Post by panatomicx on Nov 10, 2017 13:22:19 GMT -8
Another Summer backpacking trip-Where should we go? Sierras? Grand Canyon? (no, you have to do that in May). Daks? Whites? Colorado? 100 Mile Wilderness? Beartooths? Oh, yeah, that's right-we'll go back to the Beartooths.
3 man team this time-myself, Joe, and Frank joined us for the second year in a row. We just had to promise his wife Janet that we'd bring him back in one piece.
We flew into Bozeman, with haze so thick you couldn't see the hills around the airport. But as it turned out, the smoke would not be a problem on the hike, and the visibility was greatly improved once we drove farther east.
We stayed over in Red Lodge, and started out from the Island Lake trailhead the next day. We had a great hike in to Albino Lake, wildflowers just exploding, sunny for the most part, with just a brief period of sideways freezing rain, and NO MOSQUITOS! We camped in a small grove of trees, up to the right of the outlet stream; We had camped there before and I never tire of the view down the valley to Becker Lake.
Looks pretty!
Always have to have one rainy day,and day 2 was it. so we hung around camp, read, spent hours watching the raindrops coalesce as they ran down the tent. Did a little walking around after it cleared up a bit in the afternoon.
Albino
Our next objective was Crystal Lake, we hiked up over the saddle, through knee deep wildflowers, North past Jasper Lake. Hung a louie past Triskele, over to Donelson, then to Maryott. And here we ran into our first bit of adventure. A pretty steep snowfield which ran all the way down to the lake, with a lip that jutted over the water. I proposed crossing it, making kick steps in the snow. But Joe was having none of it, he was going up and over, and was well on his way before there was even any chance for discussion. (He's a lot smarter than me). The only problem was that it was that really loose, red scree, pretty steep. Did I mention that at this point there was also a fierce wind blowing sleet in our faces? Well there was, and it was up-slip back, up-slip back, slowly till we reached a big rock at the top which I tried to grab hold of only to have the pieces break off in my hand. But we did make it over, and it cleared up. We walked west past Maryott Lake, around a small cornice, and before us was a beautiful view of the Crystal Lake Basin. We had an easy descent to Crystal Lake, and found another idyllic campsite along the shore, with a perfect kitchen already installed.
On the way to Jasper
It felt steeper than it looks!
Crystal Lake Basin
To be Continued
3 man team this time-myself, Joe, and Frank joined us for the second year in a row. We just had to promise his wife Janet that we'd bring him back in one piece.
We flew into Bozeman, with haze so thick you couldn't see the hills around the airport. But as it turned out, the smoke would not be a problem on the hike, and the visibility was greatly improved once we drove farther east.
We stayed over in Red Lodge, and started out from the Island Lake trailhead the next day. We had a great hike in to Albino Lake, wildflowers just exploding, sunny for the most part, with just a brief period of sideways freezing rain, and NO MOSQUITOS! We camped in a small grove of trees, up to the right of the outlet stream; We had camped there before and I never tire of the view down the valley to Becker Lake.
Looks pretty!
Always have to have one rainy day,and day 2 was it. so we hung around camp, read, spent hours watching the raindrops coalesce as they ran down the tent. Did a little walking around after it cleared up a bit in the afternoon.
Albino
Our next objective was Crystal Lake, we hiked up over the saddle, through knee deep wildflowers, North past Jasper Lake. Hung a louie past Triskele, over to Donelson, then to Maryott. And here we ran into our first bit of adventure. A pretty steep snowfield which ran all the way down to the lake, with a lip that jutted over the water. I proposed crossing it, making kick steps in the snow. But Joe was having none of it, he was going up and over, and was well on his way before there was even any chance for discussion. (He's a lot smarter than me). The only problem was that it was that really loose, red scree, pretty steep. Did I mention that at this point there was also a fierce wind blowing sleet in our faces? Well there was, and it was up-slip back, up-slip back, slowly till we reached a big rock at the top which I tried to grab hold of only to have the pieces break off in my hand. But we did make it over, and it cleared up. We walked west past Maryott Lake, around a small cornice, and before us was a beautiful view of the Crystal Lake Basin. We had an easy descent to Crystal Lake, and found another idyllic campsite along the shore, with a perfect kitchen already installed.
On the way to Jasper
It felt steeper than it looks!
Crystal Lake Basin
To be Continued
