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| Backpack | 27.00 Miles |
2,870 AEG |
| | Backpack | 27.00 Miles | 2 Days 3 Hrs | | |
| 2,870 ft AEG | | 18 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Holy catclaw, Batman!
This hike started on Saturday morning with relatively clear skies and a whipping wind. Dutchman to Coffee Flat was cruisy and easy to follow. Our first encounter with water was at Reed's, however it was very low and stagnant under the windmill. Shortly there after we turned up Randolph Canyon and hiked along flowing water all the way until the camp at Dripping Spring. Once I dropped my pack at camp, another member of the group and I continued up Fraser Canyon for a couple of miles. We passed Musk Hog and Wet Rock canyons, both of which had water flowing into Fraser. We passed a large Red-Tailed Hawk while hiking out and then once again on the way back to camp. EDIT: There was a great cave just to the north of camp. I completely forgot about it until I went to upload the photos. The opening was pretty wide, but only a few feet tall. I didn't expect much when we first spotted it. Once we scrambled up and climbed inside it really opened up. There was a large main room where I could stand all the way up (6') and two shorter rooms that extended further back. It was a great surprise.
The second day started with clear skies and very little wind, a nice change from the previous morning. We made our way up Red Tanks, mostly staying in the creek until turning NW to continue in to Red Tanks Canyon. The trail was easy to follow from there up to the bottom of the divide. This is where some fire damage and the start of our catclaw adventures slowed us down a bit. Once we reached the top of the divide the trail became faint and we had to rely upon our GPX tracks a bit more. The CC continued to be thick and present until we reached the Hoolie Bacon junction and began working our way through upper LaBarge Box. This was my first time in the area and I was blown away by the views of the canyon as we hiked down the trail. It was steep, rocky and loose in several places but was still a very enjoyable section. After stopping for a short break at the Whiskey Springs junction we continued along Red Tanks towards LaBarge Spring. The first halfish mile of this section was nice and smooth, but we quickly entered what was eventually dubbed "The Stabrynth." A mile+ section of trail that was full of fire damage, a weaving path and lots of tall and thick catclaw. Once we made it through the Stabrynth we set up camp at LaBarge. I didn't make it up to the actual spring as we had water flowing by camp.
Day three was relatively straightforward compared to the one before. We were able to maintain a nice pace up Dutchman and Bluff Spring. The trail had some rough erosion spots along Dutchman and loose/rocky areas around the Terrapin junction but was in decent shape and free of catclaw. It was cool and cloudy for most of the ~2 hour hike back to Peralta.
I've camped at LaBarge Spring before, but this was my first time out along the eastern end of the super loop and I absolutely loved it. I've gotten very familiar with the area between FW and Weaver's so it was nice to experience some new canyons a bit further to the East. Water was very plentiful thanks to the holiday rains. I never had to carry more than two liters. The low on both nights was 40°, per my Thermodrop. This was a great trip and I'll be keeping my eye out for a heavy spring rain so that I can do it again in a few months. |
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