Backpacking

[Moliere]

It is unreal. I am too lazy to type the whole story, but i was left wanting to smack some of those idiots she was with up side the head. There were three of us in our group and we all felt the same. There was simply no excuse for leaving her alone like that.

So did you drive her home or were they just waiting for her to come down? Seems odd to leave her only to realize you still have to wait for her to show up at the parking lot so you can go home.

[bluegoose]

I cant seem to be able to creeksters pictures, either on the desktop computer or the ipad. User error?

[BigPiney]

I cant seem to be able to creeksters pictures, either on the desktop computer or the ipad. User error?

can't see them either.

[Paperback Writer]

I had a gorgeous hike on Saturday with my son. We had an early snowfall so we hiked up a mountain with a combination of about 8 inches of snow and beautiful fall colors. We also happened to be hunting deer on the muzzleloader hunt. I would post pics of the hike but most include photos of a dead deer and that never seems to go over too well. Still sore from the hike (my quads and shoulders are killing me - heavy backpacks on the way down).

I gotta know. How did you transport the dead deer? Did that factor into the heavy backpacks? I'm not a hunter so forgive me if it's obvious. During my hikes and backpacking excursions, when I see deer, I always wonder how hunters transport out their prey so far from roads and often in places where an all-terrain vehicle cannot access or are not permitted. I suppose that would leave horses, I dunno. Maybe hunters don't hike that far in.

[Eddie]

I gotta know. How did you transport the dead deer? Did that factor into the heavy backpacks? I'm not a hunter so forgive me if it's obvious. During my hikes and backpacking excursions, when I see deer, I always wonder how hunters transport out their prey so far from roads and often in places where an all-terrain vehicle cannot access or are not permitted. I suppose that would leave horses, I dunno. Maybe hunters don't hike that far in.

I've both helped carry out a boned out animal in packs, and helped drag a whole animal out. Depending on the terrain (uphill versus down) and distance, either seems to work.

As long as we're talking more about this deer - if some folks aren't interested in seeing it, maybe spoiler tags would work for those who are?

[The_Douger]

I wouldn't mind seeing it.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I gotta know. How did you transport the dead deer? Did that factor into the heavy backpacks? I'm not a hunter so forgive me if it's obvious. During my hikes and backpacking excursions, when I see deer, I always wonder how hunters transport out their prey so far from roads and often in places where an all-terrain vehicle cannot access or are not permitted. I suppose that would leave horses, I dunno. Maybe hunters don't hike that far in.

When I was a young lad we used to gut them and then drag them out. Sometimes we would tie a rope to the antlers and then tie a sturdy stick to the other end to use as a handle. But now we alway bone out the deer and haul out the de-boned meat and head in backpacks in heavy duty plastic bags (unless we happen to be road hunting). We take the front quarters, hind quarters, and back straps. It takes about an hour to do and you end up with two very heavy backpacks but it is 10x (100x?) easier than dragging a deer. For the life of me, I don't know how we used to do it and live to tell about it. We tend to hunt in some really rugged and remote areas.

[creekster]

I cant seem to be able to creeksters pictures, either on the desktop computer or the ipad. User error?

No idea what the problem is. Here are a couple more from a third party host.

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[creekster]

As you approach the summit you walk up a narrow ridge. At one point it is between 6-10 feet wide. Here is a panroama shot fo that narrow neck of land. (sorry.) you can see my boots and hiking poles in the shot for scale. Off one side is an almost vertical several thousand foot drop; off the other side is a very sttep drop of about 800' or so. You go off either side and you will only think about it for a few seconds. It was spectacular.

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[Jeff Lebowski]

No idea what the problem is. Here are a couple more from a third party host.

Looks to me like the first time you did it, you connected the photos as attachments. Third party host is always the best way to go.

[creekster]

Looks to me like the first time you did it, you connected the photos as attachments. Third party host is always the best way to go.

That is correct.

[creekster]

So did you drive her home or were they just waiting for her to come down? Seems odd to leave her only to realize you still have to wait for her to show up at the parking lot so you can go home.

We did not drive her home (her group was from Fresno). Most of her group was drinking on the hike and they were all sitting around waiting for her at the bottom. There was some sort of weirdness going on in the group dynamic, but bottom line is we couldnt figure out why anyone would leave a member of their group alone on the mountain in light clothing, without water and with darkness gathering.

[SteelBlue]

Looks to me like the first time you did it, you connected the photos as attachments. Third party host is always the best way to go.

Best way is straight from your phone using the insert image link.

[Guest]

Mt Shuksan

Mt Shuksan, North Cascades National Park, WA. Last week of Sept, '13.

Summit: 9135 ft
Route: Sulphide Glacier
Vertical Gain: 6571 ft
Distance (one way): 7 mi

The trailhead for the Sulphide Glacier route is at the top of Baker Lake (where HFN rules the world). The hike from the TH to high camp is a climbers trail and completely unmanaged. The 4000' gain has a total five switchbacks with the remainder consisting of a stair-stepper session up a rainforest of downed 40-year-old fir, biting flies, and mosquitoes.

The notch as you enter alpine region. The Picket Range in the background. Scree and boulder fields to come.



Climbing Pard. High camp. Baker River drainage below.



The forest ridges below and Baker Lake.



Final fingers of the Sulphide Glacier from camp.



Summit Pyramid upper right. Crystal Glacier middle right. In the late afternoon, after the full heat of the day, car-sized portions of icefall crack like slow train cars from the glacier and fall 2000' to Sulphide Lake below.



5:30 AM



Me. 6:30 AM. I live and sleep at 200 feet above sea level, once I'm above 6,500 it can be a grind.



For scale, center right is a party of two at the left of the crevasse. The rock summit pyramid is 700-feet high.



You can just make out the route, upper left, snaking between the crevasses. This late in the year it can be sketchy.



Grinding it out above the Hourglass. Each step had my full attention. You pucker up when looking into the blue of the crevasses which bracket the ascent; you can see your mortality down them.

[Guest]

Summit 10:00 AM. Looking east across the expanse of the North Cascades. They truly are the Alps of America.



North and several thousand feet of exposure down the Price Glacier.



The third ridge back is Border Peak, with BC in the beyond. I could see the top of Rainier to the south. Glacier. Stewart.



Baker and Table Mountain on the west.



Me. Descent. Descending in the mid-day sun made the glacier a convex mirror. I applied sunscreen inside my nose, but forgot about under my chin. Burn.





As they say, most accidents happen on the descent and I took a dive on a mix of scree and snow below high camp, nothing too bad, but still sketchy when you're tired. My knees were toast after jumping over deadfalls all the way down through the forest. It was jarring. I called my wife from a rest stop an hour from home because my legs were too spent to drive. Lol!

Fun trip. No doubt. I do question the risk/reward of alpine vs. backpacking once one has family, kids, etc. I internally debated the ratio several times on the way up the Summit pyramid, with the exposure of creation below.

We'll see.