Afternoon Hike in the Misty Mountains 7/26/17
Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 2:54 am
So it's taken me a couple weeks to get all the photos edited and uploaded, but here they are!
A couple Wednesdays back my friend Bryan and I embarked on a short hike along the Threemile Creek Trail near Guanella Pass, here in CO. I had never been on this particular trail before, but looking it up online I thought it looked picturesque, and I knew there was some light rain in the forecast, so I was excited to get out in the wilderness! I love hiking in the mist and rain, but around these parts, days with that sort of weather can be few and far between, so I jumped on the chance. Now that I'm not working a regular 9-5 I have been wanting to take advantage of my relative freedom during the week, and this seemed like a good opportunity. I was lucky to convince Bryan to play hookie and come with me, but I was planning on going all the same, even if it was alone.
The trail was easy to find and fairly close to home (about an hour's drive from the city), which was convenient - but it also meant there would be the potential to run into more "muggles," which was another reason I wanted to go during the week. We did run into a few folks, but not many, given the weather. One older couple, who were coming down as we were going up, smiled wide and wished us "happy gaming," haha.
At first I wasn't sure if I had made the right decision choosing this trail, because for about a quarter mile it follows the road very closely, and then actually crosses the road - but after this it ascends into higher country and HOLY COW WAS IT GORGEOUS. I still can't get over just how beautiful this trail was, and I am SO GLAD I picked it! I will definitely be going back. The weather helped, of course. It was misty and overcast most of the time, with some light, intermittent rainfall, but it only turned into a complete deluge once. Luckily, we were near a very large rocky outcropping when this happened, and we were able to take shelter - which was a good thing too, because the rain turned briefly to hail. Luckily, however, it cleared up relatively quickly.
During this time, I decided to unpack a little and try my hand at lighting a fire - a skill which I am still sadly struggling with quite a bit. I got a large number of good sparks from my firesteel, but couldn't get them to catch on my charcloth to save my life. I'm not sure if it's the material I used (linen, mostly) or if I somehow didn't char it enough, or just... what... but, it was rather frustrating. After toiling for quite a while I finally managed to get a single spark to catch, and I transferred this to some unwound jute twine kindling, but all I was ever able to achieve was a good deal of smoke before the whole thing finally went cold. OOOOOH WELL. BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME. I will certainly keep trying.
Anyway, those are the main highlights, but before getting to everyone's favorite part (PICTURES), I did want to take a moment to talk a little about my kit. Most of the time, when I do afternoon hikes, I don't bother kitting up in my full overnight gear, because it obviously gets pretty cumbersome, but this time around I decided to try it out, since I hadn't in quite some time. I abandoned my haversack in favor of a setup relying mostly on my bedroll, and that wonderful piece of kit which I somehow have neglected to use ever before - THE SNAPSACK!
...LEMME TELLYA. I. LOVE. THAT. SNAPSACK. Elleth made it for me as part of the 2015 Yuletide gift exchange, but as I haven't done any overnighting since then, I haven't felt the need to use it yet. WELL BOY OH BOY WILL THAT BE CHANGING IN THE FUTURE! I totally get it now, guys. I totally get why you like those things. It's so bloody convenient! If you want a snack, you just untie the end in front of you and reach right on in! You can even do it as you walk! And it really helps redistribute weight! LOVE. IT. In fact, Elleth, you should be happy to know that I used every single one of your bags and pouches on this trek, and they came in super handy! The only one I haven't really found a purpose for yet, sadly, is the Lasdhir. It's such a lovely, ingenious little design, and if I were forraging for kindling along the way or such perhaps it would come in quite useful, but for now I'm afraid I haven't utilized it. Still, everything else was extremely helpful, and I am deeply grateful! My only real gripe with my gear this time around was my bedroll, which I can't seem to get into quite the right size or shape. This time I tried to do the "skinny bedroll" technique you guys have talked quite a bit about, but it still came out rather big and chunky, and also somewhat too long. It always ends up too bulky in one way or the other... still needs some tweaking. But I did run the strap through the center this time, which I found very comfy! In the end, I found it was most comfortable when I wore it slung on my LEFT shoulder, crossing my back perpendicular to my quiver, with the snapsack lying between my two chest-belt pouches. I will probably use this setup in the future,
AAAAANYWAY, that's about it! Whew, that was longer than I intended. But hey, on to the pictures! I strongly recommend checking out the entire gallery here: https://www.facebook.com/michael.sherid ... 423&type=3
The above gallery also includes several videos, which are always fun! Otherwise, here are some highlights for you!
A couple Wednesdays back my friend Bryan and I embarked on a short hike along the Threemile Creek Trail near Guanella Pass, here in CO. I had never been on this particular trail before, but looking it up online I thought it looked picturesque, and I knew there was some light rain in the forecast, so I was excited to get out in the wilderness! I love hiking in the mist and rain, but around these parts, days with that sort of weather can be few and far between, so I jumped on the chance. Now that I'm not working a regular 9-5 I have been wanting to take advantage of my relative freedom during the week, and this seemed like a good opportunity. I was lucky to convince Bryan to play hookie and come with me, but I was planning on going all the same, even if it was alone.
The trail was easy to find and fairly close to home (about an hour's drive from the city), which was convenient - but it also meant there would be the potential to run into more "muggles," which was another reason I wanted to go during the week. We did run into a few folks, but not many, given the weather. One older couple, who were coming down as we were going up, smiled wide and wished us "happy gaming," haha.
At first I wasn't sure if I had made the right decision choosing this trail, because for about a quarter mile it follows the road very closely, and then actually crosses the road - but after this it ascends into higher country and HOLY COW WAS IT GORGEOUS. I still can't get over just how beautiful this trail was, and I am SO GLAD I picked it! I will definitely be going back. The weather helped, of course. It was misty and overcast most of the time, with some light, intermittent rainfall, but it only turned into a complete deluge once. Luckily, we were near a very large rocky outcropping when this happened, and we were able to take shelter - which was a good thing too, because the rain turned briefly to hail. Luckily, however, it cleared up relatively quickly.
During this time, I decided to unpack a little and try my hand at lighting a fire - a skill which I am still sadly struggling with quite a bit. I got a large number of good sparks from my firesteel, but couldn't get them to catch on my charcloth to save my life. I'm not sure if it's the material I used (linen, mostly) or if I somehow didn't char it enough, or just... what... but, it was rather frustrating. After toiling for quite a while I finally managed to get a single spark to catch, and I transferred this to some unwound jute twine kindling, but all I was ever able to achieve was a good deal of smoke before the whole thing finally went cold. OOOOOH WELL. BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME. I will certainly keep trying.
Anyway, those are the main highlights, but before getting to everyone's favorite part (PICTURES), I did want to take a moment to talk a little about my kit. Most of the time, when I do afternoon hikes, I don't bother kitting up in my full overnight gear, because it obviously gets pretty cumbersome, but this time around I decided to try it out, since I hadn't in quite some time. I abandoned my haversack in favor of a setup relying mostly on my bedroll, and that wonderful piece of kit which I somehow have neglected to use ever before - THE SNAPSACK!
...LEMME TELLYA. I. LOVE. THAT. SNAPSACK. Elleth made it for me as part of the 2015 Yuletide gift exchange, but as I haven't done any overnighting since then, I haven't felt the need to use it yet. WELL BOY OH BOY WILL THAT BE CHANGING IN THE FUTURE! I totally get it now, guys. I totally get why you like those things. It's so bloody convenient! If you want a snack, you just untie the end in front of you and reach right on in! You can even do it as you walk! And it really helps redistribute weight! LOVE. IT. In fact, Elleth, you should be happy to know that I used every single one of your bags and pouches on this trek, and they came in super handy! The only one I haven't really found a purpose for yet, sadly, is the Lasdhir. It's such a lovely, ingenious little design, and if I were forraging for kindling along the way or such perhaps it would come in quite useful, but for now I'm afraid I haven't utilized it. Still, everything else was extremely helpful, and I am deeply grateful! My only real gripe with my gear this time around was my bedroll, which I can't seem to get into quite the right size or shape. This time I tried to do the "skinny bedroll" technique you guys have talked quite a bit about, but it still came out rather big and chunky, and also somewhat too long. It always ends up too bulky in one way or the other... still needs some tweaking. But I did run the strap through the center this time, which I found very comfy! In the end, I found it was most comfortable when I wore it slung on my LEFT shoulder, crossing my back perpendicular to my quiver, with the snapsack lying between my two chest-belt pouches. I will probably use this setup in the future,
AAAAANYWAY, that's about it! Whew, that was longer than I intended. But hey, on to the pictures! I strongly recommend checking out the entire gallery here: https://www.facebook.com/michael.sherid ... 423&type=3
The above gallery also includes several videos, which are always fun! Otherwise, here are some highlights for you!