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| Hiking | 5.00 Miles |
450 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.00 Miles | | | |
| 450 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Since I had done the U-Bar trail twice before, and we had just done the stretch from the Pinchot Cabin to the botton of Dane Canyon, I thought it would be interesting to take the U-Bar north from the Dane Spring/Cabin to where it crossed Dane Canyon, then turn north and bushwhack down Dane Canyon to its confluence with Moonshine Draw/Canyon. Then we would take Moonshine Draw out (south) and find our way to the car at the Dane Spring parking lot along FR 321A, just above Dane Spring. What made this potential trek interesting? Well, we wanted to verify that West Moonshine Spring and Moonshine Spring, both located along Moonshine Draw, were aptly named -- i.e., did either one produce moonshine. We only wanted a small sample since we didn't want to get stopped by the hiking police for a HUI ticket. Wouldn't want to lose our hiking licenses or have an interlock put on our boots and packs.
Of course, the U-bar trail north from the Dane Spring is an easy hike - all downhill to the bottom of Dane Canyon. Dane Canyon north from there was fairly easy also, with only an occasional encounter with downfall and lots of game trails to follow. I had put waypoints on my GPS for the confluence of Dane Canyon and Moonshine Draw and that turned out to be a good idea. Moonshine Draw comes in sharply from the right and behind you and could easily be missed otherwise.
Moonshine Draw, on the otherhand, was littered with LOTS of downfall to climb over, around and under. Plus, there were lots of rocks to scramble over. Nothing approaching canyoneering, but slow going for just over 2 miles. West Moonshine spring didn't seem to be flowing (darn, no sampling of this baby) and Moonshine spring was fenced off to keep cattle, deer elk, and us out (again, no sample possible). Plus, the stench from something dead near Moonshine Spring was so bad we didn't even slow down going by.
Once you reach Moonshine spring, the trail becomes very nice, following an old roadbed. It is an easy walk back to the car at the Dane Sping parking lot. So, "mission unaccomplished," but so what? A day in the high country with nary another person sighted all day provides the solitude and exercise necessary to refresh the batteries. Plus, the deciduous trees are just beginning to show their fall colors in this region.
I've posted a picture set and gps track if anyone is interested. |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated
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| To plunder, to slaughter, to steal, these things they misname empire; and where they make a wilderness, they call it peace. -- Publius Cornelius Tacitus (56 AD – 117 AD) |
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