DESTINATION Fault Lake #59 - IPNF 1 Photoset
2024-06-29 | |
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| Hiking | 12.16 Miles |
2,808 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.16 Miles | 5 Hrs 42 Mns | | 2.27 mph |
| 2,808 ft AEG | 20 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | This was the hike I had originally planned for last week, but didn't get around to it until today. Got to the trailhead around 0815. Five other vehicles there. Temps around 60 degrees, high clouds. The main creek crossing is immediate. It was flowing strongly with snow melt. I looked around for a few minutes to see if there was a way across without fording the creek. Nope. Took off my shoes and socks and carefully crossed. Thigh deep water, strong current, but I was able to brace myself against a few large boulders.
Once my shoes were back on, I followed the trail uphill. The first few miles were a generic walk thru a forest. Good trail, lots of trees, limited views. Pleasant, but not very exciting. Saw several small groups of backpackers who were heading downhill.
Gunsight Creek was kind of neat. It was a solid granite cascade, and was flowing pretty well. I got across with dry shoes. After that, the views started to open up a bit more and I could see two snow rimmed cirques ahead of me. Very pretty.
The final mile is steeper and rockier, but the views got better and better. Walking thru the granite was gorgeous. Final steep push up to the lake, which was still surrounded by snow. Some snow left on the trail, one spot of postholing, but not too bad. I was glad I waited an extra week to do this one though. Spent a few minutes taking pics of the lake and listening to three women having a very loud conversation about the bodily functions they refuse to do while backpacking. One woman proudly announced she can go without for eight days. I'm surprised she still has functioning intestines. Not wanting to get stuck hiking back downhill near them, I left ahead of them, mainly because I did not want to learn anything else like that.
It got sunny on the hike back downhill, and a little warm, but was still only in the 70s. Just past the Gunsight Creek crossing, I passed two women with horses who were taking a lunch break. They had decided the crossing wouldn't be safe for the horses (one rider was very experienced, the other definitely was not) with the amount of water flowing over the granite and turned around there. The experienced rider could have been @tibber 's twin. Same everything--appearance, mannerisms, voice, accent, age. We chatted for a moment and I even asked her if she had relatives in AZ, although she said no.
After that, it was a quick hike back to the trailhead. Once at the final creek crossing, I poked around for a moment, but still couldn't find a better place to cross, so it was once again a barefooted crossing bracing myself against the boulders. 77 degrees at the finish. This was a very pretty hike, and I'd be tempted to hike it again in the fall. Good road too, which is nice. Lots of water and mud all along the trail, so I was happy I opted to wear the waterproof Salomons today. |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
Lots of flowers and bear grass |
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| Stop crying and just go do the hike. |
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