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.