Last night it seemed every noise outside my tent meant the return of the grizzly. In fact, the only encounter was with a rabbit.
The group I was traveling with moved out to go over Red Gap Pass. They are younger, seasoned hikers. As we got closer to the peak, they asked me to lead. This is a courtesy to have the slowest hiker lead.
You would not know it was June from the weather. We crossed snow fields in avalanche chutes. As we got closer to the pass, the winds gusted up to 50 or 60 miles per hour. When you are on steep, open terrain all you can do is try to hold steady. About 100 yards from the summit, the light drizzle turned to ice and I received a refreshing exfoliation.
As we descended back down, it cleared and warmed. We saw two bighorn shep on the canyon walls.
The rest of the day’s route went through lush woods and meadows with plants waist high at times. You can bet we made lots of noise through these parts.
backpacking over the hill 