Today was a real hiking day. Lucky, Steven the Destroyer (STD), and I left for a destination called Strawberry Creek.
Initially we walked along old 4 wheel drive roads. We ascended over some blowdowns (trees that have fallen down across the trail). The day saw us walk in environments ranging from open, recovering burn ares, to thick forests.
At one point we came to a meadow that sloped up and the morn I ng breeze blew down the hill. Lucky saw a black bear at the top of the meadow. It eventually heard us,got on it’s hind legs, and ultimately bolted away.
Towards the latter part of the day we came to a juncture. The map indicated a traditional route around a lake or an “alternative” that was shorter but of mixed quality. While Lucky and STD rested, I went ahead on what I thought was the traditional route. Quickly, I became aware it was the alternate.
I thrashed back and forth through a thick bog with a lot of down trees. My feet were soaked. Eventually, I just decided to climb up hill, relying more on common sense than electronics. Finally reached the trail and wanted to leave signs for the other guys. I made an arrow and wrote “Lucky” but hesitated to add “STD” to avoid the perplexion a traveller might have coming across a sign pointing to Lucky STD.
The trail took me through an area tha had just burned this year. It was eerie. Scarecly any green penetrated the harsh black, only ocaisionally broken by stark white rock. At last, coming over a pass I found a meadow which had fresh water, greenery, and campsites. I hoped that Lucky and STD would catch up, but was not sure. Eventually they did and we camped in a meadow for a night that was clearly going to get cold.
backpacking over the hill 