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| Hiking | 3.00 Miles |
300 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.00 Miles | | | |
| 300 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Day 2 of White Mountain Camping...Time to Explore and see some of the White Mountains...Woke up with a Headache so the Elevation was affecting me a little, but I already knew I wasn't going to even consider Baldy, so I took it easy today while most of the Crew did the 15 Miles...I had researched a few Hikes before I left and this one intrigued...The "Turn Around" Point for this Hike was at a "Boulder Filled Gorge"...hmmmm....  
Not sure why the Directions in the Description take you all the way around the Lake on a possibly non-maintained Road so you can start just SE of the Lake. There is no Trail, so there really is no TH...So, I just took the turnoff for Carnero Lake and parked at the Lake near the SW end. Seems to be a popular Fishing Lake for the Locals and there were a few people there in Waders and with Canoes/Kayaks. Apparently, the Lake is fairly shallow and has a Fish Kill every year, but the Fisherman I talked to stated that it didn't freeze solid this Year so the Trout are a little larger this Spring... 
The Weather was a little threatening again, so I took my Rain Gear on this one and Hiked around the South End of the Lake and started following the Creek...There is no Trail, but it was easy to follow with pretty minimal Deadfall to negotiate. Not long after starting into the "Draw", I came to a Barbed Wire Fence about 1/4 Mile in, with a decent dirt Road crossing the Creek right after that. Was wondering if it was Private Property, but I didn't see anything Posted, so I hopped the Fence (ok, I didn't hop it exactly, my Fence "Hopping" days are over ) and pressed on.
I came to the "Hidden Meadow" and it was very nice. Then, at the other end of the Meadow I started running into Rocks. Turned a Corner and there were a LOT of Rocks... A Boulder Extravaganza! Can you say Boulder Slide???? Basically, at some point, there was a major Slide of some kind and it filled up the Canyon, probably destroying all the Trees from the Bottom, partway up both sides. This was definitely not a "Gorge", but it did narrow and steepen up on the sides so I would call it a small, short Canyon. I was thinking about going all the way to the bottom, with a couple of options there, but changed my Mind due to my Speed and the ever changing Weather. This was "Boulder Hopping" with a twist. Unlike a Creekbed/Riverbed type of Boulder Hopping, if you screw up and miss a Rock/Boulder, or you hit a Rock that moves, which happened a few times, you could easily "fall" or break a Leg...this Slide was at the least 6 Foot or more deep with some pretty nasty "holes" to look down and you still couldn't see bottom... I worked about halfway down and then traversed over to a small Island of Trees on the Left Slope to try to catch a Break from the Rocks...It was a good Break and I moved better Down Canyon, but then it ended and I was back to the Boulders again. The Weather started getting Nastier and it was starting to Snow...Not sure how "grippy" those Rocks were going to be when Wet, so I made the Decision to turn around. Plus, with my Speed, I knew it would take at least a couple more Hours to reach the Bottom and then have to come all the way back up...The Thought of Boulder Hopping all of that twice wasn't too appealing...
Sooo...back up I went...It was a little easier, as I was able to pick a better Route hugging the side of the Canyon and minimizing the Boulder Hopping all the way back up to the Meadow...I retraced my Steps from there back to the Vehicle, but the Weather seemed to clear a bit, so I took a Use Path along the Lake almost to the North End and did a little Birding. The Weather and Clouds provided some nice Lighting and Drama along the Way and also on the Drive back to Camp....
Nice little Hike...Probably won't go out of my way to do this one again, but someday it would be interesting to see the whole thing through to the bottom. Just not sure I would want to retrace my Steps once I got to the bottom and it looked to be about 4 Miles back to the Vehicle from there if the Mountain was too steep to climb up and over...There is a Road down there, so I guess potentially you could do it as a Shuttle if the Road isn't Private.
Nice, relaxing Day and for the most part, the Weather held until almost back at Camp where I went through a small Blizzard.... But hey, I didn't get Rained on, I didn't get Snowed in and I didn't break a Leg, so it was a good Day in the White Mountains.... |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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| Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty & well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out & proclaiming, "Wow What a Ride!" |
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