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| Backpack | 11.60 Miles |
3,150 AEG |
| | Backpack | 11.60 Miles | 2 Days | | |
| 3,150 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | My first backpack 
Hit the road Friday evening after work and camped at Reynold's Creek. What a gorgeous night. I love being able to see the stars when I look up! In the morning, had a delicious breakfast, drove to the TH and off we went. The climb coming in at first wasn't too bad. I probably wouldn't have noticed it much if not for the heavy pack on my back. Eventually the trail descended into Workman Creek, where we took a short break before heading back up again. The climb up out of the creek was definitely more noticeable. Still, not too bad. At the final descent into the creek, the terrain was much steeper.. not bad for walking down, but I knew I'd be hating it the next morning on the way out. =P Took a short swim at the bottom and then set up camp and explored a little while. We meant to try to find the falls, but the route was extremely overgrown and not much fun to navigate for two people in shorts and a dog. Spent some time looking around down at the creek instead.
Dinner was great: chicken with red peppers, and a Delirium for dessert. Checked out the stars again and got to see the unlit portion of the moon slip away behind a canyon wall. Probably one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time. Those crazy-sounding frogs were out and making noise in full force, but we didn't see any. However, there was a ringtail checking out our camp for several minutes from behind a large boulder. It eventually ran off without incident.
Alas, the dreaded morning came and we packed up and started up. The sun exposure on the way back was far more noticeable. The steep section definitely gave me more problems than I had anticipated, but with that area out of the way I felt great and ready to take on anything.. so long as it was on level terrain! Unfortunately for me, there were more sections going down and then up and then down again. At the descent into the creek, we took another break and then headed back up.. and then down.. notice a theme? I was really relieved when I got back to the TH and was able to get the pack off. Really though, it wasn't bad for my first time, and I think with a little (or lot!) more training with the pack on I'd be far more ready to tackle those tougher uphill sections.
After all that we headed out to Aztec Peak, stopping along the way to check out the Workman Creek Waterfalls. Such a treat. Then drove up to the Aztec summit and spoke with the man in the lookout tower for a while. Took a look around the Flintstones-esque furniture formations before making the long drive back to the city. Thought about stopping at Guayo's, but it was nearing 100 degrees; too hot with a dog in the car. Another day perhaps.
A big thanks to Berk for having the patience to show a backpacking newbie the ropes, as well as being very generous when my poor planning fell short of target. It was very much appreciated, and I had a great time!
Trip times (for myself, Berk's are somewhat faster):
In: 2 hrs 00 min, 5.3 mi
Out: 2 hrs 20 min, 5.3 mi
Random explorations: 0 hrs 45 min, 1.0 mi |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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