We get lost (sort of) heading for Diamond Ridge.
- September 9, 2012
- Team: Art
- Summit: none
- Car to car: 6.25 miles, 1100' total gain, 5 hours (leisurely)
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As we were wandering about trying to find the trail, I flushed a foolhen. Then I noticed I was standing in a whole covey of them. So this will be our mascot for the trip. The last part of the road has been buried by the FS. Really buried, like in big lumps of dirt and deadfall and debris. When you get to the end of that, it's easy to be in the wrong place and miss the faint trail. Actually, look for a bit more road (unburied but overgrown), and THAT eventually leads you to the trail. |
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We were able to follow the trail for some time, then it appeared to cross the creek. That is where we went wrong. On the wrong side of the creek is also, later on, on the wrong side of a large marshy area. We eventually gave up and looked at the map. That led us to the burn area. At some point we decided to sit down in all this splendor and have a long lunch. Over the crunching of a dill pickle we heard a strange noise, a bit like an airplane. But then we realized a small microburst-type thing was coming up the valley, knocking trees over right and left. We were in its path and terrified. Not a problem- the closest falling tree was more than 30 yards away. Stupiventure.
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We high-tailed it out of the deadfall as best we could and made our way to Summit Lake. Very pretty. Sam thought it tasted good. |
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From the hillside above the lake we could see Diamond Rock, our actual goal for the day. But by this point we had lost our motivation, even though Art did spy a way to approach the rock within the green areas. |
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We found a different way down that stayed on the ridge where most of the trees had already fallen. Finally, a reason to like downed trees on a hike. |
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Map. |
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