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The ridge between unnamed peaks is reflected in the waters of Upper Baron Lake.

A good night’s sleep made the difference. As the ninth day on the trail began, to a nice sunrise, I felt refreshed, but also a tad bit sad. There would likely be just one more night on the trail. I finished short of where I needed to be — the Baron Lakes — in order to have much of a chance of completing the route I’d drawn up. Today’s hike had two distinct parts: a 900-foot climb to Baron Divide, then a 3,600-foot descent to the junction of Baron Creek and its north fork. At that point, I’d have one final choice to press on, or return to the trailhead.

Far fewer fish were dancing this morning as the sky gradually brightened. The peaks surrounding the lake began to glow pink as the unseen sun rose. I scrambled across a makeshift log bridge and hopped over boggy areas to reach a good vantage point across from my campsite. From there, I watched morning come, first to the high peaks, then to the forest, and finally to the lake.
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Tags: alpine lake, aug09 idaho trip, baron creek, baron creek trail, baron divide, baron lakes, boise national forest, boulders, canyons, creeks, lakes, monte verita, mountain passes, reflections, sawtooth mountains, sawtooth range, sawtooth wilderness, warbonnet peak

A knife's edge of sawtoothed peaks rims the vicinity of Cramer Divide.

At the end of this, my 8th day on the trail and its 10 hot miles, I began writing in my notebook with a simple assessment of my condition: “Backpacking fatigue has set in.”

The previous night was a practically sleepless one. The narrow spit of level land I occupied beside Hidden Lake combined with an uneasiness as I felt all evening and the awful unseen but definitely heard terrors the mind pictured causing several loud, unexplained and nearby noises. I had tied my Ursack close by, instead of hiking up the steep hillside, and now surely a bear was trying to get into it, ripping into the log. I was raised by a sudden, loud rushing sound, occasionally repeated. In the darkness, it sounded as though it were right behind my head, where, less than 30 feet away, the Ursack was wedged between logs and lashed to the smaller one. Then there was a loud splash. Was the bear gone, swimming across the lake? Was it something else?

I hardly slept from there, as each noise, real or imagined, became another bear.

At first hint of light, I got up and surveyed the situation. Expecting to find my bag of food dangling by its cord, I instead discovered the Ursack was completely undisturbed. It wasn’t a bear ripping into anything. In fact, it wasn’t a bear at all. It was a rockslide, across the lake. The mountains lining this narrow valley echoed their sounds, and my mind transformed them into a fearsome bear. Wearily, I chuckled, and quickly broke camp, eager to leave. I was on the trail by 8 o’clock.
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Tags: alpenglow, alpine lake, aug09 idaho trip, boulders, cliffs, cramer divide, cramer lakes, hidden lake, lakes, mount cramer, mountain passes, rock spires, sawtooth mountains, sawtooth wilderness, snowyside peak, sunsets, trees

Tonight's moon.

It was a cold night, and I almost didn’t take my camera outside. The moon was simply stunning, hanging bright and low over the neighbors’ houses. It is one day past full, as evidenced by the relief on the upper edge, and one day past its perigee. Last night, it was 50,000 km closer to Earth than any other full moon this past year, and it was 30% brighter than a typical full moon.

Tonight, it’s a little further away and a little less bright, but still quite outstanding.
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Tags: astrophotography, night scenes, the moon

The maiden voyage of my new tricycle. Some assembly was required, but at least shipping was free. Should be great for exercise, short trips to the grocery store and other frequented locales, and perhaps even self-powered transport to CrossFit Central. At least on days that don’t involve a lot of squats.

Tags: jeff

Typical view down the North Kaibab Trail.

Five months ago today, I arrived at the Grand Canyon’s North Rim, the last major stop on my way back from Idaho. The first day consisted on finding a campsite, checking out the outpost of civilization, driving to the overlooks, and enjoying an evening of watching the sun set from various vantage points on the rim. The next morning, I hiked the North Kaibab Trail — which the park calls the least visited and most difficult of the maintained trails into the canyon — down to Roaring Spring and back. It was a hike of 9.5 miles, losing and then regaining more than 3,000 feet of elevation.

At some point, I’ll get around to posting the day’s adventure and accompanying photos. For now, here is a typical view on the trek down, taken about 2 hours into the hike. the last significant hike of the 26-day trip.

North Kaibab View, GC09-0827-6892R, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona | ©2009 Jeff Blaylock

Tags: aug09 idaho trip, canyons, cliffs, Grand Canyon National Park, north kaibab trail

The trail is clearly defined between the unnamed pass behind me and Sand Mountain Pass in front of me.

August 18, 2009, was my seventh day on the trail in the Sawtooth Wilderness. It was a balmy 34 degrees at sunrise along the shore of Imogene Lake. I would need to hike about nine miles today to reach my goal of Hidden Lake. In between was a pair (or three, depending on one’s perspective) of mountain passes and a high canyon between them. Part of me still wanted to tackle Mount Cramer, but practicality squelched that pretty quickly. Besides, the sunrise was too beautiful to ignore.
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Tags: aug09 idaho trip, campsite views, clouds, edna lake, hidden lake, imogene lake, lakes, meadows, mount cramer, mountain passes, payette peak, reflections, sand mountain pass, sawtooth wilderness, sunrises, trees

Chisos says, "Let's play fetch!"

I worked in the yard this weekend, mostly clearing the flower beds, breaking up the dirt, and laying down weed guard (which can be unruly when it’s windy). Chisos supervised, insisting on several games of fetch.

"Don't you want to play fetch?" she asks.

Tags: jeff's dog chisos