Wait, what?

So yeah, I've been way lazy about posting here, and well, last year I didn't get much hiking done. Not that I didn't want to, but I just didn't get to.

I did do one hike, however, and it was the first camping I've done with my dad.

We managed to get a fairly early start on the hiking, about 7:15 AM. Which meant we left for the trailhead around 5:00 AM. I know what you're thinking, and yes, contrary to personal belief, there IS a 5 AM! Who knew?

We got dropped off at about 7 that morning at the Long Gulch Trailhead in the Lost Creek Wilderness. Chilly? Yes, it was. It was September, after all!






A stream crossing and a couple hours later, it was still cold in the shade, though it did turn into a beautiful day. I said it was cold, right?



Yeah, that's frost on the ground, and it's 9 AM!



We stopped for lunch at Rock Creek, almost 7 miles in to the hike already. 7 miles only broken up by the sound of water, and of an elk running in the trees. Too bad we never saw it, only heard it.



After lunch was a big clump of uphill. Not even the courtesy to give us a level spot! Uphill far enough that you can't see it all in the picture, actually...



We'd gone almost 8 miles so far, and it was only getting to be about 2 PM, and since neither of us had done much of any hiking that year, it was getting to be the end of what we wanted to do for the day. We had planned on using two separate tents, because I'd just gotten a new one, and this was going to be the trial run for it.

Unfortunately for me, it turned out that it was the wrong tent straight from the store! I'd purchased the Fly Creek UL 2 tent, which it was labeled as..wasn't. It was the UL 1. As in 1 person. Not a good discovery when you're in hiking a good distance. I'd set the tent up before, but, just thought it looked a bit small and figured it was because it was A) an ultra light tent and B) it was an ultra light tent...whups.

I have to say though, REI did me right by that. I'd purchased the tent earlier that year with their member reward with 20% off (Have I mentioned I love REI?) When returning the tent, and explaining what happened, they gave me an additional 20% off.

While I set up camp, my dad went and got water, and we sat down for a while to grab something to snack on while evening came in.



The next day started off to a good spot of the trail, that was fairly level, for a while. Lots of nice spots along it to camp, or sit back and relax. Groves of aspen trees, with a few pine trees sticking out of them.



After a long trek upwards, we came to the point where we started heading down towards Kenosha pass. Lots of aspen, lots of pine, and lots of amazing shades of green spread across one hill side. It's surprising how different the stage of changing trees can go through in one grove.





After an easy 6 miles or so, mostly down hill, we finally arrived at the Kenosha Pass parking lot, where there were lots of signs, telling of the history of the area, restrooms, water, everything you could want after a long hike. We wandered out of the parking lot to where we'd parked early the morning before, beside the highway.

And here's the picture of the difference that happens in one grove of trees:



Amazing, isn't it?