Sept 13th
Around midnight last night I went out to take care of my nightly business. The stars were all out. There was not a cloud in the sky, promising a nicer day to come. This made it all the more miserable when the rains started to fall around five am. Steady rain, not hard but constant. And it continued. Later on when we were stirring and thinking about getting up we kept waiting, hoping for a break in the rain which might allow us to get packed up more easily. When we could wait no longer we packed up and set out with the rain still falling. It was our latest start yet, 10:15.
The going was slow early on with rocky trail tread and some steep inclines. The rain continued all morning, occasionally varying its strength but falling unabated. We passed an elk hunters camp, very elaborate with a canvas cabin tent, tarps, stoves and a fire.
The trail ascended a ridge with alpine lakes, glacial cirques and probably in better times very nice views. We could see only a brief glimpse of the areas beauty as the clouds occasionally parted.
In the afternoon we had a brief respite when the rains stopped for about an hour or so. Then they returned and continued to fall all afternoon and evening and are still falling even now. We had to set up camp in the rain.
The unpleasantness is that I am battling some kind of stomach bug, giving occasional cramps and pains. It started yesterday as we were leaving town. Its still there.
Phil “Nowhere Man” Hough
Leave a Reply