Big Time Winter-BRWF

 What was to be a 3 day lean-to trip with a small group ended up being just two of us camped at a designated tent site just off trail. Andy and I made the drive to the Bear Creek parking area. A spot I used to frequent a lot, but have not been to very much in the last few years. The gate was closed so no snowmobile traffic and also no groomed trail. Temp was in the mid 30s and it had been raining all morning. The precip turned to a wintry mix as we arrived. After signing in we hooked up our pulks and donned our snowshoes and began breaking trail. The snow was not deep, but it was like mashed potatoes so tiring. Andy had been ill up until last week, so he was not 100% in condition. I tried to keep it slow, but it was not slow enough. It took us 2 hours to traverse the 2 miles on the road to the trail turn-off.  The trail was soggy here with running water. We opted to make camp at the designated site nearby instead of pushing on another almost two miles up the soggy rough trail.

There was plenty of wood nearby although the rains and now close to freezing temps had all of it wet and icy. It took some work to get a fire going. We had just about given up when it decided to finally catch. Soon we had an ok fire for the evening. Just prior Andy set up his tent, and I my tarp. I also set up a smaller tarp nearby the fire as a smallish lean-to for use to set up our chairs.  Neither of us stayed up too late. 

The night was windy. Enough to burn off all the wood on the fire. We had some snow too. We were expecting big winds, but camped on the leeward side of the ridge probably protected us a bit from the main onslaught. The next day we had a few options but settled on just staying here so as to have a not as far hike out the next day. It was possible we would get considerable snow all day and night. We spent time collecting wood. I re-did my tarp set up to be more enclosed and so my bed would not be on an angle causeing me to slide so much. We did get some snow, at first it seemed like we were getting a lot, but then it stopped and the sun appeared. A few more flurries over the afternoon. 

I had brought my pie iron to cook with. It had been years and a hot ham&cheese would be perfect for lunch. I charred one side of the first one being very out of practice and the fire being quite hot. My second one was only slightly less charred. Bothe were good and hot though and brought back memories of using the pie iron as a scout. Pizza pockets were a favorite as were apple pies. Andy cooked up italian sausage for dinner. We had a lot of food, as we planned on more than just us. The pulks would still be heavy on the way out tomorrow with all the leftover.

As the sun began to set, the moon, stars and planets came into view. Not only did they make for a pretty sky, they also let us know the temp would be dropping over night. We buried ourselves in feather-stuffed gear in our respective shelters and settled in for a long cold night. I was quite warm and the adjustment to the tarp and bed was significantly more comforatble than the previous night's set-up. I slept amazingly well. Some very vivid dreams that made no sense, but made for a pleasant sleep nonetheless. 

I awoke around 6:30 as did Andy. I heard him over by his tent but was not sure if he was up for good so I waited a bit longer. After confirming he was up and packing, I also began my camp breakdown. With the wet gear, I did not pack it all tightly knowing I would be unwrapping everything immediately upoin getting home. I basically put everything in the duffelbag for the pulk except for my quilt and jackets. 

The hike out was a bit easier as the temp was in the mid teens and the 3 inches of snow was light and fluffy insteas of the crud on the way in. We did not race back and instead enjoyed the wintry view of the trail. At one point I had paused waiting for Andy to catch up, when he did he asked if had gotten colder. I replied I was just about to ask you the same thing. Not long after we were back at the car and the thermometer read 11 degrees, so we had dropped another 5 deg. The trip reminded me of why I had spent so much time in this area in the past. I mentioned to Andy that we would come back soon. 

Pharaoh Lake Winter, wait... what?

 My post Xmas trip was planned to be back in the Pharaoh Lakes. There were 4 lean-tos on the main lake that I still need to camp in, the final in the area is an orphan which can be done as a single overnight in the future. As usual I invited others and sent my itinerary to those who might be interested. In years past, TonyO and Justin would join me for a night, Dan & Shannon the entire trip. This time it would be just Shannon and I, with Kalie joining us for the first night. The possibility of TonyO finding us for the final night.

Day 1: Shannon, Kalie and I arrived close to noon at the TH and hiked in the old road to Pharaoh Lake. There was no snow and the trail was a bit muddy with all the recent rains. The week was expected to be rainy for the next few days, with the final night temp dropping low enough to snow. The trail went quickly enough, even with my heavy pack and me not having backpacked much lately. The new bridge needs some steps as it is a big step up and down especially for us shorter folks. Glad the new bridge was installed as the river was quite deep. We sspent the first night at Lean-to #1, spent the most of the afternoon gathering firewood which we knew would be scarce in the area as this is very popular in the summer months. Soon we had a fire and we all relaxed and enjoyed each other's company as well as a few brews (the main reason my pack was so heavy).

Day 2: The day started with a misty rain as expected so we put on our rain gear after a lazy morning. Kalie would be hiking out while Shannon and I would go around the lake to lean-to #5. About halfway there, I took off my rain jacket as it was too warm. Lean-to #5 was one of the double-wide lean-tos on the lake, and would be the third one Shannon and I have shared over the years. The others being Woodhull and Seventh Lake. I will have to do some research to find out if there are any others. Wood was even more scarce on this peninsula but we found enough to have a decent fire. The lake fogged in, and then cleared, then would fog over again. We arrived at the lean-to rather early around 2pm so we had plenty of time to hang out. Was a long afternoon even with spending time gathering wood. Misty rain came in the early evening. this would be typical of each day. Better than the expected rains all day long. We were in bed before hiker midnite. Some "Sleepy Bookshelf" eased us both in a early slumber.

Day 3: We would spend the day exploring all the campsites around the lake as a way to spend more time hiking instead of just sitting at the lean-to. I marked a few nice ones on the map. These would be good for a future canoe trip. Not sure whether it is better to carry in the hornbeck the 4 miles, or hope to find one of the many stashed canoes around the lake. We stopped for lunch at Split Rock lean-to where Dan and I had camped a few years back. We then made our way back around to the eastern shore stopping for a break at wintergreen point and then at lean-to #3. We figured we added a mile or so extra with all of our campsite explorations. I found a large downed piece of maple about 100 yards from the lean-to which I bucked up into 5 large pieces. It was a bit of work not just cutting, but carrying the sections back to camp. At least this would be enough for a very nice warm fire. Again some misty rain came in the early evening and the lake fogged in. The rain subsided enough for us to enjoy the warm fire for a bit. Shannon climbed into bed even earlier than usual. I was not that long after. I had also finished my final beer for the trip. Tomorrow would be a short day, and expected to be the worst weather.

Day 4: Foggy morning. Enough coals in the fire pit I was able to coax it back for a morning fire. With just over a mile to our last campsite, we enjoyed the fire with some coffee. The bad weather so far has not appeared. We were definitely ahead of the game with the forecast for the trip. When we eventually packed up it was close to 10 and we would get to the last lean-to in about half and hour if we walked slow which we did. On our way we stopped at some lookouts over the lake. Across the way at #5 there were two people on the shoreline. We waved and they returned the visual greeting. Secretly I hope it might be Dan and Tony with some extra beer to replenish my now empty pack. Gathering wood here was difficult, I went back to our first lean-to a quarter mile away and brought back some of the wood we had left over from our first night and stowed under the eave to stay dry-ish. Shannon opted for a nap. Someone had cut a large red? pine and left a 16 foot section with an 10inch diameter. With the saw I cut it down to some smaller sections to carry back to camp. This would be the majority of our fuel. It smelled nice while it burned too. The weather really did cooperate the entire trip. Not long after we arrived the misty rain started again. It was off and on all afternoon. A deck of cards left in the lean-to allowed us to play some rummy to pass the time. Another early bed time with the help of the Sleepy Bookshelf.

Day 5: Best night's sleep of the trip for me. Not sure why. When I awoke there was no pitter patter of rain or drippings from the trees as I was accustomed to hearing. When I looked out, I could see why. The rain had turned to snow. A gentle fluttering of snowflakes like someone had recently shook up our snow globe. Some was beginning to cover the ground in the more open areas. All morning the snow would continue although a few times it would be extremely light. As we packed up a solo hiker passed by the lean-to on his way around the lake. We put on our rain gear for the hike out. Glad that it didn;t get cold enough to make the trail and bridges icy. As we approached the parking area a few more hikers were headed in. The lot had even more cars than would account for the people we saw. The ones we missed must have made their way to the western shore before we arrived at the outlet. Was nice putting on some clean clothes at the car for the drive home.