Spring Break!

April 2-8, 2012:

I stayed close to home on Monday and Tuesday, but I left for another backpack trip Wednesday through Friday!  I left home during a snow storm that turned to rain the farther north I got, and finally cleared up entirely by the time I got to my intended hiking destination at Thirteen Mile trail.  We had a couple wildlife cameras there, and I needed to pull them.  I hiked the trail to the first camera, then cut cross country to the second camera to see if I could find any shed antlers in the woods.  I didn't find any, but I did find a fairly large pond--unusual in this dry area.  It's probably seasonal, but on the other hand, there isn't any vegetation in the middle and it's ringed by aspen, so it must stay wet enough even into late summer.  

I also made rookie mistake #1 at Thirteen Mile:  I had two pairs of gaiters in the car, but did I put either of them on?  Of course not!  So my shoes got soaked and my feet got cold.  Maybe someday I'll learn.

I got the cameras without any problem, though.  We didn't get much of interest, although there are some funny blurry deer photos that we are calling the "Ghost Deer."  The second camera had somehow been knocked off the tree it was attached to, and the bungee that we had used to place it was on the ground in four pieces.  I'm not quite sure how that could have happened--unless it was the Ghost Deer in action, angry at having been photographed.

After Thirteen Mile I drove on to Oroville.  The original plan was to locate Whistler Canyon, car camp at the trail head, and then go for the backpack on Thursday after Aaron arrived from Spokane.  The only problem was that I got completely lost.  The guidebook directions were off, the USGS map wasn't particularly helpful (not even when I took it to the ranger office on Thursday seeking their help), and there was no sign anywhere.  I tried everything except for the correct entrance, as it turns out, and then looped around the backside to see if I could find the old USFS road 100/converted to trail 100 described in the Pacific Northwest Trail Guide.  No luck.  Then it was practically dark and I couldn't figure out a place to camp.  I probably should have had a better plan to begin with (rookie mistake #2?) but I ended up back at Bonaparte Lake before I found a place I was willing to camp, and even that didn't feel particularly safe (I could see houses from the campground--I hate it when I can see houses from the campground!).

When I woke up Thursday morning I debated just heading back toward home, as I wasn't sure I'd ever locate that trail head.  However, I hate to give up on anything (ok, I'm super stubborn).  I stopped by the ranger station for directions that weren't particularly helpful, I took two or three wrong turns, I chatted with a nice local man who said he'd been there before but couldn't remember how to get to the trail head, and finally decided I'd try just one more turn before I gave up--and that was finally the correct one!

Of course, even when I was there I wasn't positive it was the right spot.  It didn't look anything like the picture I had seen of the trail head that the Backcountry Horsemen had constructed, and I had specifically asked the FS people if I would see the trail head sign when I got there (they said I would).  I got my backpack in order and hoped that Aaron didn't get as hopelessly lost as I had.  Just as I got everything packed a local woman drove up to take her dog for a walk.  When I asked if I was in the right spot, she confirmed that I was and then took me down to the future trail head where the big trail sign was located.  No wonder I couldn't find it before--the official parking lot isn't coming until later this summer.

Then came the cool part--the part that made getting lost (almost) worth it--the local woman showed me where the Whistler Canyon Pictographs were located!  I later got lots of great pictures of them.  It was very cool indeed to be able to see that!

Just as the woman and I walked back to the cars I saw that Aaron had arrived, apparently without getting too lost.  Then came rookie mistake--what am I up to now?--number 3.  We hiked down to take pictures of the pictographs, and as I moved to get at the right angle for a good picture I glanced to my right and noticed some poison ivy growing right next to me--touching my pant leg, in fact.  Aaron had been standing in the same spot not thirty seconds earlier.  So...I changed my hiking pants as soon as I got back to the car, but I still kept imagining that I was getting itchy for the rest of the backpack.  We dodged a bullet, though--no hives!

We were almost ready to leave when we met some more people who had driven up to the trail head.  One of the guys apparently worked for either the forest service or BLM; he gave us a tip about another hike we could check out on our way out of town: McLaughlin Canyon, just south of Tonasket.  Then we started our hike.

We didn't hike in very far before we set up a camp with a nice view and easy access to water.  Then we went for a nice long hike, some of it on trail and some of it cross country.  We never did see the bighorn sheep, but we did see plenty of wildflowers.  The day stayed mostly warm and sunny, although the wind picked up quite a bit after dinner.  In fact, we expected to wake up to snow-covered tents, but Friday was nice, too.

We decided to see McLaughlin Canyon after the hike out of Whistler Canyon, and that's when we made rookie mistake #4 and #5.  First, we assumed that the trail was on the same side of the road as the trail head.  Next, we didn't bother to stick the map back in the backpack before we started hiking.  In my defense, most of my belongings were strewn all over the back of the car since I didn't want to carry tent and sleeping bag and stove, etc. with me for a short hike.  The mistake led to a nice view from the top of the wrong hillside before we returned to the car to get the map.

McLaughlin is a pretty hike, but there are so many trees down across the trail!  There was a fire there a few years ago, and now a lot of the dead trees are falling.  It made me a little nervous when the wind picked up on our way back out.  It's BLM land, and a historical site where Native Americans once ambushed some miners.  I think it would be the perfect place for a trail project and eventually an interpretive hike.  In the meantime, the place is in serious need of a cleanup project--not the trail itself (although cleaning the deadfall would be a nice touch), but the trail head.  It is apparently the local dumping ground/shooting site, despite shot up signs telling people not to do so.

After that I continued on home, happily exhausted!  I returned to a snow-covered front lawn & news from my mom that it had snowed several inches after I left on Wednesday; it was good timing for my escape from town!

Saturday was the annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Community Center, and I only did some gardening in the afternoon.

I spent a lot of my Easter trying to get caught up on the grading I was supposed to have done earlier in the week, but I managed to escape for an afternoon hike at McKenzie Conservation Area.  Since my last visit they have installed trail signs indicating a nice long loop around the perimeter of the property, plus they have planted a native plant garden along the beach!  I think there is enough trail there now to run it; I didn't even take all of the marked routes today, but I think I covered about four miles.

Weekly mileage: approximately 14 miles, hiking; still no running.