MonikaC
Well-Known Member
I left us at the Monolith on the last post. We hit the trail after shooting sunrise after another pretty much sleepless night (leg cramps much better, but stomach cramps worsening and, um, did I mention that I didn't take a sleeping bag? My 70L pack had room for food or sleeping bag in addition to camera gear, tent, sleeping pad, canister stove & fuel, water purifier, mug, spork, first aid kit, extra socks & underwear, down jacket & puffy pants, warm hat & gloves, mosquito repellent & headgear, toiletries, solar panel for my phone. The weather forecast was for lows in the mid-50's, and I had figured that my puffy pants & down jacket would be enough (in addition to my dog). Early in the night, I'd put my feet against the dog to keep them warm and in the wee hours, we'd end up in a puppy pile, which made both of us happy. I would get up @4:30 every morning since both body & ambient temperatures were at their low around then, have breakfast, pack up & hit the trail if I wasn't shooting sunrise (which I only did for the Monolith). That gave me hours in solitude on the trail before encountering anybody. That day was a climb from about 10,000' to 11,800', though most of the 5 1/2 miles of the trail that was above tree line was at 11,500'. Most of this part of the story I posted in the B&W forum. After mostly being down in the trees since I'd started hiking, being above tree line was glorious. These views were what I think of when I think of the Winds. Had there been a water source up there in the last mile or so, I would have camped there. As it was, we went on down to Valentine Lake.
Valentine Lake is a popular camping area, evidenced by the official FS food hanging pole with a sign warning hunters that they were not to hang carcasses there. After wearing a full pack for 3 days, there was no way I could throw a line over it. In fact, I was about 90 degrees off, "who threw that?". There was only 1 optimal spot (higher & clear of trees) for me to attempt it, and after multiple attempts, I gave up (nobody else had food hung there) & found a lower tree with a barely adequate horizontal branch that I could use. As popular as Valentine Lake is, I had it almost to myself. The first camp spot had a hammock, but the next one, a huge site, had nobody, so it was mine. About an hour after I got there, a man with who I took to be his 2 sons, asked if they could camp in the spot on the way to mine. He said that they were quiet and I said, "sure". They were quiet if you don't count the projectile vomiting that started about 5' later (one of the sons, I guessed) or the chronic coughing (my guess was the dad) that went on for hours. But they packed up in the morning & I had a quiet day off. Until a group of women camped there the next night. Women's voices carry more than men's since they're higher, and they just tend to talk a lot more.
The outlet for Valentine Lake.
Valentine Lake is a popular camping area, evidenced by the official FS food hanging pole with a sign warning hunters that they were not to hang carcasses there. After wearing a full pack for 3 days, there was no way I could throw a line over it. In fact, I was about 90 degrees off, "who threw that?". There was only 1 optimal spot (higher & clear of trees) for me to attempt it, and after multiple attempts, I gave up (nobody else had food hung there) & found a lower tree with a barely adequate horizontal branch that I could use. As popular as Valentine Lake is, I had it almost to myself. The first camp spot had a hammock, but the next one, a huge site, had nobody, so it was mine. About an hour after I got there, a man with who I took to be his 2 sons, asked if they could camp in the spot on the way to mine. He said that they were quiet and I said, "sure". They were quiet if you don't count the projectile vomiting that started about 5' later (one of the sons, I guessed) or the chronic coughing (my guess was the dad) that went on for hours. But they packed up in the morning & I had a quiet day off. Until a group of women camped there the next night. Women's voices carry more than men's since they're higher, and they just tend to talk a lot more.
The outlet for Valentine Lake.
