I had hoped for some companionship on this day but in the end I couldn't coordinate schedules to make that happen. I had kid patrol until 12:30 which didn't make me excited to try something more challenging. With the very warm temperatures I didn't want to stray too far off trail. I had planned on doing Bare Mt. with my friends so I figured I would still give a go solo. The North Fork Road was in descent shape and much better on the way out as they are currently grading it. In fact the way out was as good as one could hope for. I always forget how long of a drive it is to the Bare Mt. Trailhead. Finally I made it to find one other rig parked. I was happy that it wasn't as hot as I feared and the bugs have still not made an appearance.
I headed up the trail excited to find even cooler temperatures in the shade of the forest. While the water was high when I reached the crossing I was able to easily cross on twin logs. Be wary however one of the logs is past it's prime and I nearly snapped it going across. Soon I broke out of the trees to find that there was much more than expected snow above 5000'. I had expected the slopes under Canoe Peak to be mostly melted out. It appeared that everything above Bear Lakes was still snow covered. I gave some thought to changing my plans and climbing Canoe instead. I had no way of letting my wife know my change of plans so I decided to stick with my original plan. Once reaching the first switchback there is a cairn marking the fisherman's trail to Bear Lakes. The initial portion looks to be in better shape than I remember. The trail thankfully passes a few springs to keep the dog hydrated. I tried to speed through the sunny portions and go slower in the few shady portions because the sun was blazing down on me. Finally I reached the saddle and dropped pack. I could see that Paradise Lakes below me were mostly still frozen. I passed a couple of young women on there way down, they were the only two people I saw on the whole trip. There were a few annoying patches of snow on the summit push but nothing that was too bothersome. I was greeted on the summit with some stiff wind which took much of the sting on the very warm sunshine. I snapped many pictures since Bare provides a very nice vantage point of the surrounding area.
After a short rest I made my way back to my pack and started the descent to the car. I was able to make good time and soon I found myself back at the car. The drive out was made more difficult because for many portions I was driving straight into the sun making it nearly impossible to see. I also wanted to give a hearty thank you to the moron who was heading in with an immense light bar on the top of his truck. The lights were so bright that even with my sun glasses on I couldn't see anything but the blinding light. This setup could not be even close to being legal. I thought the sun was bad but these lights were considerably worse. I thankfully didn't run into him since I really couldn't see.
Approx 9 miles 3200ft of climb 4 hours car to car
No comments:
Post a Comment