Saturday, August 28, 2004
Big to Little
08/28/04
Last night was really cold. Spur said that down at Big Sandy Lake it was 31 degrees in his tent. I had a lot more elevation, exposure and wind. I'm guessing that it was 20 degrees.
In some ways I was testing my gear last night. It worked fine. I used the detachable hood from my GoLite Coal for extra head warmth and put my bag in the bivy to cut the wind. That made it comfortable. Unfortunately, it took me hours to decide to take these actions. I did not get in my tarp, which would have cut the wind considerably. I was pushing the limits of sleeping out. Next time, I'll get in the shelter and get a better night's sleep.
In the time it took to write last night's journal, the water in my Platy tube froze solid. My shoes, which are difficult to put on anyway, were particularly difficult to get into this morning. They were not frozen solid, but tough to put on nevertheless.
My sitpad, which I use past the edge of my groundsheet in case my feet (and bag) go off the groundsheet, blew away last night. I found it not too far down the mountainside in the morning. I wonder if I need to have a tethering system for it.
The morning light on the Cirque of the Towers was worth the cold night and morning. My sleeping spot did not benefit from the warmth of direct sunlight though. I got out of camp at a shameful 9:15 and found the ground frozen and most of the water I saw yesterday frozen. The added caution around the ice made my exit as slow as my entrance.
I passed Apple Pie and, then Spur, on their way up and encouraged them to go past Jackass Pass for the added views. I also passed about 20 other people on their way up for a Saturday day hike. One group was interested in my hike, so I asked a favor. I sent them off with four dead AAA batteries that I accidentally left Big Sandy Lodge with.
My Wyoming miles should be picking up, but I didn't know what to expect of today's hiking.
I soon found myself faced with a nearly snow covered pass. From a distance, the climb looked impossibly huge and steep. I soon determined that I was going to be the first one over the pass since the recent snow. I love this kind of hiking, but scanning for cairns or other signs of the trail can be very slow. I followed cairns, used my intuition, and looked for the indentation in the snow that could be trail. I made my way up the pass one step at a time, and what looked nearly insurmountable was nothing more than adventuresome hiking.
Going down the other side was slow once I left the snow. The impression of the trail was quite clear as the trail switchbacked down through the snow, but the trail became vague the lower it got. It was going to be an afternoon of vague trail, which was hard to find because it wasn't used much.
I walked down and out a long river valley. Just before an important and, yes, vague, turn, I saw a single bull elk. He first hesitated running across the shallow and wide river to escape me, but ended up splashing across. It's too bad hunters give them such fear of us. I would have loved to watch this huge creature be itself, but seeing the severed legs and sawn skulls that hunters leave behind makes it clear to me why they run. They see those bones too.
I'm camped near Little Sandy Lake, disappointed with my 15 mile day. It's not very cold, and the sky is clear.
