Post by panatomicx on Sept 5, 2020 10:58:23 GMT -8
Following Tim's successful ascent of Fremont last summer, he was excited to try Granite. He left camp with Micah and Brooke at about 7:00, not exactly an alpine start, but the beginning of a long day. Joe and I stayed behind, and scouted out our route out of Rough Lake. Many dark clouds passed by overhead during the day, along with a few showers, and we were a bit concerned when the trio had not returned by 5:00, 10 hours in. Two fellows arrived at the lake and set up camp on the next ridge, they had an InReach, as did Tim, and we tried to see if they could send him a message. We could not figure it out though. We asked one if the had done any climbing and he replied "Heck no! Those big mountains scare me. I'm staying down here with the bears!" We finally saw Micah come bounding down the hill at about 7:00, their return trip had been long, and they had had to shelter from the rain a few times, but they made the summit!
Heading up!
The hike from Rough to Oly Lake is one of my favorites. Rock, snow, flowers, boulder hopping, stream crossing, a bit of route finding, it has everything. we put up the tents, and spent the afternoon walking around the many streams, pools and little waterfalls of the drainage up above. Tim's hat got blown off, and in one of the more suspenseful moments of the hike, we watched it for about a half hour as it slowly, excruciatingly slowly-drifted back to the bank.
Pretty, right?
The next days destination turned out to be Fizzle Lake. We headed down the flower filled drainage from Oly back to the trail. We had considered an option to head back via Gallery Lake, but when we reached Fossil, we decided to stay on trail. Found another real nice place to camp at Fizzle Lake, and explored a bit.
Last day, down, down, down on the trail, off the plateau. We were on the Beaten Path now, and there were quite a few folks hiking. This is where we ran into several groups of trail runners, including the two guys who managed to set an out and back FKT. (56 mi!). Our waiter that evening, who also worked as a guide told us that due to the increased traffic, The Forest Service is planning to implement a permit system for the Rosebud Trail.
And that's where it ended, with several beers-Bent Nail- and many slices at Red Lodge Pizza.
Another good outing, considering the current unsettled situation. My acclimatization scheme was successful, had few symptoms. And having the young people with us made it even better. Their enthusiasm and ability was inspiring. Micah was indefatigable, and Brooke was a shoo-in for Rookie of the Year, with two Ready on Time citations, despite a few moments of Type III fun on Granite!
Let's do it again!
Heading up!
The hike from Rough to Oly Lake is one of my favorites. Rock, snow, flowers, boulder hopping, stream crossing, a bit of route finding, it has everything. we put up the tents, and spent the afternoon walking around the many streams, pools and little waterfalls of the drainage up above. Tim's hat got blown off, and in one of the more suspenseful moments of the hike, we watched it for about a half hour as it slowly, excruciatingly slowly-drifted back to the bank.
Pretty, right?
The next days destination turned out to be Fizzle Lake. We headed down the flower filled drainage from Oly back to the trail. We had considered an option to head back via Gallery Lake, but when we reached Fossil, we decided to stay on trail. Found another real nice place to camp at Fizzle Lake, and explored a bit.
Last day, down, down, down on the trail, off the plateau. We were on the Beaten Path now, and there were quite a few folks hiking. This is where we ran into several groups of trail runners, including the two guys who managed to set an out and back FKT. (56 mi!). Our waiter that evening, who also worked as a guide told us that due to the increased traffic, The Forest Service is planning to implement a permit system for the Rosebud Trail.
And that's where it ended, with several beers-Bent Nail- and many slices at Red Lodge Pizza.
Another good outing, considering the current unsettled situation. My acclimatization scheme was successful, had few symptoms. And having the young people with us made it even better. Their enthusiasm and ability was inspiring. Micah was indefatigable, and Brooke was a shoo-in for Rookie of the Year, with two Ready on Time citations, despite a few moments of Type III fun on Granite!
Let's do it again!
