We are back and well. Writing to share a few photos of the 2018 winter walk-about .... hopeful this is not like watching someones vacation slide show.
My lifelong friend Rob lives in Arizona so he picks the locations .... based on recent rains and likelihood of water availability. This year was a bit of an unusual choice (for us) in that instead of a wilderness area we selected the hike location along the Black River.
No recent rains .... so we went where the water was. Good news is the possibility of trout for dinner.
We chose a location accessible only by backpacking, relatively high on the river at 7100 feet in elevation. It was cold; morning lows about 15F with daytime highs in the mid-40's.
Here is a photo I took from the approach canyon, about 1 mile from the truck now as we make our way through the jumble of rocks and logs to the river. Rob's 2 year old Australian Cattle Dog Chloie can be seen near the lower left of the photo ... great hiking companion.
We eventually made it to the river. Some snow remnants around. Peaceful with no one else in sight the entire 5 days on the river.
One of the challenges with river hiking is that the terrain forces frequent river crossings ... we made 11 crossings as we moved along the river.
Cold, wet feet are the reward for winter time river crossings.
We carry in our 65 pound packs a 'wet kit' and a 'dry kit'. When the daily camp is set up, fire wood gathered and water pumped, off go the wet boots and pants and on the the dry stuff.
Here is Rob at one of the crossings:
Besides walking about, we came to fish. I'm about to drop the pack and go fishing.
What an outstanding spot to camp. We made 4 total camps during the 5 day hike, each special in it's own way. Here is one of the camps at dusk; 'dry kit' is on and we are ready to settle in for a lovely evening of stars, fire, whiskey and good friendship. No cellular service here.
Group photos are tough with only two of us. Here is a morning shot at one of the breakfast times. Cold mornings indeed.
But wait ... the fishing!
At this elevation (7100 feet) the Black River supports a trout population. Fishing was kind of slow, but we ate two trout on three of the five evenings. Fresh caught, wrapped in aluminum and filled with oil and herbs. Slow roasted in an oak coal bed ... thats my kind of camp dinner.
Rob with a 15" native brown trout:
I'm now back to the world of electronics. Nice to be home and sharing this story with you. I commend to all the joy of 6 days of electronic silence, a 65 pound pack and a lifelong friend to share it with.
Enjoy - David
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Posted 02/08/2018 09:18 am
