Busted Trails!!

The Canyon Creek trail is the most popular trail in the Trinity Alps and needless to say, CD and I have been eager to do it since last year. In an effort to maximize our summer and beat the latter summer heat, we decided to go up this trail early in the season. Unfortunately, this past January saw some huge snowstorms in the Trinities and a lot of trees fell from the weight of the wet snow.



Originally we had planned to hike in about 5 miles on Friday and set up camp. On Saturday we planned to do a day hike up to the lakes (lower and upper Canyon Creek Lake); and then exit the wilderness on Sunday. At the ranger station they mentioned that some trees were down on the trail, but they said that it should be reasonably doable. After about 3 1/2 miles we started to cross downed trees. We made it past quite a few before we decided that it was too much with our heavy packs on; plus, we saw no end to the trail obstacles in sight!



So, we turned around and hiked out. We had to ford the creek, again!



We decided that we should car camp and try a different trail the next day for a one-night backpack. We checked at the fire station the conditions for the trail to Granite lake. They told us that there were a few trees down and the snow was all melted, but it shouldn't be too bad. After some discussion that night we decided to just do a day trip instead of an overnighter. It was a wise decision. We encountered 55 downed trees! Yep, we counted them!

Our reward was this beautiful alpine lake surrounded by a granite cirque:




Overall, I have to admit preferring car camping for one major reason: fire! Usually no fires are permitted in the backcountry and I do enjoy ending the day by sitting around the fire and warming up.

In case you're interested...

There's a story about the ICEALOT Cruise in the latest issue of Oceanus, the Woods Hole Institute Magazine.
Click here for the article.

Goodbye Seals!

Where are we headed? May I suggest a u-turn?

'On Friday, the U.S. government officially labeled the Caribbean monk seal as extinct. Although the last confirmed sighting was in 1952, scientists have spent five years searching for any evidence of their existence. Sadly, it is the first seal species to be classified extinct due to "human causes."'

Nice hike, not short

The weather, as usual along the coast was cloudy and gray. Our original plan to go camping on Saturday night and do a dayhike on Sunday went out the window early on. It was a good chance to get caught up on household organizing and the continual rearranging .

On Sunday, even though it was still somewhat gray, we headed for a nearby hike near the Elk River. The hike is called the Elk River Headwaters trail, so I assumed that we would hike to see the headwaters of the river just south of town. As it turns out, you get to neither the source of the river, nor is there a lookout as a reward! Instead, after hiking 5 miles the promise is old growth forest. Right! I've seen old growth and this grove was comprised of babies by comparison. Oh well, it was good to be outside and the day was cool making it ideal for hiking.

On the trail:

CD in a living redwood; after a forest fire, they continue to grow even though their core is burned out:

We did the 10.5 miles pretty quickly which taught me a valuable lesson: going too fast makes my shins hurt! From now on, I'm taking it slow!

Balloon Movie

Hola! More from my arctic adventure!
Here's me in a video that my friend Trish made, kudos to her! Love ya T!

Mazman: facial hair hero!

This is my dear friend Jay, he just celebrated a birthday. He's a lovable fellow, but what I love the most are all the different facial hair stylings!

He has a 5 o'clock shadow by 10am, so this is probably as clean as it gets:


The Magnum, watch out Tom Selleck!


The winter look (my personal fave): full beard!


Happy birthday Mazman!!!