The final taste of freedom

 As our previous outings resulted in hasty retreats through snow storms we decided that we should head south to warmer climes.  We had previously spent a couple of days in Zion on our way north and had scouted a backpack trip that we wanted to do, so we decided that this would be a perfect time to do it.  We got a hiking permit and set up a shuttle to take us to our trail head the following day.  We settled into a desert camp and complained constantly about how damn hot it was.  The sun was blazing with temps in the low 90s and, as we were pasty white from our time up north, a bit unforgiving.  We met our shuttle at the visitors center and were soon sorting out our packs at the Lee Pass trail head.  We hiked in a bit over 7 miles to our camp in La Verkin Canyon.  The colors in the high country were still nice, especially the bright red vine maples.  The following day we took it easy and spent the day hiking around enjoying the fall colors and red cliffs.   

We then hiked through Hop Valley to Wildcat Canyon for our third night camping.  We passed several other parties-who had the same idea as us for enjoying the falls colors-during our hike.  It turned out that all of our previous backpacking paid off as we found only one camp in Wildcat Canyon.  We did feel a bit guilty as the other two parties were stumbling around trying to find a flat area in near darkness, but that feeling faded as we sipped our hot chocolate.  Our second to last, or if you prefer to sound snazzy-penultimate, day of hiking was fantastic as we traversed along the tops of the canyon rims.  Arriving at camp we noticed that we had nearly consumed our water supplies and so we decided that we might as well drink the rest and head out for the nearby spring.  An hour of thirsty walking later we both agreed that we might not have studied the map as well as we should have.  After returning from our water quest we enjoyed a great sun set overlooking Zion Canyon.  It was pretty strange to hike down into Zion Valley and all the tourist after five days backpacking.  On the way down we dropped out packs off and climbed up to Angles Landing

 We only had a few days left before we had to be back to Flagstaff and decided to enjoy some more fall colors on the north rim of the Grand Canyon.  After stopping at Jacob lake for some cookies and a milk shake, we drove out to Parissawampitts (no idea on how to pronounce it) point and camped right on the rim.  We spent the next day hiking the Rainbow Rim trail; we had great views of the canyon and trees were still holding their color in the dales.  Heading back to Flagstaff the following day the reality of having to return to work and real life started to set in - bummer. 



Damn you Diablos!!

After being run out of the Wallowa Mountains by the early snow we recovered in Lewiston before heading into Idaho and the Seven Devils area.  As we neared Riggins, where the turn to the Seven Devils area was, we noticed that the road to the trailhead went up to 8,000 feet, well above the snow line.  After a quick check of the map we decided to re-route to the wild and scenic Rapid River that borders the Seven Devils area.  We arrived at the trailhead at 5; a perfect alpine start to our day, except for the fact that it was 5 p.m.  We hiked in an hour and a half and made camp as the sky darkened.   We awoke to a great day, clear skies and nice temps, and decided to head into the high country. 



We spent the day hiking up the Rapid River and then up Paradise Flats camping just below some peaks.  We had a bit of a mishap on the way up.  Alexis decided that, while crossing a small stream, one of the rocks in the middle of the stream was sticking up a bit too much.  To remedy the situation she sacrificed herself by slamming her body down on the rock in an unsuccessful bid to make the crossing safer for future travelers.  She then spent the rest of the day grimacing and gimping up the hill to camp.  That night before the sun set I noticed some strange white substance on my pack, upon closer inspection it turned out to be a hardy coating of frost.  It was a bit nippy at 6500 feet.   

 

As Alexis was still a bit stiff from her previous day’s adventures we decided to make it a short day.  We set out to hike to Ruth Lake, but missed the trail we intended to take.  At the pass between valleys I looked at the map a plotted a short cut over a nearby peak to get us back on track.  The short cut turned out great; not only did Alexis get to stretch out her bruised posterior, but we also got back on track.  Ruth Lake was beautiful, if a bit snowy.  Alexis had mentioned not wanting to hike through snow or camp on snow but she did agree that, after we had done both, the view was great.


 
We woke at Ruth Lake to the pitter patter of rain on the tent.  Lucky for us the rain eased and the sun came out for a minute (turns out this was the last we saw of the sun and it might have been better if the sun had never suckered us in).  As it looked like the weather might be improving we decided to take the longer, higher, route and set off after a quick pack up.  As we climbed towards our first pass a light snow began to fall..........  We decided to toss caution to the wind and continue with our planed route up and over Horse Heaven peak.  The weather continued to worsen and the snow continued to deepen.  We followed a set of horse tracks, left by a early morning hunter, and finally found the summit near noon.  I thought that the weather wasn't too bad but Alexis had other opinions--she called it a blizzard.  We stopped at the cabin at the summit to get out of the wind and check the map before descending.  The next seven hours were spent hiking as fast as possible through the blowing rain/snow mixture in a bid to get out to our truck and avoid spending our last planned night in a soggy tent.  We stopped for a brief lunch around 4 and decided that we could make the last 7 miles before pitch dark.  Turns out you can hike really fast when you are cold and not too far from a warm hotel.  Despite the turn in the weather we had a great trip.  We are now in Boise to visit with our friends Rob and Betsy again and then off for our last adventure in Zion.
 

Wallowa Moutains

We set out for eight days of backpacking in the Wallowa Mountains in shorts and tee shirts.  We spent our first night at the popular lake basins area.  We left the parking lot a bit late so we got to camp near sun down and quickly set about to put up the tent and make dinner.  The area was gorgeous but a bit crowded for us, we did see three other groups.  The next morning we packed up and headed over Horton and Frazier passes and attempted to take a great short cut I scouted out on the map.  Unfortunately we didn't have a topo map of the area and a rather large drainage blocked my short cut, Alexis was mildly not amused.  We bush-whacked 1000 vertical feet down an avalanche path and made camp just as the sun was setting.



The following day we got up a bit late and headed up towards the lake I was trying to short cut us to, but this time by the trail route.  After hiking all day up a pass and back down the other side we found a camp by Cached Lake a mile or so short of our original goal but it was after all getting dark.  Day four found us a bit on the sore side (Alexis blamed the avalanche chute) and we decided to take a layover day.  We enjoyed the day hiking down to our original goal lake.  After returning to camp Alexis decided to enjoy the sun in camp while I hiked over another pass to a great little lake, Pop Lake.



We woke in the middle of the night to a heavy rain, which slowly relented to a drizzle.  That morning the rain stopped enough for us to make breakfast and pack up our camp.  As the weather turned again towards rain we hiked back over the pass and down to the Minam Valley; it was much easier hiking down.  We weren't quit sure which route we were going to take back to our truck, but we still had three days, and decided to head down valley.  We stopped, surprisingly enough, a couple of hours before darkness fell and had a great camp near the Minam River.  The weather was still not looking great but we had a camp fire and settled in for the night.



When we awoke the following day (after a full night of rain) the cloud ceiling was only a couple hundred feet above us.  As I was getting breakfast together the clouds broke and I noticed that the surrounding hills were a peculiar shade of white just a thousand feet above us.  The weather didn't seem to be improving so we decided that it would be prudent to move into the drainage that our truck was in, not the next one over as our other exit route was 35 miles of trail and about the same of hitch-hiking.  We first started up the Minam Valley, but a sun break convinced us to take the more direct route.  After the first hour of hiking the snow started falling, after another 20 minutes it started sticking on the ground.  We pressed on and reached the pass after another two hours of hiking, sometimes through knee-deep snow.  We reached our truck just before it was completely black and drove just down the hill to sleep.  Unfortunately a mouse and found its way into the back of the truck (we've been fearing this all year with all the food in the truck) and kept us up most of the night.  We are now recovering at a motel in Lewiston Idaho and are planning to head to the Seven Devils area for another backpacking trip.