Journal July 13 – Today We Hit the Wall
Crossed over Sun River Pass, and spent the morning and first part of the afternoon walking through the same forest burn area we have been in. As with most fires the burn has created a mosaic and regeneration is variable. Trail crews have already been working and many sections of trail have short re-routes.
The burn has opened up some filtered views of the nearby mountains. The loss of canopy has opened up a lot of light and walking through these burns is much hotter and drier than the still green forested areas. Another phenomena of the burned are are the odd noises. One noise seemed to be something like a frog making a clicking sound (we were in damper areas when we heard this). The other sound was more of an incessant grinding and seemed to becoming from under the blackened bark, near a small pile of sawdust.
We came across a 9 person forest service trail crew out of Choteau, out on a ten day stint. We finally hit what these crews call “the green” – the unburned part of the forest. Much nicer walking. We followed “Open Creek” up a narrowing valley as it made a number of umapped switchbacks. At a trail junction beneath Kevan Mountain, we turned south and started up a high ridge encountering patches of snow not yet melted. We detoured past milky, glacial green Levale Lake. Continuing up the ridge, the snow cover got more frequent and deeper, slowing progress. The altitude, too, slowed progress.
We crested the ridge at 7,535 ft and then we hit “The Wall.” Spread out in front of us, the North Wall is geological extension north of the same formation known as the Chinese Wall. Sheer cliffs drop from the divide to the east creating a dramatic escarpement. NOW we are truly in “The Bob”. The last couple days have just been what you need to get through to be HERE. Walking on the east side of the Wall, late in the day, the light isn’t the best for photos, but the landscape is inspiring.
We droped down to a high alpine meadow/bowl area just south of the ridge and camped among Beargrass and Glacier Lilies at about 7,300 feet, our highest camp yet. The views from camp are stunning and very much up close and personal. At this elevation the evening is cooling off quickly and we head for the tent while the light is still fading on the high rock faces.
Trail Miles for the day 12.0 (although it seemed like more)
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