“Witch’s Hut” by Nutnfancy (’Where The Air Is Thin’ Actual Pt 1)
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With several thousand feet in vertical gain done on this day’s hike, we had our work cut out for us. But the scenery and the specialness of the experience gives just reward. This hike is amazingly beautiful, traversing many quaking aspens, waterfalls, wild flowers of all kinds, conifers, montane forests, subalpine and alpine zones, and arriving in high altitude talus and rocky slopes above the tree line. My hiking companions once again on this Nutnfancy Backpacking Adventure are LastSuspect, my son, and Allie the Mountain Dog, our trained female black lab. Both hike strong without complaint which makes the hike fun. I include lots of hiking footage in Actual Part 1 to show both the work required and the wondrous scenery. Of particular beauty were the waterfalls and run off streams we crossed. But I don’t let the scenery distract us from potentially dangerous portions of the climb. At one point in the trail, a snowy chasm above a stream that has eroded a tunnel underneath the snow field. This snow patch, the mountain, tunnel, and stream plunge steeply downslope with jagged rocks as a floor and a 2 ft high ceiling. If someone slipped underneath the snow slab into that tunnel, it would be a difficult rescue and hypothermia would set it in quickly. We navigate this section carefully and actually Suspect needs a fast helping hand there when he falls. We reach the high mountain basins and it feels good to find our mountain goats friends not too far off. I weigh on what I feel …
“Hike Now, Play Later” by Nutnfancy (’Summer Snow’ Actual Pt 1)
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Leave the push-button world behind and come on along for a Nutnfancy backpacking trip. It seems like it’s always a sacrifice to peel away from the world and make it out to my wilderness places. Messages pile up, phones go unanswered, emails fill the inbox, and careers are put aside for awhile. But it’s always worth it and it creates one of those special memorable experiences. I do my best in this series to share it with you. As I mention in many of my vids, a wilderness backpacking adventure is one of my top recommended ways to make memories with your friends and family, instill wilderness confidence, learn about your gear (and yourself), and to “depussify” your children. That’s because it’s hard work and requires planning and lots of effort. Here we hike in about 7 miles on what soon becomes a snow covered, hidden trail. As shown, wading and post holing through 4 foot snow banks will wear you out, especially at high elevations. The upside to to this difficulty was the complete isolation we quickly achieved on this trip; we saw no one else in the three days we were up there and we owned the basin (though in warmer days this is a very high use area). With a steady but deliberate pace we reach a gorgeous high mountain lake, still partially frozen from the long winter. It is serene and beautiful. On the trail in this Part 1 of “Summer Snow Actual” I discuss trekking poles, backpacks, boots, gaitors, teaching your kids to hike, dog training, and other backpacking subjects …
“Hike Now, Play Later” by Nutnfancy (’Summer Snow’ Actual Pt 1)
|
Leave the push-button world behind and come on along for a Nutnfancy backpacking trip. It seems like it’s always a sacrifice to peel away from the world and make it out to my wilderness places. Messages pile up, phones go unanswered, emails fill the inbox, and careers are put aside for awhile. But it’s always worth it and it creates one of those special memorable experiences. I do my best in this series to share it with you. As I mention in many of my vids, a wilderness backpacking adventure is one of my top recommended ways to make memories with your friends and family, instill wilderness confidence, learn about your gear (and yourself), and to “depussify” your children. That’s because it’s hard work and requires planning and lots of effort. Here we hike in about 7 miles on what soon becomes a snow covered, hidden trail. As shown, wading and post holing through 4 foot snow banks will wear you out, especially at high elevations. The upside to to this difficulty was the complete isolation we quickly achieved on this trip; we saw no one else in the three days we were up there and we owned the basin (though in warmer days this is a very high use area). With a steady but deliberate pace we reach a gorgeous high mountain lake, still partially frozen from the long winter. It is serene and beautiful. On the trail in this Part 1 of “Summer Snow Actual” I discuss trekking poles, backpacks, boots, gaitors, teaching your kids to hike, dog training, and other backpacking subjects …
“Hike Now, Play Later” by Nutnfancy (’Summer Snow’ Actual Pt 1)
|
Leave the push-button world behind and come on along for a Nutnfancy backpacking trip. It seems like it’s always a sacrifice to peel away from the world and make it out to my wilderness places. Messages pile up, phones go unanswered, emails fill the inbox, and careers are put aside for awhile. But it’s always worth it and it creates one of those special memorable experiences. I do my best in this series to share it with you. As I mention in many of my vids, a wilderness backpacking adventure is one of my top recommended ways to make memories with your friends and family, instill wilderness confidence, learn about your gear (and yourself), and to “depussify” your children. That’s because it’s hard work and requires planning and lots of effort. Here we hike in about 7 miles on what soon becomes a snow covered, hidden trail. As shown, wading and post holing through 4 foot snow banks will wear you out, especially at high elevations. The upside to to this difficulty was the complete isolation we quickly achieved on this trip; we saw no one else in the three days we were up there and we owned the basin (though in warmer days this is a very high use area). With a steady but deliberate pace we reach a gorgeous high mountain lake, still partially frozen from the long winter. It is serene and beautiful. On the trail in this Part 1 of “Summer Snow Actual” I discuss trekking poles, backpacks, boots, gaitors, teaching your kids to hike, dog training, and other backpacking subjects …
“Witch’s Hut” by Nutnfancy (’Where The Air Is Thin’ Actual Pt 1)
|
With several thousand feet in vertical gain done on this day’s hike, we had our work cut out for us. But the scenery and the specialness of the experience gives just reward. This hike is amazingly beautiful, traversing many quaking aspens, waterfalls, wild flowers of all kinds, conifers, montane forests, subalpine and alpine zones, and arriving in high altitude talus and rocky slopes above the tree line. My hiking companions once again on this Nutnfancy Backpacking Adventure are LastSuspect, my son, and Allie the Mountain Dog, our trained female black lab. Both hike strong without complaint which makes the hike fun. I include lots of hiking footage in Actual Part 1 to show both the work required and the wondrous scenery. Of particular beauty were the waterfalls and run off streams we crossed. But I don’t let the scenery distract us from potentially dangerous portions of the climb. At one point in the trail, a snowy chasm above a stream that has eroded a tunnel underneath the snow field. This snow patch, the mountain, tunnel, and stream plunge steeply downslope with jagged rocks as a floor and a 2 ft high ceiling. If someone slipped underneath the snow slab into that tunnel, it would be a difficult rescue and hypothermia would set it in quickly. We navigate this section carefully and actually Suspect needs a fast helping hand there when he falls. We reach the high mountain basins and it feels good to find our mountain goats friends not too far off. I weigh on what I feel …
“Frog Serenade” by Nutnfancy (’Summer Snow’ Actual Pt 2)
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It would be easy to turn back when we ran into the snow. Most people did. As Summer Snow Part 2 vid picks up, you’ll see how late summer snow occludes the trail and made for some arduous miles of hiking through the unavoidable drifts. Never mind the at-times rocky trail and hill climbing which presents their own challenges to the uncommitted. It seems even on this holiday weekend, few other hikers were willing to push through these drifts (once in the mountain basin, we saw no other people at all). My son LastSuspect surprised me with his hiking commitment and he issued few complaints. Allie the Mountain dog was again an eager and faithful trail companion, researching every opportunity for signs of critters. Along the way we talk of the wilderness mindset, our camping plans (we hiked deeper in then returned to the original lake), preparedness items for these parts, SAWC backpacking realities (which some still do not comprehend because they don’t do this), tent setup and site prep, the bummer of not having a fire (restricted near lakes), cool lighting products, the remote possibilities of bear and camp security, “dogness” care, foot maintenance, and how Snow Sealed boots rock. We also we revel in the majestic scenery we achieved and enjoy the serenade of those high mountain frogs. We even get to hear a moose making funny noises in the lake. Finally the Nutnfancy “base” camp was established. With our Ledge “Recluse” tent setup, bedding arranged, gear stored, Allie cleaned …