2010-12-18 50 -119
| Sat 18 Dec 2010 in 50,-119: 50.4830007, -119.8931253 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox |
Location
West of Monte Lake
Participants
Plans
Drive up Monte Creek Forest Service Road as far as safely possible, then hike up the hill to the coordinates.
Expedition
Monte Creek FSR was snow-covered and plowed, but Monte Hills FSR was not plowed, so I parked at the fork. I walked up the road with a backpack, boots, and gaiters. I had not seen anyone on either FSR, so when I thought I saw smoke up ahead, I thought I must be mistaken. Sure enough, there was a truck, two men, and a dog around a campfire in the snow.
They were probably more surprised to see me than I was to see them. They explained they had stopped for hot dogs while finding a Christmas tree, and asked if I was on a hike. I said yes, happy to leave it at that. Then they asked if I had been here before, and when I said no, it seemed to require further explanation. After 36 expeditions, this was actually my first solo encounter like this. I simply said it was part of a game, and a reason to explore new areas. They seemed content with that, and I continued on.
I knew the hike was only 1-2km with a "moderate" 200m ascent, but the combination of knee-deep snow and my lack of activity left me unsure if I would even make it before dark. It took me 1.5 hours, at which point dusk was starting to set. The decent was actually fun, with the snow buffering my movement, I could lazily stride downwards. This took only half an hour, and with the sub-zero weather and gaiters, I was completely dry.
