Haystack, Basin, & Saddleback or Bust.

[spaddock]

We had planned to do this route for over 2 months now. The guys I was going with have kids and needed a lot of lead time to get away. All week I was checking the forecast and all week it was saying rain.

The plan was to drive out Friday night, hike in until we found a shelter, then hike Saturday and hike out Sunday. We got to the Garden around 9:30 and the lot was already almost full. With that we figured we had no chance at a lean-to but to our fabulous surprise we found the 2nd leanto 1.5 miles in totally empty.

Saturday morning we got up around 6, had a leisurely breakfast and were off around 7:45. It had rained during the night and was still drizzling when we set out. Everything was wet and misty. I was a little nervous about going up the scramble on Saddleback in the rain. We made it to Bushnell Falls pretty quickly, then Slant Rock, then the Haystack turnoff. My shirt was just not wicking, had it not been for "Leave no trace" I felt like ripping it off and throwing it away right there out of frustration. We kept on going to Haystack and it got extremely windy.

I was chilly and damp, and wondering "Why the heck am I out here"? I wasn't in the zone as usual. As I've gotten closer to #46 I've had funny feelings about it. Early on the thrill would keep me up all night before a hike, now I'm sleeping like a baby. I'm also looking back at all the incredible adventures, and thinking, wow, how did I do that!

We made it up to Haystack in complete fog, had a snack and headed back. At the turnoff we met a couple of guys, one was just about to finish his 46 on Haystack, we congratulated him and wished him luck. He had been working on it for almost 30 years. That seemed to change my mood. I had never met anybody just about to finish, I found it pretty inspriring.

After changing shirts we hammered down the path to Basin, we spent about 2 minutes on top of Basin because of the fog and wind and headed for Saddleback. In the col it started to clear up. What a gift! We got to the scramble on Saddlback and except for almost getting blown off the mountain, it wasn't too bad. When we got to the top of that I was pretty energized, felt like doing one of those Tiger Woods fist pumps. I had not wanted to circle back around Basin had the scramble been to slippery.

The trail down Ore Bed was pretty long, we were glad to finally get off that slippery rock slab that seems to last forever. Had a great meal back at the lean-to and slept really sound.

We wanted to make it to the gathering but unfortunately I had to get back and work Sunday afternoon. Hopefully next time!

#43, #44, and #45. One more to go!


-Shayne

 

[Neil]

Shayne, only one more to go (which one?) then you can come with me on some fun rides! Actually, I still have 2 more of the 46 to go. Dom is coming home on Friday and if the Rockies havn't spoiled him too badly we should be finishing soon.

I once got that "what the hell am I doing this for?" feeling and it is a bummer. Sounds like it was short lived. You will have to back and do Haystack on a clear day, maybe this winter.

 

[reid]

couple of guys

I was the other who wasn't getting his 46th. Glad we could be of help on getting you through the day. Don got his 46th peak about 1/2hr hour after we saw you guys. It sure was nasty up there. Glad to hear you guys made it safely over Basin and Saddleback. Thought you were going to Lake Placid for the beer fest ? Long hike back over the Ore Bed and to your lean-to. Was your beer still cold. Best of luck when you do Gothics. reid

 

[spaddock]

one more to go (which one?) I once got that "what the hell am I doing this for?" feeling and it is a bummer. Sounds like it was short lived. You will have to back and do Haystack on a clear day, maybe this winter.

Big Slide will be the last one. At this point I'm not sure when I'll be able to get down there. I'll be going out to New England next week to tour around with my wife and pooch, hopefully hiking in Maine, NH, and VT.

I had that "feels like work" feeling last winter when I was climbing almost every weekend and a nice "break" of downhill skiing cured that... I think a big part of it is I really enjoyed all the logistics of planning all the routes, now that is gone, just need the time to get out there. Looking over maps for hours planning bushwacks sounds like fun.

Would love to join you guys on some HH in the near future, and of course winter 46's.

Reid, give my congrats to Don for finishing, you must be pretty close yourself. Talking to you guys definitely perked me up. I wanted to hike back to the car Saturday night but I got out voted. I wasn't the drinker but the other guys seemed to like the beer when we got back. I was content with a "Thai Beef Satay", first freeze dried meal I've ever liked.


-Shayne

 

[stokasz]

One more to go. I wish I was closer.

How long did that hike take you? We are planning the same hike from a JBL lean-to next week but we will walk out to the Garden. Was your hike about 15 miles? Thanks for any info.

 

[spaddock]

One more to go. I wish I was closer.
How long did that hike take you? We are planning the same hike from a JBL lean-to next week but we will walk out to the Garden. Was your hike about 15 miles? Thanks for any info.

Stokasz, enjoy the journey. It's not about finishing but about all the good times along the way.

I think the hike was around 17 miles. From the Garden back to the Garden it took us about 13 hours.


-Shayne

 

[spaddock]

Big Slide-that's the one Dianne wants to save for last. How soon?

When is the big question. I might just do it as early as this weekend. Possibly labour day weekend. After that my September has gotten booked up really quickly....

I'm also thinking about the middle of October around my birthday as that is when I started back in 2002. In the meantime I could do other adventures. Right now it's like waiting at the front of the line feels good to be next.

Whichever we decide I'll post it under the trips section.


-Shayne