slamdog
New member
So we headed back to the lean to from Redfield, knowing that on Sunday we would have to make it up Cliff, Gray and Skylight. I kept wondering (as I did all week) what would prevent us from completing our 46. The rain was just relentless. On the way back to the Uphill LT I heard some noise and turned around just in time to see Ward hitting the deck, poles about 10 feet away. Apparently, I forgot to let him know there was a nice maple blowdown about 5 foot high. He was on the ground for a good 3-5 minutes. I looked frantically for my camera in my pack. Sympathy is not in our dictionary. I was hopeful that this injury might reduce his appetite, thus allowing me to eat all of the Spam Scampi. It was not to be. He was up, and we were off again to the LT. Arrived to find four lads from Long Island. One wetter than the other. As seems to be typical, the least prepared of their group came in with a soaked sleeping bag. These guys were making me look pretty skilled. About 6:00PM another group of 5 came in looking like drenched rats. We offered some space, but they decided on setting up tents instead. Everyone was in sleeping bags when Ward checked his watch. It was 6:53 PM. Surely, tomorrow will be a nicer day. After all the forecast was for clearing.
We got up Sunday morning about 5:30 had some coffee, Ward took the last package of oatmeal to maintain his strength, and was kind enough to give me a granola bar. He poured some of the hot water on the granola bar and indicated it would be "just like oatmeal". Actually, it was more like a stale granola bar that someone spilled hot water on. We were off. Found our way up Cliff (per se). The blowdowns and mud and oh yes the rain, were impressive. We made real good time (for the Plus Size hiker that I am) up and enjoyed the beautiful views of fog, rain and clouds. It was one of the nicest views of fog I had seen since Redfield the day before. Took the traditional summit sign photo and were back off down the mountain. Hit the LT at 10:30 for a quick granola bar and we were on our way to Gray.
Trails up to Gray (Lake Tear) were in excellent condition. I am in awe of the work that the trail crews do! We made great time going up Gray. Just a half an hour each way. We spent some time on Gray hoping that the clouds might open to provide us with a "view from the top". It was not to happen. We rocked back down Gray and headed up to Four Corners. Unless I perfomed one of my infamous wipeouts/estate sales/ crash and burns, it appeared as though we might reach our goal. I'll leave the concluding segment to Ward, with full respect. After all, anyone who goes back to get my pack, poles, hat, and glasses after the bee ambush on the Sewards is tops in my book.
I do have to add some additional useless trivia. The four lads from Long Island brought enough food for a scout troop. They also brought one Bear Vault. Uh ho! We did have some fun with them and some "bear stories" that kept them on edge. What's that noise one would say. Probably just a "smaller" bear....... Then, I got carried away with scratching the floor of the lean to a little,,,,, what's that??? (I know I'm going to hell anyway, don't think this will have additional adverse affects). The mud... Although it was not the Sewards of a few weeks ago, it was a solid 3-4 on the boot sucking mud index. I also neglected to mention, that despite the cloud cover and fog, the rain had ended as we headed to Gray. Must have been clean living on my part. The food. We learned that the freeze dried dinners have silica packets in them to keep it "dry". I guess that explains the real chewey part of our meals, because we (in all these years) never pulled one of these things out prior to ingesting. The people,,, as usual, we met fantastic people all weekend long. Soaked, muddy, hungry, one was nicer than the other. As I said, I'll let Ward finish things up. It's great to have friends in high places! Slamdog/Lance
We got up Sunday morning about 5:30 had some coffee, Ward took the last package of oatmeal to maintain his strength, and was kind enough to give me a granola bar. He poured some of the hot water on the granola bar and indicated it would be "just like oatmeal". Actually, it was more like a stale granola bar that someone spilled hot water on. We were off. Found our way up Cliff (per se). The blowdowns and mud and oh yes the rain, were impressive. We made real good time (for the Plus Size hiker that I am) up and enjoyed the beautiful views of fog, rain and clouds. It was one of the nicest views of fog I had seen since Redfield the day before. Took the traditional summit sign photo and were back off down the mountain. Hit the LT at 10:30 for a quick granola bar and we were on our way to Gray.
Trails up to Gray (Lake Tear) were in excellent condition. I am in awe of the work that the trail crews do! We made great time going up Gray. Just a half an hour each way. We spent some time on Gray hoping that the clouds might open to provide us with a "view from the top". It was not to happen. We rocked back down Gray and headed up to Four Corners. Unless I perfomed one of my infamous wipeouts/estate sales/ crash and burns, it appeared as though we might reach our goal. I'll leave the concluding segment to Ward, with full respect. After all, anyone who goes back to get my pack, poles, hat, and glasses after the bee ambush on the Sewards is tops in my book.
I do have to add some additional useless trivia. The four lads from Long Island brought enough food for a scout troop. They also brought one Bear Vault. Uh ho! We did have some fun with them and some "bear stories" that kept them on edge. What's that noise one would say. Probably just a "smaller" bear....... Then, I got carried away with scratching the floor of the lean to a little,,,,, what's that??? (I know I'm going to hell anyway, don't think this will have additional adverse affects). The mud... Although it was not the Sewards of a few weeks ago, it was a solid 3-4 on the boot sucking mud index. I also neglected to mention, that despite the cloud cover and fog, the rain had ended as we headed to Gray. Must have been clean living on my part. The food. We learned that the freeze dried dinners have silica packets in them to keep it "dry". I guess that explains the real chewey part of our meals, because we (in all these years) never pulled one of these things out prior to ingesting. The people,,, as usual, we met fantastic people all weekend long. Soaked, muddy, hungry, one was nicer than the other. As I said, I'll let Ward finish things up. It's great to have friends in high places! Slamdog/Lance
