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| Hiking | 11.10 Miles |
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| | Hiking | 11.10 Miles | 6 Hrs 30 Mns | | 1.71 mph |
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| no partners | | | We parked at the East Fork trailhead in Greer and walked up the West Fork about 2.75 miles. Just above the second fish barrier, at the derelict beaver dam we left the stream to ascend a steep draw to the east. We've heard of a path coming down here from Winn Campground, and found it initially, but it was soon vague then invisible, and we bushwhacked most of the way up. We crossed Winn Sink and veered southeast then directly east across the prairie to the East Fork. We followed it downstream to the north, jumping a group of cow and calf elk wallowing in the stream, then departed the creek to the west where the canyon became narrow and brushy. Wandering along an ancient logging trail, we spotted a young bull elk bedded down a short way ahead. A small tree stood between him and us, and while we could see through it quite well, I couldn't get a decent photo. So I crept around the tree, gradually closer to the elk, eventually near enough to see flies on his ears and to hear him breath, snapping images every half step or so. Suddenly another, larger elk appeared in the viewfinder. This guy sported a major league rack, and he took one look at me and crashed away into the trees. Elk on the ground immediately levitated and bolted away also as I squeezed off a desperate shot. From there we hiked pretty directly to a group of natural depressions that appear as small blue circles on the map. They aren't pools but just low places that may retain water a few weeks of the year. We joined the official East Fork Trail about midway along its length and stuck with it back to the trailhead and our vehicle. We encountered one other hiker - a man looking for his hiking partner. He wasn't overly concerned so we didn't offer to call for a search party. It was a lovely day, if a bit warm, and we thoroughly enjoyed the outing. |
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