We took off about mid-day after my partner told me there would be too much snow up there but I am undeterred. After passing through the Interior Cedar Hemlock association we passed montane spruce and got into the Englemann spruce subalpine fir at the campsite. Along the way, we heard horned larks and pipets and a mystery warbler.
Loaded with the heaviest packs of the year yet, we got to the first major lookout just 250 m below the highest point on our trail but to a ridge with great views in every direction. In a short break in the weather, we got treated to a fine sunset.
Dark rain clouds blocked the way so we hunkered down for the evening and got hit by rain in scattered bouts all night long and once again in the morning. In the evening I tried our little mountain stove but it started sputtering and failed so I made a fire out of dry dead standing alpine fir and mountain hemlock. The ground was wet so we made a pad out of flat stones and had the fire on that. It worked fine.
Ground squirrels were just emerging mighty skinny after a long cold spring and there was lots of snow pack at our elevation. The glacier lilies were in bloom as were the Anemone and Azalea and Vaccinium were in full bud. Heather was already flowering.
The fire boiled our water and rice and I added tomatoes and peas and ham and a good feed was had squatted under rain gear and fleeces. We then had tea and chocolate and turned in for the night. All the bears are in the valley at this time of year so there is little to worry about storing food but just in case, I buried it in the snow in two separate spots.
We got a delightful friendly playful visitor in the morning, a snowshoe hare, who entertained us while we were breaking camp and chewing on cold rations. He showed us his preference was for new vaccinium suckers.
He certainly brightened up our day and a fine day emerged and we managed to find our way back over snowfields and scattered patches of bare trail. His feet were still white on the bottom, odd for July I thought. The bones, ligaments, meat and spirits were willing and able for another great trip and first heavy pack trepidation vanished into the mists of time.
Jormawankenobe
© 2008 J. Jyrkkanen
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