epic

Teton Crest Epic Anniversary Day Hike – 24 miles for 24 years together

August 18, 2016 by Shelli

Some years ago, my husband, Jerry, and I had the idea to embark on an “epic anniversary day hike.” Every year, around our wedding anniversary, on a single day we’ll hike one mile for every year of marriage. Over the years, we have enjoyed some amazing, inspiring, fun and unforgettable anniversary day hikes.

On Aug. 22, Jerry and I will celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary. So this year’s annual anniversary epic hike would need to be, you guessed it, 24 miles.

Go ahead and say it. I know what you’re thinking. What about our 50th anniversary? Or our 40th – or 35th or 30th for that matter? I had to get a calculator out to learn that when we celebrate our 50th, I’ll be 74, and Jerry will be almost 80! (One friend joked that our plan to hike a mile for every year could end up being an “incentive for divorce.” LOL. I don’t think so, but I do think we’ll get more creative.)

But I digress. This is a blog post about our 24th Anniversary Epic day hike, and it’s a good one…

For some time now, we have wanted to hike the famous Teton Crest Trail. The Teton Crest Trail’s full route is about 40 miles long, and extends from Phillips Pass, on the border of Bridger Teton and Caribou-Targhee National Forests, to String Lake in Grand Teton National Park.

Backpacker Magazine calls the Teton Crest Trail one of the “Best Hikes Ever,” with “mesmerizing and constant views of jagged peaks.” I consulted with my good friend, and fellow adventurer, Michael Lanza, about an “approximately 24-mile portion” of the Teton Crest Trail that we were hoping to hike. He gave me some tips, and as usual, Michael’s advice turned out to be stellar. (Thank you Michael!)

We would start at Death Canyon Trailhead, and hike almost 4 miles to the Death Canyon Patrol Cabin, at which point we’d turn onto the Static Divide Trail. We determined in advance that we’d definitely take a little extra time to scramble to the top of Static Peak, and after that, we’d continue through Alaska Basin and to Sunset Lake, before ascending Hurricane Pass. From Hurricane Pass, we’d descend through the South Fork of Cascade Canyon, before returning by way of Jenny Lake boat shuttle to Jenny Lake for a pickup vehicle, and hopefully some cold beers.

Normally we do our hike around our Aug. 22 anniversary, but this year two of our three sons start school on that day. And besides, some dear friends of ours, Alan and Marie Wexler, and their daughter, Margot, would be visiting their home in Jackson Hole earlier in the month, so Jerry and I decided on Aug. 13 for the big hike. We invited Alan, and were looking forward to celebrating our anniversary on the trail with him. (I had shared an Epic adventure with Alan in 2014, and I was looking forward to sharing the trail with him again.) Soon after, Alan invited one of his friends, Andrew, who was visiting from California, and Andrew invited one of his friends, Allen, who was visiting from Big Sky, MT. These guys were all great company, and Jerry and I made a couple of new friends, and will recall fondly the wonderful time we shared with these guys when we recall this Anniversary epic hike.

I think the best way to share about this hike is to show you photos and some video. But before I do that, my final words are these: We have been on many jaw-dropping, inspiring and epic trails over the years. After all, our backyard is the Wind River Range of Wyoming, and we’ve enjoyed countless unforgettable and spectacular hikes in our favorite mountains. Yet I am here to tell you, and hopefully show you, that we concur with Backpacker Magazine. The Teton Crest Trail is indeed one of “Best Hikes Ever.”

We had challenge: 6,300′ of elevation gain. We had unbelievable scenery. After hiking up switchbacks surrounded by tall granite mountains with alpenglow on their tops, and fireweed in the foreground, we crossed over a ridge and were rewarded with a stunning view of Phelps Lake, the Snake River, and the Gros Ventre Mountains below. Then we started across Static Divide, including a quick scramble to Static Peak’s top, from which we could spy a turquoise lake with ice still on it, and a unique perspective of the Grand Teton in a distance. By the way, I think Static Divide gets its name from the effect of lightning. You wouldn’t want to hike across Static Divide in lightning, that is for sure. Thankfully, during our hike, we had the opposite – a clear and blue sky.

Then we hiked through some really cool, and very old rock, fields of a bazillion wildflowers of every color, and around the impressive Buck Mountain. We hiked through long stretches at high altitudes, in country that was huge and expansive. After enjoying some miles in the spectacular Alaska Basin, we reached Sunset Lake, which is striking and emerald green in color. We then hiked up Hurricane Pass, where we saw a glacier, and hiked around the back of the Grand Teton – enjoyed some champagne and an anniversary toast – before hiking our final miles on a trail that parallels beautiful cascades of water through the aptly-named Cascade Canyon.

Here are photos and some video:

At 6.5 miles in, this view of Phelps Lake, the Snake River and the Gros Ventre Mountains.

The scenery was expansive, and well, staggering.

Sunset Lake, and Hurricane Pass in the background.

Hurricane Pass, and the "back" of the Tetons. — Hurricane Pass, and the “back” of the Tetons.

Jerry, looking tiny on the expanse that is Hurricane Pass.

Schoolroom Glacier and Lake, and the back of the Tetons.

Cheers to 24 years! Champagne toast at Hurricane Pass.

Alan and Jerry, leading us to greener pastures... :) — Alan and Jerry, leading us to greener pastures… 🙂

Looking back at Jerry and the pass above and behind that we were just on.

Not quite like horses to the barn, but it was all downhill from here... — Not quite like horses to the barn, but it was all downhill from here…

Cascades in the south fork of Cascade Canyon.

Jerry, Alan and Andrew, on a slow boat across Jenny Lake, with dreams of cold beers... — Jerry, Alan and Andrew, on a slow boat across Jenny Lake, with dreams of cold beers…

Wind River Peak in a Day

July 5, 2012 by Shelli

01-P6271740_2 — Greetings. We were already 7 miles in when the sun rose.

NOTE: I know this is a long post. It was a long hike. 🙂 If you’re interested in hiking and climbing Wind River Peak, you’ll find key information in this blog. If you’re not interested in details, etc., I hope you’ll at least enjoy the photos and video at bottom. Or, here’s a 7-minute video blog of the adventure.

As a gift for my 44th birthday, my husband, Jerry, agreed to join me in hiking in and climbing Wind River Peak in a day. We had climbed it before — back in 1998 — during an extended backcountry trip we made with rented llamas, who carried our loads. Wind River was our first Wind River mountain to climb, a good one at that. Wind River Peak stands 13,192 feet tall, and is the tallest mountain in the southern Wind River Range of Wyoming.

The mountain is a massive and beautiful mountain, one that stands out from the southern half of the range. We can see the snowy, rounded peak from many of our favorite “back yard” locations.

464655_3606473834751_1356010759_o — Wind River Peak. (Photographed from Frye Lake on a different outing)

The last time Jerry and I climbed it, we ascended Wind River Peak’s south slopes, via Tayo and upper Tayo lakes. On this adventure, we would ascend its northeast ridge, above the Deep Creek and Ice Creek lakes region.

Our alarm went off at 2 a. m., which even for us early birds, was dizzying. It was more like the middle of the night than the early morning. But our insanity when we had set the alarm was rationalized by our desire to allow ourselves the biggest window of opportunity to accomplish the objective. We were going to be on a tight timeline because we wanted to make it back to Lander in time for our 10-year-old son’s last baseball game, which also happened to be a championship game, scheduled for 7:15 p.m.

We headed to Worthen Reservoir to find the trailhead, a 40-minute drive from Lander. With headlamps on and under a starry sky, we started hiking at around 3:45 a. m. I don’t mind hiking in the dark, but I prefer doing it pre-sunrise, rather than post-sunset. I like being far into the wilderness when the day is greeted by the first light of the sun.

We hiked three miles to Sheep Bridge, basically from 8,500′ to 9,000′ and back down to about 8,500′ again. As we made our way through the dark and quiet forest, the cool air was full and thick of the smell of a campfire. A fire (known as the Fontenelle Fire) was, and is burning, in southwest Wyoming, just over the range from us. The evening prior, Lander was in the thick of its smoke. We had been concerned that our hike might be smoky and that the peak may be a No Go today as a result of thick smoke. Fortunately the smell was from the smoke that had settled in the forest during the night and, by all indications, a stellar, bluebird day was ahead.

After arriving at Sheep Bridge, we joined the Middle Fork Trail and hiked up, and alongside the Middle Fork of the Popo Agie River for about three miles before approaching Three Forks Park. Here, we stayed right and started up the Pinto Park Trail, which eventually leads to Pinto Park and the North Fork of the Popo Agie.

On this day, the sun began lighting up the wilderness — at least enough for us to turn off our headlamps — at around 5 am. Soon after, at exactly 5:03 a.m., something curious happened. Right at that very moment, we heard birds chirping and singing. Until that moment, except for our huffing and puffing, it had been totally quiet. Then, we watched a small herd of elk emerge about 100 feet in front of us, to our right. Like I said, the day was going to be a good one. 🙂

We reached, and took a left, on the Deep Creek Lakes Cutoff Trail. Per our GPS, we had hiked 10 miles. After starting up the Cutoff Trail we hiked near Lake 10,054′, where we paused to watch several fish jumping and cutting through the otherwise smooth-as-glass water. We hiked for 2.3 miles before reaching the first Deep Creek lake, situated at 10,500′ elevation. Our GPS indicated we had traveled about 12.5 miles, and it was only 7:40 a.m. So far so good.

Steve Bechtel, my friend, and author of Cirque of the Towers & Deep Lake. A Select Guide to the Wind Rivers’ Best Rock Climbing, had provided information for us the day before about following “The Ramp” up Wind River Peak. We hiked another half mile or so beyond the first Deep Creek Lake before spying a trail to our right. Unfortunately I suggested we ignore that trail and keep hiking, thinking we weren’t to the ramp’s base yet. Oops. As we hiked toward Ice Creek lakes, it became obvious we (I) had made the wrong decision. So we backtracked a half-mile and picked up the trail and headed (seemingly straight) up. Nothing like making an epic day hike even longer, right?

After crossing over a little snow and a boulder field, we found ourselves on the broad ridge that separates Ice Creek and Deep Creek lakes that provides a half-mile-wide “ramp.” Once at the bottom of the ramp, we set our sights on a clump of rocks to the right of Chimney Rock and started up. Wildflowers were everywhere, growing up out of the alpine tundra and gravelly terrain. At times we hiked on tundra, others over rocks and boulders and at others, through snow.

The highlight of this route to Wind River’s summit is the almost-constant view you’re afforded of Little El Capitan, which, as its name suggests, features a massive and sheer wall, along with a notch known as “Surveyor’s Notch.” Little El Capitan is the fourth-tallest mountain in the southern Wind River Range. The sight of this wall is so astounding that we stood and looked at it, our jaws dropping, for quite some time.

At this point, midway up Wind River Peak, we were sucking air. We have climbed peaks before, this one included, so we were not strangers to thinner air. But doggone it anyway. On the upside, although there was a bit of a haze below us, in the direction we had come, we still had clear and bright blue sky around us on Wind River. The views that unfolded below us and around us were nothing short of spectacular.

Soon we reached the first of several snow fields. The snow was only knee-deep in most places and melting fast. Still, we were lucky enough that for most of the snow travel during our ascent we could walk on top of the snow.

Reaching summits takes a while. Especially Wind River Peak’s. The approach is a long haul to get to the base of the mountain, and then it’s a 3.5-mile hike to its top. I think as we were finally approaching the top of Wind River, my husband was wishing I had asked for expensive jewelry for my birthday instead of this epic hike.

Finally, when our GPS indicated we had only 92 vertical feet left to go, we got a surge of energy and soon reached the rock field that is the top of Wind River Peak. We made our way across it and climbed onto the pile of rocks marking the high point.

The views were as we remembered — epic.

We enjoyed a quick lunch break and I captured some photos and video before our time at the summit was up. We remembered that the summit is only the halfway point and we had a long way to go to make it home in time for our son’s baseball game.

Due to our missing the trail up we had logged an extra mile or so. Our GPS indicated we had hiked 17 miles once we reached the summit. And, at least in this case, downhill doesn’t mean easy. Going down is not easier than going up. It’s just that it’s different; it’s more about caution than effort, and our legs were tired.

We started down. Suddenly, Jerry, with much exuberance, exclaimed: “There’s a person!” I looked and spied a person not very far from us, ascending the peak. And then, Jerry yelled “There’s a whole bunch of ’em!” Turns out a NOLS course was summiting. These were the only hikers we’d see the entire day. Even though Jerry and I both love solitude, it was nice to see other human beings. 🙂 After a short visit with one of the instructors and some of the students, we continued.

When we hit the first snow field, our legs sank all the way down to our thighs. The snow was melting fast and it would be a little treacherous descending a couple of the snow fields. But on the final one, the most vertical of the snow fields, we enjoyed a long glissade. Standing on the summit with my better half was my favorite part of the day, but the glissade was a high second. It was a blast!

We got down Wind River much quicker than we got up it and before we knew it we were back on the trail. We still had 13-plus miles to go and not very many hours until game-time.

Finally, at Sheep Bridge, and only after enduring the 600-foot uphill slog it is known for, it was like horses to the barn. We made it back to Lander and to Hayden’s game right at the start of the game. As we arrived to the baseball diamond, we looked up and saw my parents, the boys’ babysitter, and our other two sons in the bleachers. At the top of the bleachers. I considered if I had another 8 steps in me. 🙂 And of course, I did.

What a hike and what a day! Once again it has been confirmed that anything’s possible if you’re willing to get up early in the morning, and, oh how I love my back yard.

By the way, when I’m not hiking — and sometimes when I am — I am a life and leadership coach and consultant. Check out EPIC LIFE, my coaching business. Epic Life provides coaching, with an option for a guided epic adventure. I also have a blog there.

Thanks to our wonderful friend, Korinne Thoren, for watching the boys so we could tackle this hike!

02-P6271742 — Jerry, catching his breath during the elevation gain on the Pinto Park Trail portion of the hike.

03-P6271746 — The first Deep Creek lake. Reached at 12.5 miles.

05-P6271751 — Jerry, in search of the start of The Ramp.

04-P6271757 — Wildflowers and lichen-covered rocks were in abundance during our ascent of Wind River Peak.

06-P6271760 — My best half, starting up The Ramp, with Deep Creek lakes in the background.

07-Photo1 (3) — First glimpse of Little El Capitan.

08-Photo1 (17) — Little El Capitan, and Surveyor's Notch.

09-P6281825_2 — Me, doing a little way-finding. That's Lizard Head Peak in back center.

10-P6271777 — Alpine tundra. Notice the little blue flowers. They are forget-me-nots, my favorite.

11-P6271776 — The target: Wind River's summit.

12-P6271783 — The snowmelt pattern reminded me of ocean water.

13-P6271793 — Jerry, hiking up one of the snow fields on Wind River Peak's northeast ridge.

15-Photo1 (13) — Jerry, at the beginning of Wind River Peak's summit, en route to the pile marking the peak's high point.

16-P6271796_2 — My epic husband and I at the summit.

17-Photo1 (7) — One of many summit views. The big wall is Little El Capitan.

19-P6281804 — Doing an (awkward backpack-bearing) snow angel on our way down.

A 7-MINUTE VIDEO BLOG OF THE ADVENTURE:

Frontier Girl Eats Oysters For First Time

February 24, 2012 by Shelli

I just returned from Boston. It was my first visit. What a city! Among other things, I toured the Freedom Trail, ate oysters and New England clam chowder, quaffed a Sam Adams beer in the famous Cheers bar, and ate pastries from the North End. Lots of pastries.
A highlight was meeting up with Christine Perkett, of PerkettPR. She, too, has Wyoming roots, and I had not seen her in years. She joined me at America’s oldest restaurant, Union Oyster House, to provide “how to” and moral support for my first-ever eating of oysters. It was awesome. Scratch that. It. Was. Epic. 🙂
CHECK IT OUT:

Alaska’s Brooks Range or Bust

August 4, 2011 by Shelli

I leave you with this video blog as I depart for my NOLS course in the remote Brooks Range and Arctic tundra of Alaska.

This Hike Takes Your Breath Away

July 31, 2011 by Shelli

It was very early morning on July 29, when reasonable people were still in their beds sleeping.

Four of my closest girlfriends met my husband and I at our house at 3:09, and by 3:17, we departed for the trailhead at Dickinson Park, about an hour-and-a-half drive. Despite the early hour, as we left Lander, it was 67 degrees outside. A couple miles outside of town, a star shot across the black sky that was heavily dotted with dazzling, sparkling stars. As we approached the trailhead, we watched a small herd of elk cross in a meadow in front of us.

02-P7281093 — Holly Copeland, Leann Sebade, Kathy Swanson, me, and Kathy Browning, on the Bears Ears Trail. (See the Bears Ears in the background)

By all indications, the day would be a stellar one.

This “epic adventure” is a trip I planned back in late spring. As readers of this blog know, one of my passions is long distance day hiking, particularly in my backyard, Wyoming’s southern Wind River Range. I love to hike far in a single day, in a landscape whose natural beauty takes my breath away, with people who are positive, interesting, fit, funny, and who are a pleasure to be around. If all goes well, my heart, mind, soul and health benefit.

I feel so strongly about the benefits of this type of epic pursuit that this hike would serve as sort of a “test drive” for a product I plan to offer in my new leadership/coaching business.

03-P7281123 — Hiking near the end of the Bears Ears Trail.

04-DSCN0308 — We enjoyed epic views like this one, of Grave Lake and Musembeah Peak.

There were six in our group, including Kathy Swanson, Kathy Browning, Leann Sebade and Holly Copeland, and my better half and frequent hiking companion, my husband, Jerry. (Jerry and I had this hike on our life list, but he also generously offered to help me by taking additional photos to capture the magnificence of the day.)

We would start at Dickinson Park, hike the Bears Ears Trail to its end, connect to and hike the Lizard Head Trail to the North Fork Trail, and then head back toward Dickinson Park. The start and finish are separated by two miles of dirt road. If there’s one thing we like to think we are, it’s smart, so we took two cars and dropped one at the end before we started hiking.

05-P7281137 — We hiked at altitudes of 11,000 feet to 11,700 feet for much of the day.

06-P7281142 — A huge rock formation between Bears Ears and Lizard Head trails.

The hike, according to the maps we had on hand, indicated the adventure would be about 26.2 miles — a marathon hike. (Turns out the maps were wrong; our trusty GPS, along with the signage on the trails, would indicate that in fact our loop hike measured 29.3 miles.)

The hike would start at 9,400 feet elevation and climb to just under 12,000 feet in places. For much of the hike, we would be between 11,000′ and 11,700′. All told, there was 5,700′ of elevation gain.

In other words, this adventure would be more than a long walk; it would involve some lung-busting and muscle-tearing. The payoff, of course, would be panoramic mountain views that would continue to unfold in front of us for long periods of time, as well as meaningful conversation and a fun time with kindred spirits.

07-DSCN0352 — Ascending a snow field at our start on the Lizard Head Trail.

08-DSCN0354_2 — My husband, Jerry, waiting for us girls.

The first three miles are a climb through gradual, but seemingly endless switchbacks through lodgepole forest. Once out of the trees, we were at 11,000′ and hiking in alpine tundra by sunrise. Like I said, by all (continuing) indications, it would be a stellar day.

The Bears Ears Trail gets its name for a rock tower formation that looks exactly like a (teddy) bear’s head, complete with its two ears on top. You can see the Bears Ears from various spots in the front/low country we frequent, so it’s a treat to walk right under it and to see it up close.

Early Native Americans, particularly the Shoshone and Crow Indians, frequented this area to hunt for bighorn sheep, and to perform religious ceremonies.

09-DSCN0365 — Alpine tundra and granite peaks were the flavor of the day on the Lizard Head Trail.

10-P7281162 — Brief celebration along the way.

At this point, you can see Funnel Lake, before continuing through a low saddle called Adams Pass before dropping to a bridged (marsh) crossing of Sand Creek.

After crossing Sand Creek, we continued to the right of Sand Creek and ascended a rocky trail. The granite is this area is 2.5 billion years old. It’s hard not to feel insignificant in the spectrum of time when hiking amongst such old rock.

14-P7281181 — Stopping to take in the views.

At the seven-mile mark, we were handed our first real prize – a jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, panoramic view of the Wind River Range. Mount Washakie and Washakie Pass, Bernard Peak, Lock Leven Lake, Chess Ridge, Mount Hooker (with its perpendicular 1,600-foot-tall face), Grave Lake, Mount Bonneville, Musembeah Peak, and more. Imagine a view of towering, silver granite, snow-covered mountain peaks with a scattering of glaciers and lakes and you get the picture.

This is a great turn-around spot for reasonable-but-fit day hikers. Even better, though, would be to do a quick scramble to the top of Mt. Chauvenet, which stands 12,250 feet tall and is right there behind you as you’re taking in these magnificent views of the Wind River Range. Jerry and I climbed it about 12 years ago and I can’t recommend it enough.

We stayed on the Bears Ears Trail and continued up, until the trail crested and we opted to enjoy a short break while taking in the awesome views.

Up next for us was connecting to the Lizard Head Trail. The Lizard Head Trail would connect us to the North Fork Trail. Some of us had previously hiked the Bears Ears Trail, as well as the North Fork Trail, but always on separate occasions and had never linked the two trails. Jerry and I had long wanted to see what Lizard Head Trail was like. In looking at a map, and having climbed the massive Lizard Head Peak in 1999, we knew it could only be awesome.

And boy, were we right about that.

20-DSCN0428 — My husband, Jerry, leading us on the descent into the North Fork.

After connecting to the Lizard Head Trail and ascending a snow field, or two, we reached sweeping views of additional sections of the Wind River Range. In fact, for the next several (seven?) miles we hiked on alpine tundra that was littered with an abundance of tiny, fragile wildflowers of all colors and kinds, and lichen-covered rocks while being overshadowed by one granite peak after another to our right.

We’re talking jaw-dropping scenery. The kinds of views that can move you to tears, and, especially given the altitude, take your breath away and leave you speechless. For moments at a time.

I’m usually a swift hiker and we had a timeline to keep for this long hike. But, during this stretch, I “strolled” quite a bit. It was impossible not to. The views were just so amazing and the hiking too enjoyable. The air is thinner on this trail, though. Some of us had faint headaches and I reminded the group — and myself — to take deep breaths to counter the effects of the thin, oxygen-deprived, high altitude air. I, as well as Jerry, and the others, snapped tons of photos along this section. (As you can see from the number included in this post!)

21-DSCN0435 — Wildflowers and Cirque of the Towers.

After about seven miles of hiking on the Lizard Head Trail, we were afforded views of the famous Cirque of the Towers. (Yeehaw!) The Cirque of the Towers are an amazing collection of 17 peaks that provides world-class climbing. We could also see Lonesome Lake, which is situated directly below the Cirque.

Lizard Head Peak stands 12,842′ tall and is the star of this section of the Lizard Head Trail. No wonder it is the trail’s namesake. 🙂 About one mile northeast of the Cirque of the Towers, Lizard Head is the area’s dominant peak. From our vantage we enjoyed a magnificent view of its east face, which towers 2,300 feet above Bear Lake.

Here, with Lizard Head, Bear Lake, the Cirque of the Towers, Lonesome Lake, Mitchell Peak, Lizard Head Meadows and The Monolith as visuals, we stopped for a short break. This now marks the best lunch spot I’ve ever experienced.

Because we were on a timeline, and by now, knowing that the hike would be a few miles longer than the original marathon distance we had anticipated, we started moving again, descending toward the North Fork of the Popo Agie River, where we would connect to the North Fork Trail.

Once we hit the North Fork Trail, we were back in the forest. The trail was more kind — both in terms of grade and terrain. The shade was also nice, given it was early afternoon and we were hiking at a reasonable elevation. Here, many of us (re)lathered ourselves with bug spray and some of us donned head nets. Darn it — the mosquitos were out in force. Fortunately we had all expected this.

22-DSCN0450 — The Monolith and the North Fork of the Popo Agie River.

Rivers in the Wind River Range were/are raging right now compared to normal, given the abundance of snow and moisture our mountains received this past winter and spring. We knew we had at least four river crossings to contend with but had been informed before our departure that they were all passable. Still, we were a little anxious in anticipation, as turning back was not something we wanted to consider.

It was a few miles of level, fast hiking before we reached the first crossing. The water was swift and hit most of us in the mid- to upper-thigh for part of it. But the water felt great and we all crossed successfully, although some of us did so with more mental ease than others. I’m not a huge fan of river crossings so was glad to have this first one behind us. Reportedly, it would be the worst of the crossings.

22-P7291206 — One of five water crossings on the North Fork Trail.

The next one, however, proved to be swifter than our first. We took our time, and again, we all crossed with no more than some anxiety.

Turns out there were three other crossings that required us to de-shoe, but they were easy and the water provided a welcome relief to our tired, dirty, “protesting” feet.

Except for the bugs and the water crossings, in my opinion, the North Fork Trail is a walk in the park. From Lizard Head Meadows to Dickinson Park the distance is 13 miles and the elevation change is a mere 1,000 feet.

That said, as is usual for these long hikes, the last two miles feels like four, if not more. With about 25 miles on our legs, we were pretty much cruising through the forest with little effort. At one point, I asked Jerry, the GPS-carrier, what our elevation was and he said, “8,600 feet.” What? I asked him again two more times and each time the answer was the same. This was a little demoralizing considering I/we knew the end was located at about 9,400 feet.

The character-building portion of the hike (if there was one?) for me, and I’m guessing for the others, was at about the 26-mile mark, where we walked on a dusty, hot trail through a recently-burned section of forest and then had to grunt up a hill for about 1,000 feet only to descend a couple hundred feet and go for what was a couple more miles (that seemed like five or six) to get to the end.

Once at the end, we had cold beers in a cooler (a surprise reward from Jerry), and Kettle Chips and Rainier cherries from Leann. All hit the spot!

But the biggest reward for me, and hopefully for my comrades, is that I had gained an epic experience, memories to last a lifetime, inspiration that will serve as fuel for me, stronger friendships, and a health benefit to boot.

23-P7291223 — Yeehaw! Beers all around after an epic day.

A SHORT VIDEO: