Hardscrabble Lakes 9/8/04

After Last week's all day affair I was looking for something somewhat shorter. Justin joined me for this trip. I thought he might get a kick out of the Middle Fork Rd, thankfully regraded up until Dingford Creek. We managed to bump or way to the parking area about .5 miles short of the end of the road. It is just past the huge tree that is down on the road. The weather was perfect but I knew it would change to rain showers later in the day. There is a fisherman's trail that tacks to the NE towards Hardscrabble Creek after joining a old logging road. The (trail) is quite overgrown but was suprisingly easier to follow than I expected. The trail,slash old road, peters out in a huge rockslide that is cairned enough to follow without too much of a problem. Most descriptions of this route have you cross the creek about 2/3 of the way to the lake. I chose not to do this and found fairly easy going all the way to the lake. I managed to catch some nice rainbows in the short time I fished. We debated on what to do next. I had hoped for a summit try of Big Snow Mt via Upper Hardscrabble Lake, but with the impending rain I thought wiser. We decided to just to go to the upper lake. There is small pool above the lower lake if you follow the stream about 100 yards upstream from the start of the pool you will find a good fisherman's trail that will take you to the upper lake. I did a little more fishing until I noticed a gully on the south shore that looked that would take me towards point 5598 which I have seen referred to as Hardscrabble Dome. I zigzagged my way up the heather slopes for about 30 minutes to reach the summit. The views are quite amazing well worth the extra 1000ft of climb. The downclimb went much faster than expected and soon I was back to pick up Justin who had stayed at the lake to catch a nap. I didn't want to linger too long because it was quite apparent the it would rain soon. We hightailed it to the lower lake and just passed the big rockslide when it began to rain in earnest. I was relieved to make it through the hardest part of the descent without rain, however the lower stretches became unpleasant due to the rain on all the brush. We both became quite wet and were most happy when we finally returned to the truck.

Enchantment Lakes Loop 9/1/04

With one dog out of commission and not wanting to be unfair and bring his brother along I was solo for the first time in a long time. Since dogs are not allowed in the Enchantments I thought this would be a great time to explore one of the crown jewels of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. I managed to get my self out of bed and the unseemly hour of 4 am. I was pleased to make it the Snow Lakes trailhead by 7. I started off rather depressed, it just wasn't the same without the company of my hiking partners. As I started to get used to the fact that they weren't there I rounded a corner and was shocked to see a mountain goat eating grass in the middle of the trail. I have never seen a goat and wasn't sure what to do. I waited a bit but since the goat was content to eat his grass less than ten feet away I was forced to press the issue. The goat neither seemed afraid or agitated by my presence. As I slowly moved towards the goat he merely moved the same distance forward. Soon I had a new hiking partner as I followed ten feet behind for a quarter mile. I was sure this would have gone on longer but the goat was spooked as we passed some people. I was impressed with the goats physical stature, I have never seen anything with so much leg defintion as well as overall bulk. It was quite an amazing specimen. My goal for the day was to go over Prusik Pass and summit Cannon Mt. This is quite a long ways so I knew I had to keep a good pace. Once I passed Upper Snow Lake the trail became a bit harder to follow, but there are Cairns that easily show the way. I broke out the fly rod when I reached Leprechaun Lake, catching a few smaller cutts. I was quite amazed with the sheer amount of people in the area. I think over the entire day I must have seen 40+ people. That is more people than I usually see in a year of hiking. I fished my way along the trail until I reached the junction for Prusik Pass. This is when my plans changed, I really wanted to see the upper Enchanment basin and I always wanted to see Aasgard Pass. The problem was if I came out the Stuart Lake trail how was I going to get back to my car? I decided that I would risk having to walk the road back to my car if I couldn't get a ride. As it turns out I am quite glad I decided to do this loop. The views from Aasgard Pass are quite stunning, I was taken aback by the view of Colchuck Lake 2200ft below. I was quite worried about the descent but it is well marked and if you take your time it is much easier than want you might expect. Once reaching Lake level I picked my way to the outlet and made the drop to the Stuart Lake trailhead. It was now nearing dusk and my hopes for catching a ride were becoming quite small. I reached the parking lot at 8pm 13 hours after I started. It was now dark and there was no one to give me a ride. I donned my headlamp and sandles and started running the road. After about 3 miles a car came and I managed to squeeze into the back seat. I was so very thankful that I didn't have to walk the remaining 5 or so miles. This was my most productive day ever I passed 12 lakes and did nearly 7000ft of climb spread over 23+ miles. It surely was a day I will never forget.