Logbook Sep 2023. Stop by, say hi! đ
Logbook Sep 2023. Stop by, say hi! đ
A friendly place for casual discussion that doesnât warrant a post.
Got out for a few days. Originally planned for 4 days, but Monday's weather was nasty and Friday was supposed to get snow and 50 mph winds, so we cut out part of the route and did 3. We got snowed/sleeted on the first night and woke to a completely glazed over tent. Super fun to clean up before packing up.
The rest of the trip was mostly uneventful beside winds picking up as the trip went on. We saw plenty of wildlife. Moose, elk, owls, bats, pika, a salamander. Someone supposedly saw a wolf there recently. Below is a very fresh mtn goat kill we found up on the ridge line.
We didn't see more than a few people the whole time, but that didn't keep us from having to put out someone's still very alive bed of coals at their campsite. They could've easily taken the 5 minutes to do it as they were less than 100 feet from water. Extremely annoying.
Good trip otherwise. The fall colors were really starting to pop.
3Looks nice, great pics! Love hearing about the weather and wildlife, how do salamanders survive up there? Howâd you hear about the wolf sighting? Sad to hear about the fire but itâs all too common.
3Thanks. I believe the salamanders burrow under mud and go into a sort of torpor. There are a ton of meadows and marshes. It seems like the area supports a large variety of wildlife.
My SO read about the wolf sighting. We weren't too far from Wyoming, which could explain it. I'm not sure of they've done it yet, but the state was planning on releasing some wolves as well.
Sad to hear about the fire but itâs all too common.
Yes, definitely. UC Boulder did a study and found that 84% of wildfires are human-caused. Nuts.
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Crap... I am getting thunderfrozensnowed out of my trip to the Winds I planned this weekend. Should have gone in August...
Oh well. Going to do a short trip to Alaska Basin in the Tetons to test the gear out in slightly less difficult conditions and much less I'll-be-fucked-if-something-goes-wrong outcomes. Husband and I want to test out temperatures down to about 30 F and some rain/snow.
3Nice backup đ be safe, take pictures and let us know how it goes!
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Did a single night trip in the Tetons on the Green Lake/Granite basin loop on Labor Day weekend with my husband+dog and my friend who is a casual backpacker. Got rained on like crazy on the second day, part of the same storm system that gave Miles grief.
I go about once a year with this friend, and I really don't know if I will do it again. I'm basically an unpaid guide for her, and she doesn't have the same stamina/conditioning as me and DrBohr. Worse, she doesn't seem to understand how dangerous conditions can actually arise and how sometimes you have to hike fast, get uncomfortable, and get out back to safety. We estimated we would be out before noon on day 2 and would miss the worst rain, and I communicated these concerns and considerations... but we were so slow (and I built in more time!) that we got slammed with rain the last four miles, the trail turned to running streams and thick mud. Thunder was rumbling up high.
I was really mad for a day, and then I realized that I can't blame her for who she is. But I do have to take responsibility as trip "leader" for safety (I do the initial trail planning and navigating on trail - husband is a partner in giving feedback and learning the planned route and executing the plan). I want us to go in, have a great time, and get out safely taking into account conditions. But I don't have the ability to accurately plan a trip with her, especially when our margins of safety go down.
3Sorry to hear you got rained on but glad to hear you made it out ok. My wife and I have lost a hiking friend years ago after a harder-than-expected Presidential Traverse with a friend who had gotten badly out of shape. Back then we didnât really know anything and didnât realize what we were getting into. But it sounds like you do know what youâre doing; is there an opportunity to limit trips with the casual friend to lower risk endeavors?
1Oof that sounds tough. Sorry you lost a hiking buddy.
Yeah, husband and I talked about limiting to low risk, short endeavors (7 miles max per day) but that makes it quite challenging to do something around here. And we will have to go on bluebird days only, meaning being willing to cancel a planned hike.
Give me a year... I'm sure by then I will be willing to come up with something. Right now I'm still, shall we say, not in the mood.
2That was the trail, and not even the worst of the mud. Wee!
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New John Zahorian video: hiking across oregon on the PCT [no music] [2023]
2love the nature shots and the minimal sound, the guy has a tasteful aesthetic
2The sound is really nice in this one. Headphones recommended!
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