This past weekend The Outdoorsman and I took the second of our three training hikes. In this case we started much higher (6,400 feet/1950 meters) and ended much higher (8100 feet/ 2468 meters).
Also very different from last month's hike, there was lots of water. We had to do several almost marsh walks and one creek forwarding (about up to ankle level).
As we climbed, the scenery got more stark.
And there was snow!
We camped overnight an Alpine lake. It was beautiful, but cold with the wind - we basically got there, put up our tents, made dinner, and then got into our sleeping bags.
The next morning when we got up, our shoes had frozen. After a little discussion, we elected to turn around and go back. The total hike was about 14.5 miles.
All things being equal, I think I enjoyed this hike more for the scenery. Hiking in green always seems better than hiking in brown.
Hiking and sleeping in snow in June. Definitely not found in my locale. Those are pretty pictures - thanks for sharing with the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, I had to travel to Old Home to do this. This is not at all what is going on in New Home.
DeleteI will be honest - at this point part of the fun of the hikes is taking pictures to bring back to share. I know not everyone is able to do such things, so it is a privilege to be able to do so.
You both sum it all up nicely. Something I never see at home shared by someone who gets the adventure. It's why I love reading blogs!
DeleteLeigh, that is something I had not thought about as much recently, but in a way it is hopefully a gift I can give to others who are not able to get to such places for various reasons.
DeleteYah, brown = monochrome........green = Technicolor. Course a cloudy day makes for drabness also. Any fish in that lake TB?
ReplyDeleteWe checked, Nylon12, but there was no evidence of them - the Outdoorsman had brought some of his gear. Some of the lakes in the area will have trout, but some of them have been "cleaned up" over the years if the trout were not native.
DeleteIt sure looked like there should have been some fish though.
Those are beautiful locations.
ReplyDeleteYour nod to common sense (the most uncommon of all the senses) when you assessed the conditions and turned back speaks well for your thought processes.
Thanks John! This is about two hours from where The Ranch is and not a place I had ever been before (sad really, as it was within 3 hours of my hometown). The starkness, especially at the lake, was breathtaking.
DeleteIt is a funny thing about common sense: 15 years ago I would have muscled through it. Even 8 years ago, maybe. Now, I am well aware of all the things that can go wrong and would rather live to hike another day.
Glad you didn't get any frostbite, TB! Great scenery. Thanks for sharing. You all be safe and God bless.
ReplyDeleteThank you Linda. The scenery really was spectacular.
DeleteBeautiful photos. (And I'm saying that with my newly developing "photographer's eye"!)
ReplyDeleteThank you Leigh! I have to say that although it is a little hard when we have to keep moving, I was mindful of some of the things I have read in your photography blog - so in a sense, these have your imprint on them as well.
DeleteVery beautiful scenery. When I go camping in cold environments, my sleeping bag is often full of water bottles, socks and shoes, all of which I enjoy more when they aren't frozen solid!
ReplyDeleteIt was beautiful Ed.
DeleteThe shoes in the sleeping bag would have worked this time, except they were already wet. Hopefully our trip next month will not have this issue.
I'm certainly hoping that it won't. We aren't planning on going up to really high elevations.
DeleteOne backpacking trick of mine, the body can absorb a fair amount of moisture in a sleeping bag and still not be uncomfortable. As long as say my socks aren't wringing wet, I'll sleep with them and they (and me) will all be toasty dry and warm in the morning. But I wouldn't do so with something really wet because a wet sleeping bag is no joke in cold weather.
I think next month's hike is about the same elevation, but I suspect with less water crossings given the time of year (July). Here is hoping, anyway - an adventure either way!
DeleteThese pictures are magnificent, TB. What a beautiful place to hike.
ReplyDeleteIt really was Becki. I have not been there before, but will try to make it back a little later in the year, when I can enjoy the experience at the top more.
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