Death Valley CA is an interesting place. A place with a dry, forbidding and hostile environment but when one ventures off into one of the myriad of canyons one experiences the tremendous and beautiful power of flash floods. Slick canyon walls that have been carved out over the years are just jaw dropping in beauty. And speaking of beauty, the wild flowers were in abundance during this trip.
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This hike is on the Iron Mountain, Appalachian and Virginia Creeper trails. The elevation changes are not too tough but there is a bunch of them. There were not many views but we reached the high point of Virginia.
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August 1, 2005: Started the backpack at Tonahutu / North Inlet trailhead at 10:00 am and arrived at Sunrise Camp at 2:45. We had a relaxing lunch alongside the Tonahutu River. There were two big events during the day, both occurring at about the same time. First, directly across from the Big Meadows camp in the big meadows we spotted two bull moose grazing. And then, while watching the moose, we were treated to about 2 minutes of pea sized hail.
August 2, 2005: Got a late start. We had to spend a part of the morning drying out equipment before packing up. It rained all night long. Our first stop during the day was at Granite Falls. Since today was not a big miles day we took a 4 mile round trip day hike to Haynach Lake.
August 3, 2005: We decided to hit the trail early today (7:00 am) so we could beat the afternoon thunderstorms as we were crossing the Continential Divide. It was overcast most of the day and we hit the high point of Ptarmigan Point at noon and immediately headed down. The initial mile of downhill was marked by double cairns about 6 foot tall. After that we hit significant switchbacks as w descended to our camp for the night – Camp July. After setting up camp the sky was threatening rain so Lori and Carl went in search of a the privy. Instead they were treated to 3 bull elk grazing in a field across Hallett Creek about 50 yards away. These powerful beasts with magnificent racks kept us mesmerized for 20 minutes. Then after finding the privy Carl and Lori were treated to 4 mule deer -a buck, doe, and 2 fawns – all that seemed very tame. Shortly afterward the sky darkened and rain drops started to falling. All of us retired to our respective tents to wait out the storm. It was a powerful storm with rain, wind, thunder, and lightening. After about an hour we heard voices outside our tents. A father and two sons were standing under our tarp, soaking wet, shivering and without any gear – asking for our help. They got caught in the lightening storm on top and had been trying to get below treeline when lightening began hitting within 200 yards of their location. They hunkered down hoping to wait out the storm. When it didn’t abate they dropped packs and ran downhill to our camp. We fired up our stove to provide hot Gatorade and tea. Their cotton clothing was soaked so we shared our extra gear to help warm them up. When the rain let up, Ann, Carl and Lenny (the father) walked up the trail about a mile to retrieve their backpacks so they could set up their tent next to ours. More elk were spotted on the trip. It rained all night long.
August 4, 2005: We awoke to overcast skies, rain and sinking spirits. The father and two sons with us were still wet and cold so Carl offered to give his polar fleece to one of the boys to use if they would mail it back when they got home. It never hurts to provide a bit of trial magic when you can. A short, quick consultation resulted in a decision to hike out a day early since most our gear was getting damp and, hey, this IS a vacation. We set out before Lenny and his sons and after another set of switchbacks we hike the gentle downhill trail to Tonahutu/North Inlet trailhead and our rental car. The rain stopped as we started hiking out causing us to question our decision until we got to the car, opened the trunk to load gear and rain started pouring! Decision confirmed!
Post Script: Carl never received the polar fleece in the mail. However, helping someone in need on the trail is never wrong!
An epic trip around Mt Rainier with lots of up and down each and every day. The views were stunning and worth the effort.
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Every good plan is subject to change. We had to make big modifications to our original plan based upon water levels and weather.
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An excellent backpacking trip marred by difficult weather and a bear attack. Yes, we’d do it again!
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Carl, Ed, John, and Mark flew from Green Bay WI to Phoenix AZ on an uneventful flight. Tim met them at baggage claim and the group proceeded to the parking lot of Tim’s office where we proceeded to fill water bottles, fuel bottles and to pack the backpacks for the trek. After a brief, but bumpy, ride down a dirt road we arrived at the trailhead. No problem parking – no cars for miles. So it was with high hopes and even higher spirits that the group of five began the trek that they would soon refer to as “The Mazatzal Death March”.
The saga begins at 5:00pm with a gentle uphill climb on an even dirt path. Upon reaching the top, the tread changed from dirt to fist sized rocks, loosely strewn on the ground every 4 to 6 inches. When stepped upon, these rocks move increasing the chance for a twisted ankle and blisters.
Fortunately, no twisted ankles but blisters were to play an important role in the trek. The next two miles were relatively flat with a slight downhill slope. After hiking for 1.5 hours we selected a spot to make camp for the night. Finding level ground without cactus and rocks was tough. The three tents were pitched very close together.
Supper was spaghetti which ended up being burned to the bottom of the pot, fortunately it did not destroy the flavor.
We were up with the first light, something that happens every day. Spirits are still high. After a hot breakfast of oatmeal, Mark discovered a scorpion crawling on his pack. Our planned route today takes us to the intersection of the Verde and East Verde rivers, a descent of 2600 feet and a hike of 8 miles. Footing remained treacherous throughout the day and by noon Carl and Tim were doctoring their feet liberally with moleskin.
The temperature was in the 80’s and the group thought they had plenty of water and planned to replenish water supplies at one of the 4 stock tanks shown on the map. Doubt began to creep into our minds when the first tank was dry. “Maybe the Forest Service ranger was incorrect” thought Carl “when he told us water shouldn’t be an issue.” After the fourth dry tank, open discussion about the planned route occurred but the best option was to continue forward.
There was no better sight than the lush Verde River valley. Yes, there was water and pools large enough for swimming. By this time we had been using the map long enough to make the connection between the term “hardscrabble” on the map and the treacherous rocks we had been negotiating all day long. For comparison purposes, walking on loose sand by the river was easier than the hardscrabble.
We woke to a clear morning with nice temperatures. However, Carl and Tim’s feet were a mess. Both had significant blisters and did not want to walk today. A group decision was made to stay put for the day since we had a nice campsite on sand right next to the Verde River. Mark, John, and Ed went for a hike while Carl and Tim stayed in camp. Swimming in the Verde River was refreshing.
Our plan was to hike out by a different, fifteen mile route. However, the lack of water on the way in AND Tim and Carl’s blisters led to disagreement. Should we stay on plan and take a chance of no water on the long route or stay with the way we came in and carry a lot of water uphill? After much discussion we set a deadline of 5:00pm. Stand on one side of a line drawn in the sand to return via the known route or the other side to stick with the plan. Fortunately for Tim and Carl the decision was made to return on the shorter, known route.
An uneventful hike out. Upon returning to Tim’s white mini-van we discovered that it was covered with dark marks and slobber. We speculate that the nearby cows mistook his white van for a salt lick! Since we came out a day early we headed for Flagstaff where Tim’s family had a condo that we were able to crash at, clean up, and get a nice meal at a nearby restaurant.
Tim actually had bloody toes and lost 2 toe nails a week after returning from the trip (thankfully no pictures to show). The trip is now referred to by the participants as “The Bloody Stump March”.