Moments in Dirt and Ink

Shasta-Trinity National Forest Click for interactive map Daniil claimed he could get my snowshoes used rather than just floating around in the eternally not quite unpacked car. To that end, we headed up Canyon Creek, with Jeff, aiming at the snowed areas. Both have been up this trail at various times earlier in the year. It crosses largish Bear Creek almost right at the trailhead and I insisted on seeing what it was like the evening before to be confident about the return crossing the next evening when the day would be even warmer. It wasn't that impressive. It is big, so even at lower morning levels, it is a wide wet foot crossing. I elected to wait until after crossing to actually put on my boots and waterproof socks. My water crossers got stashed under a rock at the far side and we took off on rocky ground. Sun hitting the far side of the canyon and the peaks above. The Bear Creek crossing is made annoying by the logs in it, but it was no more than halfway to the kn...

Klamath National Forest DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3 Light blue for day 3. Click for interactive map The trail crew had come in on the first sunny day in a while and enjoyed a lack of rain. It wasn't planned that way, they were just lucky. Now the weather was turning back to rain. We were headed out. They would head out, too. On the trail again. The Tolmie's pussy ears had opened up. I got hit with three whole raindrops early on, but nothing more came of the heavy clouds. I focused on getting a few of the neglected flowers on the way out.

Klamath National Forest DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3 Red and orange for day 2. Click for interactive map We headed out in the morning with the trail crew. There were a couple miles to the start of work because they had already gotten as far as the access trail to the private inholding along the way. Wooley Creek, wild and scenic river, rages below. The trail crosses Deer Lick Creek toward the right, wet foot currently, but the crew decided to brave the high log bridge using a long stick for extra balance. Getting some little waterfalls on the way. Some few western trillium .

Klamath National Forest DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3 Dark blue for day 1. Click for interactive map Daniil wanted to hike and have evening chats with the Bigfoot Trail Alliance supplied trail crew, which would be clearing the Wooley Creek Trail to the cabin once more. Would I like to go? Well, I seem to be failing to plan my own thing and it's been a while since I was up the trail. He kind of wanted to head up toward Black Mountain, which has also been on my agenda once. I warned there wasn't much there to follow. So we headed off with a plan of an evening hike into camp only 3 miles along, a day of wandering about, then a finishing hike out. A little of the large parking and some trail, somewhere up there. We go off on the left, but we'll be back high up. We neglected to factor in the time required to admire the wildflowers for our inbound journey. Purple-pink bushes of western redbud burst from the hillsides. Loads of yellow wingstem monkey flow...