Silver Lake

Silver Lake (Late June 2014)

I was able to make to Silver Lake twice this year.

The first time was at the end of June 2014.  At that time the lake was all but froze over.  The trailhead parking lot was complete full, but I did not pass anybody on the trail (nor did anyone pass me ;) ). At the lake there were several groups camping, so I spent very little time at the lake. The one creek crossing on the trail was flowing high and was a little tricky to cross.

The second time was on 1 Sep 2014.  The trailhead parking area was once again full. The trail was very busy with people and the lake was over-run.  I did not go on to Silver Glance that day. My hiking companion experienced some trouble with blisters, so we spent a little time at the lake dealing with the blisters before descending the trail.  The creek crossing was uneventful but still flowing well.

Silver Glance (Late June 2014)

On that nice day in June 2014 I also took the one mile off-trail trip to Silver Glance.  Silver Glance was completely iced over.  I was walking on several feet of snow for about half the distance to the lake.  As you can see in the picture, not much detail as to the beauty of the area, but the location is absolutely beautiful.

Solo Hike from Moon Lake to Hayden Pass Trailhead (Day #3)

Considering the altitude, last night was warm.  The temperature barely dropped to 57°.  I was wide awake at 06:00 so I decided to start the day.  The forecast was for rain today, and the morning sky was indeed red.  My third day planned camp was to be in the vicinity of Anderson lake.  According to the GPS I was only about 2.5 miles from Anderson lake. The trail (Ledge Trail) was relatively flat and looked to be lightly used.  There were no foot prints on the trail, and the trail would disappear at times.  Every meadow I would loose the trail, and need to find it once the meadow was crossed. Several times in the trees the trail would disappear.  One time a downed tree, across what I believed to be the trail, hid the actual trail the turned 90° left.  The tree had actually fallen at the turn in the trail, and lay along the trail.  When I went around the root ball, the trail was not on the other side.
he length (height) of the tree left me 'lost' for a bit until I realized the trail actually turned.

Near Anderson and trail came in from Rock Creek and there were horse tracks, and at one point I heard a horse whinny, but I never saw them.  After a few pictures, and it still being early morning, about 09:00 I continued down the trail towards my planned day 4 camp site near Lightening and Helen lakes.

Leaving the Ledge Trail I joined the Highline (#25) for a short distance until I came to my last fork before committing to the trail to Helen and Lightening lakes.  Several hundred yards down the trail to Helen I couldn't shake the feeling that I need to return to the last fork and go to Jack and Jill lakes. Since my original goal really was to get to Helen lake I tried to ignore the feeling, but the feeling would not go away.  I finally reversed course and head towards Jack and Jill lakes.  About a my down the trail I encountered a scout group that stopped me to ask some trail directions and distances.  The scout group was actually headed for Moon Lake, (my point of origin), and were also on their third day.  They had entered at Mirror Lake, my destination, and when I encountered them, they were about 14 miles in from their trailhead, while I was nearly 30 from my entry point.  I decided to take lunch while I chatted with them, and when they found I was carrying a Satellite asked if they could make a call.  Seems they had had some sick scouts that had returned to the trailhead and wanted to make sure someone was aware.

After the Scout encounter, the first humans I had seen on the trip since early the first day, I continued towards Jack and Jill expecting to make and early camp.  When I arrived at Jack and Jill the place was over-run with cattle and I decided I wouldn't be doing that again!  So I got out the GPS and noticed that I was about about 13 miles from my take out point.  Deciding to push on, with plans to camp and Carolyn lake for the night.

Dead Horse Pass from East side base

The climb up out of Jack and Jill over Dead Horse pass is something, and as I sat at the top of Dead Horse Pass to take some pictures, the sky split open with a thunder and light show.  Here I was above the tree line and lightening was striking all around.  As I hurried off the pass, the rain came, then snow and hail, then more rain.  In fact, it rained for the next 4 hours.  The trail ran with water, and by the time I descend the pass, and got to Carolyn I was muddy to my knees, dry feet, pack and body, but I was muddy from the knees down.  Checking the GPS I decided to pass Carolyn and strike for the trailhead.  I called my wife to come meet me at 22:00, leaving what I thought would be a small cushion to allow me to arrive first.  Turns out, the downhill helped and I arrived at the trailhead about 21:00 after a 25 mile day.

Solo Hike from Moon Lake to Hayden Pass Trailhead (Day #2)

After a rough night of being continually disturbed by cattle moving past my camp.  One even kicked my bear vault during the night.  I was up bright and early (6:00 AM) and after breakfast I decided to break camp. Normally I would have gone fishing, but because of the location of my camp near the base of Tworoose Pass I decided to just get on the trail.  I did take my time breaking camp but I finally hit the trail.  The climb up the pass was reasonably steep, but not excessive.  Once over the pass, I started loosing elevation at a pretty good rate descending towards the Rock Creek drainage.  A fork to the left for Dry Ridge (#64) is just over the pass.  Later a fork that was not indicated on my GPS went off to the right towards Cleveland Pass (trail 120).  A second fork after more descent went left to Rock Creek (#63), while a right went towards Cleveland Pass via. Squaw Basin (#63).  I continued straight towards Dead Horse Pass (#66).

My second planned campsite was at Shamrock Lake which is about .5 miles off the trail.  I arrived at the location to leave the trail around 10:00 AM.  Somewhat early than planned, thanks to the longer hike the previous day.  The terrain between the trail and Shamrock was a bit daunting.  Two large boulder fields and three swampy meadows later I arrived at Shamrock.  The boulder fields were pretty bad considering I was solo and carrying a full pack, but I took my time, and thankfully had my trekking poles.

Shamrock was great, plenty of 12 to 14 inch Brook Trout and plenty of mosquitoes to go with them. Around noon I tired of fishing (and being mosquito bait) and started to look for a campsite.  The only favorable site I could find was within 70 feet of the lake, and wanting to be a good citizen and obey wilderness regulations and "leave no trace" I decided to not stay at the lake.  However, the campsite was well used, with a well established fire ring and logs dragged in for seating.  So I headed back to the trail over the boulder fields and swamps.

Where I left the trail is at a fork of where the Squaw Lake Trail (#66), Rock Lake Trail (#107), and the Ledge Trail (#121) meet.  My destination was up the Ledge Trail towards Dead Horse Pass.  The climb from the East Fork of Rock Creek up over the shoulder to the Ledge Trail is very steep, (400 feet in .4 mile) without switch backs.  Once over the shoulder there is a small descent (200 feet in 1 mile) and then the trail levels out.

At this point I began looking for a reasonable campsite even though it was still early.  I soon came across a beautiful location about a 100 yards before a small unnamed lake near Young Lake.  The lake had a small stream feeding it straight from the steep rock fall of the "Ledge" so I called it a day around 3:00 PM.  The lake appeared dead (no fish) and I didn't try fishing.

I broke out my Sea to Summit 10L bucket, hauled some water back to camp and did some washing of clothes and body.  I actually needed to make several trips.  I am now considering a second bucket 10L, or a 20L bucket and maybe a shower.  After a brisk shower/bath and washed clothing I went back to the spring for water.  This time with the MSR AutoFlow and a MSR Dromedary bag.  I'll write up a review, but the system preform well with some reservations.

With camp setup, dinner done, phone call made to my wife, and the mosquitoes being pests.  I crawled into my tent and broke out the Kindle and did some reading before going to sleep.  No cattle!!!!

Solo Hike from Moon Lake to Hayden Pass Trailhead (Day #1)

I completed my solo hike.  Did about 50 miles in three days.  I had originally planned to take longer, but the way things worked out on the trail, I finished well ahead of schedule.

I took the opportunity to take a couple of filters with me to try side-by-side in actual conditions.  The filters I took where the Sawyer Squeeze, the Platypus GravityWorks 4L, and the MSR Autoflow with dromedary bag.  I also took a MSR Reactor 1L for my stove.  All brand new items for me.

Moon Lake Trailhead

Entrance to Wilderness Area

First day of the trip started early from Moon Lake and I was at my first planned camp site early in the afternoon. Unfortunately the camp site was occupied by a herd of cattle.  As was the next several lakes.  I finally just found a camp site because it was late in the afternoon.  While the camp was not ideal it was off the trail, and away from water as required by wilderness regulations.  Unfortunately as the evening progressed, the cattle decided to move through my camp on their way to water, and continued to wander near camp for the rest of the night. Can I now say that I extremely dislike the fact that cattle are allowed to graze in the wilderness area.  This was not my only encounter with cattle, but more on that later.

Brown Duck Lake

Since water was a couple hundred yards away from camp, I used the GravityWorks filter to retrieve water, bringing 4L clean water, and 4L dirty water to my camp. I will post my review of the filter next but let me say that I was fairly impressed with some reservations. While this was not my first experience with hollow fiber, it was my first experience with gravity systems.  I will also post a review of the reactor stove, but let me say that I was favorably impressed by the stove.

Island Lake

Trusting new gear...

I have been busy preparing for a solo through hike of the High Uintas Wilderness Area on the Highline trail. Logistically I have been unable to make that trip happen this year, so the trip is now scheduled for 2015.  In preparation, I have been evaluating gear, and upgrading some old favorites, with newer, lighter, and more efficient gear.  After much research and some hands on evaluation, I have purchased a new tent, stove, water filter, air mattress, trekking poles, solar panel, camera, and a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB).  Most of the purchases were made with durability and/or weight as major factors in the decision to purchase the new gear.  The PLB for safety, since it is a solo hike.

Here is my problem.  I trust my old gear, having used it for years.  I do not have the same level of trust in my new gear.  So to gain some trust in the new gear, I have planned a six day excursion such that at no time will I be much more than twenty miles from a trailhead (a day hike, albeit a long on).  My pack contains everything that I will be taking next year on the extended trail.  Hopefully I will have a good experience, and the new gear will perform as I expect.

I have also rented a satellite phone.  The official reason 'just in case' I do have a failure in gear and I need someone to pick me up at a different location than my planned extraction point.  The real reason, this a solo hike, and my wife and family are uncomfortable with the whole thing.  So I will be checking in each night, to allay their fears.

Before someone points it out.  I know that any failure would not be life threatening, just extremely inconvenient.

MSR Miniworks

I purchased my first filter in the mid 1990's.  After spending considerable time exploring filters, I decided on the MSR Miniworks.  The Miniworks has been my go to filter ever since.

At the time there were basically two types of filters available to me as a backpacker.  A synthetic cartridge or a ceramic cartridge.  Neither cartridge was good for viruses, but in the area where I backpack viruses are not an issue.  Both types of cartridges were .2 micron.  The major difference, flow rate and gallons of water per cartridge.

Flow rate:  Since I am backpacking and not rushing to any destination, flow rate did not really matter.  In fact, I found that I quite enjoy the break of sitting at a stream, watching the scenery while filtering some water.

Cartridge life and replacement life: Life then became the major factor in my decision between synthetic and ceramic.  Ceramic wins in cartridge life.

Having made my decision to go with a ceramic cartridge, I then needed to decide on a filter.  At the time, the two filters available to me for purchase where either the Katadyn Pocket, or the MSR Miniworks.  The Pocket rate really high in gallons filtered per cartridge, but the cost of the Pocket and replacement cartridge was also very high.  The Miniworks was significantly cheaper, and replacement cartridges where also cheaper.  The gallons per filter were also significantly lower.

What tipped the scales was the fact that the Miniworks attaches directly to a wide mouth bottle or dromedary bag, while the Pocket requires good aim from the spout.

Now a couple of decades later, I have not had to replace the cartridge.  I have not had a failure in either the filter body or the cartridge.  The built in charcoal filter takes unwanted taste and scent from the water.  Did I make the correct choice? I believe I did.

Kings Peak and filter failure

In August of 2013 I finally managed to make the trip into Kings Peak in Utah.  During the off season I had purchased a new filter and a GPS unit.  I have always used, and preferred a ceramic cartridge filter which I had purchased in the mid 1990's.  I have never had the filter fail, and while the flow rate is somewhat slower than the synthetic filters, the ability to clean in the field, rather than replace, was a big selling point for me.  However, the new hollow fiber filters had drawn my interest.  As a result, I purchased a MSR Hyperflow.  I used it on an overnight trip prior to the three day trip into Kings Peak, and I was fairly impressed.  For the Kings Peak trip, I was not nearly as impressed.

First let me say that it was partly my fault, but I also believe that MSR needs to take some blame for building such a fragile device intended for backpacking.  Let me explain.  After my overnight trip, I disassembled the filter, as per storage instructions.  However I went one step further, I remove the "replaceable" cartridge to aid in drying.  I did not reassemble the filter until the Kings Peak trip.  What I did not know was that the flange behind the O-ring broke from pressure on the O-ring at re-insertion.  When I tried to use the filter in the field and I noticed it leaking water everywhere.  Since the water was on the "clean" side this wasn't a major issue until I needed to back flush the filter.  Back flushing the filter was next to impossible, because it was now syphoning air, not just water.

On close examination of the filter cartridge, the flange behind the O-ring is extremely thin, with no support.  That it broke so easily should not be a surprise to anyone.  But since I removed the cartridge and reinserted it, I took the blame and purchased a new cartridge.  The new cartridge came with a dry O-ring, and no lubricant to ease installation, and no instructions to be careful of the flange and O-ring.  I was able to lubricate the O-ring and insert the cartridge without breaking the flange.

I like the filter's size, weight, and that fact that I can "pump" or gravity filter water with it.  I can fill my water bladder through the drink hose using this small filter, or fill small mouthed water bottles, and/or fill wide mouth bottles or dromedary bags.  In other words, a very versatile filter.  However, I am now extremely cautious with the cartridge, and not very satisfied as a result.  I will always worry that I need to carry a spare cartridge (and lubricant) which defeats the "fast & light" advertising of the filter.

Back to the ceramic filter for me.  More on the GPS unit later

Welcome to Trailwise

I have been an avid outdoors person since a very young age.  I started attempting "leave no trace" camping, (bought my first stove), in the late seventies.  Now I know, just owning a stove does not make one a "leave no trace" camper, but my point is that my first stove was heavy, bulky, and never once failed me.  Since that time I have always been on the lookout for gear that improves my experience and lightens the load on my back.  I am not an ultralight purist, (no dis-respect intend), but like anyone, the less my pack weighs, the more enjoyable the trip.  I choose gear on not only weight, but durability as well.

My intent here is to blog about my experiences, and about the gear that I have used, gear that I continue to use, and gear that is now sitting on my shelf for one reason or another.  I will be candid about what I believe works, and what does not work.  Things that I believe would improve the gear and or the experience.

I am in the process of planning a two week hike, (without resupply), at about 11,000 ft elevation and I will blog about my journey to find gear that is lightweight and durable.  Two attributes that seem to be at odds with each other.