Sometimes a chunk would break loose and make me grateful for helmets, one time a piece broke loose in an awkward fashion that convinced me that perhaps it had not and this trickster piece of ice smashed into my nose when I looked up at it to see what was going on. But I continued with the climb, now with watery eyes and dribbling dots of red up the ice like Hansel with his breadcrumbs.
I used the red light of my headlamp to take a final check of my map and get my bearings before embarking down the valley once more. Keeping one eye closed, again, proved to be essential as exposing my one eye to even the red light turned out to make it useless for night time navigation, even on a trail that could almost be described as clear as a highway. As I walked into an extra wide flat bottomed section of the valley, things became slightly more clear as a dim white halo began to form on the distant daggered peaks to the left that would soon unveil a rising full moon. I stopped when I saw a large village in the distance to scan the area. The topography was flat and exposed, there wasn't much I could do to make my approach any more stealth-like, I would just carefully follow the trail in and be prepared to bail.
At the end of an unassumingly long washboarded dirt road, was the Lost Creek campground and a few places to park for backpackers. We suited up, an old heavy laden yellow pack for me and a bright orange dog pack for Koal. One last look at the car, a feeling of the pockets to make sure nothing was left, and we were off on this 27.7 mile journey! With over 6000 feet of elevation gain and experience not on our side, this was set to be a memorable one.
Do you love spending time in the great outdoors—and being comfortable while you do it? It’s not a trick question; of course you do. If you prefer to be comfy, dry, and at an ideal temperature while you’re following your...
So there is plenty to be said about the benefits of merino wool! We can talk about it's 'fabled warm when wet' properties. We can talk about the ultra soft, non-itchy texture. Or how about it's durability and breathability. Even...
The Great Himalayan Trail... I heard that it hadn't been done solo before (later to find I was the 5th), so I derailed my plans to go scuba diving for a Himalayan adventure. The trail traverses the country of Nepal...
As my first real backpacking experience the 4700 mile journey from Steamboat Springs, CO to Prudhoe Bay, AK was a trial by fire. Starting in the middle of May on 8 feet of snow, I began the trip that would...
