But really, never crossed one that was a problem. It was a great 5 days. Because of a late start on Wednesday, I didn't get to the park until 3:30ish. The ranger at the Foothills Wilderness Office provided incorrect information. She wouldn't provide me with a high elevation back-country permit because they are supposed to be provided by the other offices. Little did she know, she could have called them to see what was available. Anyway, I didn't want to make a stink of it, so I took the permit she offered. Started off the trek relatively easy at 3,500'. Trailhead started at the South Fork campground. Hiked in about 2 miles and camped the first night. Luckily, I stopped just before sunset to set up camp. Why was I lucky? Because my headlamp died about 20 minutes after I crawled into my sleeping bag. Rule #1: Don't forget spare batteries in the car. I had my Bic lighter as backup! On my way out the following morning, I stumbled across a rattlesnake (See if you can spot him in the picture). Don't worry everyone!! I made it back to my car safely: no snake bites, no bear maulings, no poison ivy, and no ticks feeding!
Day 2 took me to higher elevations. Specifically, the Lakes Trail. It's a 6.5mi hike up to Pear Lake that peeks at about 9200'. There are two ways to make it up: The Hump and The Watchtower. I highly recommend Watchtower. The Hump is just an uphill battle to get there (my hike in). The Watchtower, however, is a spectacular hike that follows the Tokopah Valley (my hike out). Anyway, I made it to Heather Lake before the weather turned and it started to downpour. There was even a bit of small hail! I ended up camping at Emerald Lake to stay dry. On day 3, I made a day hike up to Pear Lake for a swim. The water was lovely! A bit chilly, but refreshing. I made it back to camp just in time because it started to downpour again. I ended up spending the rest of the afternoon playing cards, reading, and napping in my tent. It was very early in my trip to be bored. Alas, I made it through and actually had a really great time. I took the alone time to do some philosophy reading. Came up with some pretty interesting understandings of recent life events. Very fulfilling!
Day 3 was the roughest. I hiked out from Emerald Lake (5 miles) to meet Ryan and Ashley. We had lunch and then started off to Jenny Lake in the Jenny Lake Wilderness. It was 8.5 miles with a 3,000' elevation change. 1000' of it was in mile 7, very tasking, but we made it!! In total, it took about 6.5 hours to make it. Jenny Lake is beautiful and I recommend the hike to others. It may be a bit easier to come from the North instead of the South. On the way, we passed several meadows that opened in the middle of the forest. If anyone has any information on why this occurs, I would love to know. Why don't the trees just overwhelm the area? Anyway, we had some serious grub that night. I actually brought cous-cous! A little bland, but hit the spot. I wish we had more time at the lake to explore, but just seeing the sunset and sunrise were pretty darn good.
Anyway, we're all out of the park now. Ryan and Ashley on their way back to work. Me, well, I'm on my way to Yosemite NP. Starting to get jealous yet?
Photo Album
Day 2 took me to higher elevations. Specifically, the Lakes Trail. It's a 6.5mi hike up to Pear Lake that peeks at about 9200'. There are two ways to make it up: The Hump and The Watchtower. I highly recommend Watchtower. The Hump is just an uphill battle to get there (my hike in). The Watchtower, however, is a spectacular hike that follows the Tokopah Valley (my hike out). Anyway, I made it to Heather Lake before the weather turned and it started to downpour. There was even a bit of small hail! I ended up camping at Emerald Lake to stay dry. On day 3, I made a day hike up to Pear Lake for a swim. The water was lovely! A bit chilly, but refreshing. I made it back to camp just in time because it started to downpour again. I ended up spending the rest of the afternoon playing cards, reading, and napping in my tent. It was very early in my trip to be bored. Alas, I made it through and actually had a really great time. I took the alone time to do some philosophy reading. Came up with some pretty interesting understandings of recent life events. Very fulfilling!
Day 3 was the roughest. I hiked out from Emerald Lake (5 miles) to meet Ryan and Ashley. We had lunch and then started off to Jenny Lake in the Jenny Lake Wilderness. It was 8.5 miles with a 3,000' elevation change. 1000' of it was in mile 7, very tasking, but we made it!! In total, it took about 6.5 hours to make it. Jenny Lake is beautiful and I recommend the hike to others. It may be a bit easier to come from the North instead of the South. On the way, we passed several meadows that opened in the middle of the forest. If anyone has any information on why this occurs, I would love to know. Why don't the trees just overwhelm the area? Anyway, we had some serious grub that night. I actually brought cous-cous! A little bland, but hit the spot. I wish we had more time at the lake to explore, but just seeing the sunset and sunrise were pretty darn good.
Anyway, we're all out of the park now. Ryan and Ashley on their way back to work. Me, well, I'm on my way to Yosemite NP. Starting to get jealous yet?
Photo Album
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