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| Hiking | 15.50 Miles |
1,550 AEG |
| | Hiking | 15.50 Miles | 9 Hrs 30 Mns | | 1.63 mph |
| 1,550 ft AEG | | | | |
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| Preparation will help with the pain. That'd be my motto now from this hike.
Very beautiful hike. We started off nice and early, when the weather was still quite crisp. After everyone got ready, we negotiated our first obstacle. Two large downed trees which blocked the rest of the road to the trail head. This would be just one of the omens of what's in store for us in the Mazatzal Wilderness. Thankfully, the distance from the trees to the trail head was like 20 yards. 
Hike started off pretty much what I expected from a Moderate hike through the wilderness. Nice sloping switch backs going up the mountain. The travel through was very nice for a lot of the way. Beautiful views as the sun was just at the right spots. Certainly many of us were clicking away taking in the scenery.
Why Hello Mr. Snow
Then the fun began. We are introduced to snow. Snow on a sharp slope. I watch joe bartels use his hiking pole with ease to help him slowly negotiate the arguably treacherous slope. I turn around, and there's Preston Sands taking up the rear with his two poles. All the while, bart01 was well ahead snapping photographic evidence should anything happen. Can't blame him for moving quickly on the snow. I imagined those foot gloves didn't provide too much comfort over cold surfaces. But man, he could negotiate that snow. Anyways, we're slowly making our way when Preston Sands offered up one of his hiking poles! Which was awesome! Never hiked in the snow, and those hiking poles are wonderful for negotiating snowy slopes.
So, first leg cleared, I gave Preston Sands his pole back. Now, my next goal: Stick. A nice walking stick. Found me one of those should we meet with Mr. Snow again. And no worries, we did 
The Land of the Fallen
First break was nice, only 1/4 way through the hike. Then we set off. Remember that fallen tree I talked about? Yeah, we started to hit more and more and more of those. Many times we had to high knee it, bush whack around, swing under, precariously straddle fallen trees of various sizes. This started to take it's tole on my legs. I could feel some fatigue. And at this early stage of the hike, I knew I was going to get into trouble. Did I mention this was my first hike of this length ever?
Mr. Snow Take Two: Snow's revenge.
Yep, this time snow wanted to really give us what for. Not only was this the sharp slope, but now the show was very solid. At this point the hike slowed to a crawl. And rightfully so, this was not something we could just move right through. joe bartels and Groth were the unfortunate members to hit the snow first, so they were on foot hold duty. Like a smoothly oiled machine they worked together making excellent footholds for the rest of the group as we precariously negotiated the slope.
Trail? We don't need no stinking trail...
Yep, this is the part where some of us got off trail and made things a lot harder than it needed to be. This would be a moment when I forget the trail was there for a reason. It saves you on a lot of pain. This was in two parts. Some of us got separated in the thick brush and ended up below the trail. Soon Stiller and Preston Sands called out to us below, and we were able to hike back up to the trail. First sight: Here comes Preston Sands pushing through the brush with red marking tape in hand, tieing markers in the bush for the way back. Which came in handy on the way back. Next part where we got separated, was as we started to approach Fisher Saddle. I think we got sick of snow and started to take a high road. Bad idea. This really sapped us, and we didn't make it the rest of the way. Freespirit, Groth, TMR, and I lost track of joe bartels, bart01, and johnlp in the distance. While the rest of the group was still behind us. So we took a seat, and had lunch to prepare to turn back to meet up.
Lets get outta here..
The way back was pretty much the way in but in reverse.  Except this time the snow was much softer, making us all get that "sinking feeling" no matter what we tried. I even tried to slowly and evenly shift my weight and take small steps, which only produced the occasional success. We made short work of the first snow patch, and quickly moved along. Took a quick break to switch socks Then pressed on. At this point my left knee started to get grumpy. Didn't do anything to injure it, and i don't have a history of knee problems, but I'm pushing my body hard as, like i said, this is my first 16 mile hike. We stopped off for a break which was excellent as my knee was really wanting one. Soon Stiller, Groth, and rdavisiii appear and stop off for a bit. Then it was off on the trail again. Stiller noted my increasing limp, which it really was. That break made my knee very upset at having to go to work again. Stiller offered some ibuprofen to take the pain away, and oh man did it work like a charm. That made the rest of the hike much more manageable. Next hike, I don't care how far, I'll be bringing a small Altoids case full of them Just so I can "pay it forward" to the next hiker in need
And that's it. My first very, very long day hike stretching close to 16 miles in total. It was an awesome experience with some awesome people! Next time, more preparation. I'm not jumping up to a hike of this size quickly like this again, and I'll certainly be looking into a hiking pole and ibuprofen for the next trip. |
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