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| Hiking | 6.60 Miles |
1,315 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.60 Miles | | | |
| 1,315 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | when i woke in the morning, it was to the bugling of elk. it took me a while to remember where i was, thinking that there were herds of screaming children in my midst. ah, elk, i remembered.
after breaking camp, i drove back down to the trailhead and began my trek. just two years prior this had been one of my first solo camp outs. the road has changed drastically since then. no longer would my jetta be able to navigate those water crossings that used to be culverts. they are now just huge dips in the road. thankful for my jeep, i still missed the size of one of these and lost a can of santan devil's ale in the process.
as i ascended on the hike, i remembered the word that liz so despised: tragedy. as if somehow this was the natural progression of things? that i cannot believe. i know that years of mismanagement had brought the forest to the overgrowth that it had achieved, and a lightening strike or two with flare ups over each year or two that may have been allowed to burn would have been best. instead, this forest has been protected. but still - this? the unnatural start of the fire and the massive complete devastation of more than a half a million acres in one event cannot be the best course of action.
there was one word that followed me throughout this hike: skeleton. it is a skeleton of the forest that remains, a skeleton of the fire tower, and a skeleton of an elk along the trail. it was like a funeral in a way; i was remembering the best times of years gone by, and hoping for a rejuvenated life to come. |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
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| There are just two switchbacks left. And another half-mile to the destination... |
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