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| Backpack | 30.00 Miles |
2,824 AEG |
| | Backpack | 30.00 Miles | 3 Days | | |
| 2,824 ft AEG | | 53 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | The drive into Reavis Trailhead on Saturday was FANTASTIC!!! The mountains were a dozen shades of green, and several small waterfalls coming off the cliffs were nothing short of spectacular. We arrived at the TH with high hopes.
I had a great route planned: start at Reavis Trailhead, head south, do a quick out and back to Reavis Falls, continue to Reavis Ranch, take Reavis Gap to Campaign, Campaign down to Fireline, Fireline back over to Reavis (with an out and back to Circlestone). Then Reavis back out to the trailhead. It was about 40 miles, but we had 4 days, so it sounded reasonable.
Reasonable. Haha. We started hiking about noon. It was blustery and cool, but easy hiking--until we got to the Reavis Falls turnoff. There wasn't a trail really, just a small creek where the trail used to be. And mud, mud, and more mud. The first quarter mile up the hill took forever, and it was snowing on us as we hit the top. The kids loved it. We started down but the water and the mud made for some slow going. We got about half way down and finally got smart--we had the kids stash their packs. We finally pull up to the creek, only a quarter mile to go, just as a larger party is coming back from the falls. They let us know that it took them THREE HOURS to go that last little bit and back--the river was indeed swollen and would obviously require walking through the water. We debated whether to go for it anyway, but good sense ruled the day (thankfully) and we dejectedly decided against going further.
So we ate a late lunch and started the arduous hike back out. Did I mention how muddy it was? Well, it was pretty damn muddy! We only made it 2 miles back up the hill and it was rapidly getting colder and darker. We had seen a nice camping spot on the way down, and decided to stop there. I couldn't even get a fire going--everything was soaking wet. So we all just hunkered down in the tent and prepared dinner by placing the stove right outside the tent. The night was cold, but our new down bags--along with silk long-johns and woobies (military poncho liners) made it bearable.
The next morning was cold, but the sky was finally clear and the sun warmed things up. We got back to 109 and headed south. My wife was determined to keep going, and teach the kids a lesson in perseverance. So we did. I'll admit, if it had been up to me, I would've headed back to the truck. Once again, the trail more resembled a creek, and everything around it was--you guessed it--PURE GOOPY STICKY CLINGY MUD. It was slow going. The plan was to make it somewhere onto Reavis Gap or even Campaign before camping. But we were so muddy and wet and spent when we finally slugged our way into Reavis Ranch valley, that we just found a spot and made camp. I was able to get a fire going, and we dried off. The rest of the day was sunny and pleasant, the kids made a small snowman from a patch of snow by camp, we had a delicious dinner of Indian Food, and hit the sack.
The next day we decided to try for an out and back to circlestone. We got to the south end of the valley and couldn't easily cross the creek there. Now, I didn't remember where the Fireline junction was, but I thought it was still a half mile or so out, so we just wandered along the west side of the creek for a while looking for a crossing. Turns out the Fireline was RIGHT AFTER that first crossing, so we passed it from the start! We finally got across the river, then had to cross again and again, with the inevitable slips, and ended up a couple miles down the trail, MUDDY and WET. I had started checking my GPS for Fireline, but for some reason I just couldn't find it. Finally we give up and head back, finally hitting the Fireline trailhead from the south, but already too miserable to contemplate going for it, so we just head back to camp. We saw some very docile deer on the way back. It was a nice day (except for the MUD) so the kids spent the afternoon laying in the sun or playing cards. The snowman was looking pretty miserable, and unfortunately, he didn't last the day... 
The final day we were up early--we ate, broke camp, packed up, and headed out. The ground was drier, the weather was warm, and we made great time. The 9 miles back out took about 3 hours, and we were done. The nice ending kind of dulled all the negative memories, and we still had a great backpacking trip, but went 0 for 2 on hitting our main destinations. Oh well. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
small yellow and purple flowers blooming on the 109 on the way out. |
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