Barker-Twin Peaks 9/2/06

[Gamehiker]

Papa Bear's report and pictures on these peaks were excellent so I won't bore everyone with too much detail. I will say that I found both jars, Barker at 10:15 AM and Twin Peaks at 1:10 PM. My route to Twin Peaks was a little different. Thanks to Kurt (Onestep) for his directions. I left the swath at monument 472 and contured around the bump with the 30 ft. cliff. I was immediately and literally up to my eyeballs in raspberries and other growth. A machete would have come in handy but that is hardly LNT. This lasted for the better part of an hour before I finally got closer to the top of Twin Peaks and some relatively easier walking. The register at Twin Peaks had a real funny line in it. Sorry, you'll have to go there to read it! Coming down was a little easier. I think I found the moose path PB mentioned for awhile but when I got to the old logging road I just headed straight for the cliffs on Marble. In between there and the swath I saw a helicopter come flying along right over the swath and heard it for a long time as it made its way North. I wonder what they would have done if they saw me in the middle of the swath. When I reached the trail from La Petite Lac I started up Marble heading for the straggler East Saddle Hill. But it was not long before the combination of slash on the trail, running low on water, the lateness of the hour and my legs turning to jelly sealed the decision. East Saddle will remain a straggler for now. Maybe I can do it in some sort of combo with Rump.

PB's entry at Barker said that the swath was a mess. That is indeed an understatement as the crew that went thru did a great job of cutting everything on the swath but left the slash everywhere. Trail #1 where it follows the swath between Monuments 473 and 471 and maybe beyond is pretty much obliterated. I met 4 other hikers at Monument 471 who were pretty frustrated with it as well. I was wondering if any of the French speaking members of this group would be willing to e-mail the hiking club and alert them to the situation. They don't have to cut anything just move the loose brush off their trail. The address is [email protected]. Thanks.
Hoping for a somewhat dry Labor Day
Gamehiker

 

[dms]

The border swath is the new hiking hotspot! JimC, Kurt, PB, Oncoman and now you Jim! The helicopter was checking out the reports of massive foot traffic on the border. Having East Saddle left gives you a good excuse to go back and see if the slash gets cleared.