Moments in Dirt and Ink

Klamath National Forest DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 Light blue line marks the day. Click for map. I didn't have far to go to finish and half of it was repeat miles. The prospect of greener pastures was still a nice motivation to get moving. I headed down, sometimes at an atrocious angle for a trail while noticing old bits of trail off to the side from when it didn't go directly down. There had been some work on it since the last fire, some of it on some rather large trees and some on the new shorter, steeper trail instead of restoring the switchbacks. Long Meadow certainly has a lot of little bushes for a meadow. This time while packing I'd found I was missing a bandanna I got free at some trail work thing. Arg. I'm okay with this odd happening of finding bears every second day. That's fine as a tradition. Losing things is not good at all. At least this bit of organic cotton is biodegradable. I had no idea where it might have got dropped. Ther...

Klamath National Forest DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 Orange line marks the day. Click for map. My awareness of the day crystallized as a horrible creaking noise came from the poorly looking tree hanging over my camp site. I jumped as far as I could back and curled in the tiny foot of my tent, I heard another noise, an unusual clacking from a raven in a neighboring tree. It was similar, but not quite a creaking. They do make such fascinating noises. I'm pretty sure it had a little bit of a laugh in that second sound. I got myself up and fed and packed and off on the trail. The bears are quite courteous when using the trail. They leave their scat on the side instead of right in the middle. I've never seen that before. A still Ukonom Lake on the still morning. I came upon a pair of tents halfway along the lake. The occupants, who had run out of light, had some warnings about the trail up ahead. Not so bad as the trail to Secret Lake which no longer exists, but no...

Klamath National Forest DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 Purple line marks the day. Click for map. I made a plan to roll along the ridge a little longer, then drop down to Granite Lakes. I figured I'd visit Green Granite Lake and Gold Granite Lake, then camp by Blue Granite Lake before returning the way I came. Or maybe I would visit Blue and camp between Green and Gold. Yeah. It's about the same miles for the day either way. So that was the rest of the trip planned. It's not the more careful construction of a plan done prior, but it would do. I made it a leisurely morning and watched a pair followed by a shaggy dog come down along the ridge above me and I wondered where they might have come from this morning. It's all bad burn for miles where they were coming from. They were the first people I'd seen on the trail. I got to climbing back up to it taking in a few of those plants I'd noted on the way down. This was an excellent spot for a tent, but I d...

Klamath National Forest DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 Dark blue line for day 1. Click for map. I'd been given the strong suggestion to head out to Stanslaw Trailhead. Once I found it on the map, I realized it would deliver me into an area I'd thought about extending my loop into. After about 20 miles of 1.5 lane road (not my favorite sort), I arrived. That's as far as I had planned. It was nice to be at higher elevation. Although the sun had climbed higher in the sky, the temperature was comfortable. Signs indicated that since this was the most popular equestrian trailhead, there is an increased emphasis on keeping it clear after a 2017 fire. (Perhaps I should turn on the fire footprints on Caltopo once in a while when planning.) The trail has been fully maintained the last two years, but not yet this year. I think that last part was no longer true because this was the next stop for the saws. I decided I would go to Monument Lake for the night. It was a little ...

Klamath National Forest DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 Click for map. (Day 4 of  7  4.) I noticed my toilet bag was missing as I packed up. That explained why the pocket it should have been in was shifting differently. I expect it is sitting on the ground at Bear Skull Camp. If I had investigated the oddity either of the first two times I noticed, I'd have been able to grab it on the way back down. I actually went and got a titanium spade that's in there. I'm sure no one wants to find the emergency menstrual cup. Leaving it is neither good for my pocket nor the environment. At least I wasn't trying to grab it for use. I couldn't bring myself to spend two more days on the creek needed to retrieve it. Silicone and plastic and titanium. Arg. I turned to finish off the last threeish miles. With the whole of Wooley Creek at its back, this deer wants the trickle of water. Maybe this is the reason for the name of the creek a few feet off. (It's Deer Lick C...

Klamath National Forest DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 Click for map. (Day 3 of  7  4.) I got a late start and it wasn't entirely to do with sorting out a new plan taking the Wooley Creek Trail all the way to the Pacific Crest Trail, head south for a bit, then return via Big Meadows. Or maybe the other way around since I wouldn't want to get to the Wooley Creek ford and find it a bit too much to cross. (The there's a KML of the plan here , but just from and to North Fork Camp about 15 miles up the trail from the trailhead. It can be imported to Caltopo to view.) I covered the ground a bit faster than I'd been doing the day before. Bear Skull Camp should be pretty reliable for an open place to set up no matter how overgrown the area gets. Another sort of wintergreen, this one with leaves. A great big crossing which is North Fork Wooley Creek. I made an effort to protect the electronics from mishaps, then started across trying not to have any. There w...

Klamath National Forest DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 Click for map. (Day 2 of  7  4.) I was hopeful as I started out. I'd missed the bypass trail below the cabin, but found it easily above the cabin and there was nice tread. Of course, nice tread could just mean the dirt is good for trails. I remembered to grab a photo of the cabin on the way out once the area around it was a little less occupied. Of course, the junction with the bypass isn't the trail I was looking for. The actual junction along the bypass trail is signed and still there's great tread to be found. So far so good. There certainly seemed like nothing to worry about. The trail up Bridge Creek is signed and the tread clear at the junction. The trail takes a couple switchbacks up the hill, then pops up onto the ridge looking down to Bridge Creek. The canyon is still narrow and steep like at the bridge below, but deeper. There's a bit too many trees to actually get a good look at it or even...

Klamath National Forest DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 Click for map. (Day 1 of  7  4.) Looking at the map of Marble Mountains Wilderness, Portuguese Peak seemed like the obvious choice to start for a loop hike as there are two trails leaving from there. On closer inspection, there's actually about a mile of road to trudge along to join them, but that's not really so bad. I made a plan for a grand extravaganza around the wilderness. It was eight days at first, but I adjusted to seven. (A KML file of the plan can be found here . Import to Caltopo for best viewing?) I would head up Wooley Creek, then swing up Bridge Creek, tag Medicine Mountain, then up around Cuddihy Lakes. Plunge east to Marble Mountain where the Pacific Crest Trail runs and swing through Sky High Valley before actually taking the PCT south. Past Summit Lake and Cliff Lake, I would turn west again up Bug Gulch, then along more ridges to English Peak, past more lakes to Portuguese Peak and the long ...