| | -
-
-
| 1 label |  |
|
2 |
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
|
| | |
|
| Backpack | 11.69 Miles |
|
| | Backpack | 11.69 Miles | 3 Days | | |
| | | |
| |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Well this trip took the cake for pushing the limits...
We started off with a few ideas (VERY lofty ones as we quickly learned) about how much mileage we could put behind us in this area. In the end it took everything just to make it through the sub-12-mile route we ended up taking.
Things started off well heading down Upper Grant Creek trail, but a few miles in it got pretty nasty. The amount of deadfall was painfully excessive, and trail maintenance seems to be a thing of the past in this area. A lot of blockages could be hopped right over, but a few required scaling the steep/loose walls bush-whack style in order to try to get back to an already faint trail in many areas. One detour in particular had us crawling all over the north side of the canyon to meet back up with what the USGS maps show as the trail. Suffice it to say it was never found and it took a LOT of route finding and effort to get back to another leg of the trail.
This drained us physically and mentally which made the rest of the day pretty craptastic. Eventually we ran out of light on our way to Moonshine Park and were lucky enough to make it to the corral. We would've taken ANY flat ground for the night, but this was a beautiful campsite with fire ring, log seating, close water, and just the right mix of shade and open spots free of widowmakers.
Day 2 was fun as we started off and had decided to just head straight north to meet up with the Foote Creek trail. Missing the turn which must've been just on the edge of the corral campsite, we had to make a short backtrack and bushwhack to get onto the switchbacks.
Following the shortcut trail we quickly met up with the Grant Creek trail and the ascent was on. Views were pretty epic.
Shortly after connecting to Grant Creek trail, we hit the little valley/u-turn with the spring-fed water which was flowing well enough to top off. Another quick look at the map and we decided that we need to load up on water as there might not be any accessible water the rest of the trip. this turned out to be a good choice as the only water we saw from here on out was p-bar 'lake'. Suffice it to say that there was no way we were going to filter that mess.
Eventually we made it to p-bar and the connection to Foote Creek trail. We went west for a short bit and picked the first spot just off trail that we could find with any flat ground. Not a lotta good options for camping along this area, and in hindsight I think we should've camped just prior to the Foote Creek trail connection, but there is no way we were gonna burn more time/energy backtracking at this point. More exposure due to lack of canopy, steep grades, and 6 liters of water each had beaten us well.
Day 3 was a trudge back to the Hannagan Meadow trailhead that we THOUGHT would be a pleasant change of pace. The terrain wasn't too bad, but the deadfall continued to hamper progress, and there were more large swaths of burn area that kept us roasting in the sun. Some time later, and a few trail signs, we saw the wooden gate frame at the trailhead and the ice cold water stored in the vehicle had NEVER tasted so good. |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
