I do a lot of my hiking solo because it is pretty hard to find people who want to do what I do in a town of less than 1500. A good friend has moved, and one has a strange illness that I am hoping goes away soon. There are people who will take walks and a few pretty hardcore runners but the hikers are few and far between. The backpackers are almost non-existent. It's the one thing I would change about living here if I could.
Fortunately I don't mind my own company and I am comfortable in the woods. I set off on Saturday without a set plan and willing to push it a little. That's another quality that is hard to find. Not saying I am better than anyone, I just seem to want to endure obstacles (perhaps foolishly) more than some people. Of course I have my boundaries, for example I wouldn't hole up on Mount Everest for days in a tent just to get to the summit.
I decided to take the climber's trail to intersect the Chief Joseph trail, which turned out to be a good choice. There's a steep waterfall on the main trail that you can't navigate easily most of the time.
I plodded up the steep climber's trail to find untracked snow on the main trail. This always makes me both nervous and excited. Nobody's been up here? Why?
All too soon it became clear that the postholing would begin. I had no idea that the north-facing slopes were going to hold that much snow. It took nerves of steel and stubbornness to keep plowing onward.
Finally, without snowshoes and teetering on steep snowfields, I had to call it. I turned around to see if I could take the main trail all the way down, but encountered a show-stopper, a huge log that looked impossible to get over. Down the slippery climber's trail it was!
Cool icicles! |
So no, internet friends, I am not a "loner". In fact, I never really feel lonely in the woods. If the stars align and someone is able to go, that is a bonus. Either way, I'll be out there.