking poles back on my wrists.

One of more than a dozen switchbacks.

Trail junction at Crooked Creek.

Mike getting a break from his pack.

Decent trail to start.

This is where Ambrose was when he saw the bear.

I couldn't figure out the name of this flower either.

There were some pretty tall grasses across the trail.

There were actually two bridges, one across Crooked Creek and the other across Big Creek.

This is the one across Big Creek, called Monumental Bridge.

This is where we lounged most of the afternoon, and where Ambrose and I eventually spread out a tarp to cowboy camp.

Frank Church Tour de Meadows 2018 Day 5

We woke up in the dark. That was the plan, but it didn't make it anymore fun. Today's hike would be involve going about 10 miles without any water sources. We started the day at Moose Meadows with water and would end the day near Bismarck Mountain where, if the maps were still accurate, we would find a spring that started Bismarck Creek. And if they weren't, then we'd have some choices to make. Possibly heading down to Crooked Creek, possibly going off trail to get to water. But those decisions didn't need to be made in the pre-dawn darkness.

Ambrose and I started off first, while Bill was still getting Mike ready to go. We all knew Bill would catch up no matter how much of a head start Ambrose and I got. While the trail was relatively flat, I stayed behind Ambrose. Each of us wore headlamps to illuminate the ground beneath our feet, though the sky was already starting to lighten when we started out.

By the time we reached the junction that Bill and I had explored the day before, we didn't need headlamps anymore. And it was at this point that the trail started to climb in earnest, so I gave Ambrose a kiss and started to make my way up the switchbacks at a pace he couldn't match. Well, maybe he could have matched it for a short time. After all, he's gotten faster. But he wouldn't have been able to sustain and keep going if he tried to keep up with my going uphill.

I enjoyed pushing myself to a fast pace going up. I heard when Bill and Mike caught up to Ambrose and they caught up to me as well. We stopped near the top of the summit to wait for Ambrose to catch up. The sun arrived before he did, peaking over the facing ridge with a reddish glow from smoke in the atmosphere.

After Ambrose caught up, we all took a break, and then set off. I was in the lead for a bit, through some sections of burned out trees and a bit more climbing. But then we got to a particularly tricky snag, and I decided to wait for Ambrose to catch up so I could guide him through the easiest path rather than let him possibly waste time getting lost. We didn't have time for anyone to get lost!

I pointed the way once Ambrose caught up and then hiked off again, gaining ground quickly since we had another little uphill to navigate. Yeah, every time I thought we had reached the top that day, the trail just had to prove me wrong.

The trail made a wide curve to the left, and I could see it making another turn, along with some more uphill, ahead to the right. The ground here was all burned and ashy. Perfect for digging the hole that my body was telling me to get to work on. So I walked to the turn and dropped my pack by a tree so Ambrose would know I had stopped. Then I walked off trail and go to work.

Backpacking with Bill and Mike meant that I had to be a bit more careful with where and when I dug my holes. I figured with them ahead, I didn't have to worry. Sure, there wasn't a lot of cover, but why would they backtrack? Ambrose walked up and I yelled over at him to take a break, so he sat down.

And he let me know when he spotted Bill coming back down the trail. He waved Bill off and I finished my business and hustled over to Ambrose. When we caught up to Bill, just at the next switchback, he explained that he had gotten tired of waiting for us to catch up.

We continued on, Bill taking the lead at times, while I took it at others. There were some clear old trails branching off from the main one we walked on. I figured they were old switchbacks. The burned areas have their own kind of stark beauty that I appreciate, but they don't provide much in the way of shade.

The sun was still not very high, and being blocked a bit by the haze, but the day was growing warmer. We hiked on, some sections through live forest and others not. There was a junction down to a meadow, but our maps didn't show a route out, so we stuck to the main trail and had some views of the meadow from high above where our trail stuck to the ridge.

At the next break time, I switched over to my skort in the sunshine since there was little shade on offer near the trail. Plus I was still fairly cool. Bill hiked off trail and uphill to get some genuine shade  in a copse of young pine trees for his break. Ambrose stayed by me, not because he didn't want shade, but because he didn't want the extra steps and elevation gain.

We passed by another junction, which wasn't signed, but was fairly well marked - not well marked enough that Bill noticed it though. But after the junction, he did notice we weren't quite going in the right direction. The horseman whose tracks we were following veered off in one direction while the trail went another, though not clearly. We took some time and eventually figured out where the trail was. I was cranky, but trying not to let it affect how I treated my companions.

The trail semi-disappeared again after Bill hiked on ahead. I waited for Ambrose to catch up after a climb to make sure we at least got lost together. And then I had to go dig a hole, so I told Ambrose he could wait or go ahead. He waited and then, just as I was finishing my business, Bill came back down the trail. Again. I swear, I felt like I couldn't dig a hole in peace!

Ambrose and I joined Bill where he had found some shade and we all ate lunch. Ambrose and I were carrying enough water that we had sufficient amounts for our lunch. In fact, I was carrying an extra 2 liter bag of unfiltered water that I generously allowed Ambrose to filter into his water bladder since he was running low on water. Yeah, I started the day with 5 liters of water on my back, because I love my husband.

The trail was still spotty after lunch, but we didn't get lost again. I spotted a disused trail that would have lead us back to Lower Ramey Meadows if it hadn't been burned out.

I was hiking ahead when my alarm went off signalling the next break. But I decided to hike on, because there was no shade in sight, but the ridge up ahead looked like it might offer some. So I kept going until I found myself some trees, and then I waited in the shade for Bill and Mike, and then we all waited, patiently, for Ambrose to make his way to us so the break could officially begin. We were close, if the maps were right, to our campsite, and water.

Bill hiked ahead to the campsite, and I hung back a bit with Ambrose on the stretch, mostly downhill, towards Bismarck Creek. We were hoping to come upon a Bill getting ready to set up camp, rather than a Bill waiting for us to decide what we should do next with no water in sight.

Before we got to the campsite, I could hear the water, even smell it, how it made for a richer scent of greenery than the higher, drier areas we had been hiking through. A richness to the air.

As the trail made a wide turn, we saw Bill had found an established spot, complete with fire ring, and we joined him, dumped packs, and then we all got ourselves some water. It was actually still fairly early in the day, so we had some time to relax and clean up before taking care of camp chores and dinner. I washed out my food bag, because someone had not sealed up his cheesecake packet after finishing it, which caused my food bag to be sticky inside.

It was Ambrose.

I actually retreated to the tent in the heat of the afternoon because I was tired of being plagued by horseflies. One of them bit me while I was pitching the tent and followed me into the tent when I was blowing up our sleeping pads. I whacked at it with my hat until it was stunned and then carefully impaled it on my knife and threw it outside with no forgiveness in my heart.

I'd had thoughts of climbing Bismarck Mountain, but by the time we arrived, I just wasn't feeling up to that kind of adventure. Maybe next time.

Crossing the stream that ate the gallon water bag's top in the dark by headlamp.

But by the time we reached the first junction, it was getting pretty light. 

No sun for the first big climb of the day.

But it came out when I had reached the top.

Mike's ready to go!

Much of the trail was through old burned areas and tricky to find.

Some parts of the trail had clearly been rerouted.

This is what passed for a trail sign to Club Meadows

I enjoy seeing the rock formations through the trees. If they weren't burned out, the rocks would be hidden.

A nice ridge walking view.

This is the junction Bill walked past without seeing.

Not the top, but we did stop for lunch after reaching the top of this section. 

I could see living trees, hiding behind the dead ones to the left.

Mushrooms! But not more morels, to Ambrose's disappointment.

Yeah, this trail sure liked going uphill. Not that I minded.  

I found this shade for a break spot just for Bill. 

Almost to the campsite. Will there be water?

Ambrose makes his way down.

Water! Appearing out of the ground like magic. 

Mike approves of the water. 

I'll admit, the hiking skort is very cute. But I'm just not sure it's worth the leg scrapes and thigh chafing.