The Hike From Hell to Heaven
Sunday, July 17
Our trek into the Bugaboos didn't start out quite as early as we would have liked--but then we had all day to get to the campground, so I guess there really wasn't any hurry. We couldn't refuse the breakfast our hosts at the Misty River Lodge had prepared, and besides, they were good company! So we spent a good bit of time eating and talking.
Finally we hit the road--Highway 95 north towards Brisco and the Bugaboos!
Once you leave the pavement in Brisco, you have to follow a rather circuitous
route down ever deteriorating dirt roads. Fortunately our guidebook had
good directions. We only missed one turn along the way and had to
backtrack a couple of miles to get back on route. For the most part the
roads weren't in too bad of shape--just bumpy! It took about an hour to
make it the 45K to the parking lot. However, we did stop to do a bit of
sightseeing along the way.
As we neared the parking lot the big question loomed in our minds! Would there be enough chicken wire available to protect our rental car from the local porcupines? The lot was indeed quite full of cars, but it turned out there was plenty of excess wire laying around. Some of it even looked brand new!
We weren't the only ones getting a late start on the day. Another vehicle
that had passed us on the road looked as if it had exploded with climbing gear
as we pulled in. We pulled in next to them and proceeded to empty the
contents of our car onto the ground as well. And now the moment of truth:
Would all of that stuff fit into our not-so-big-do-everything-backpacks?
While
we sorted through all of our crap and tried to divvy it up somewhat equally, we
chatted with the guys from the car next to us. They had driven from
Seattle and were keen on getting rid of a loaf of Banana Bread from Trader
Joe's. With the steep hike ahead, we certainly weren't going to pass up
some free calories, so we quickly became acquainted and helped out the cause.
Finally everything was nearly packed up. Amazingly almost everything fit inside! Helmets, ropes and coffee cups were lashed on the outside and we were almost ready to go. The Seattle guys joked about getting a "sub-alpine start" (it was now nearly noon). We thought that was pretty damn funny!
After checking that we had absolutely everything removed from the car that we
would need, we commenced building our porcupine protection. While there
was plenty of wire to be had, logs and rocks were in short supply so it took a
bit of
hunting
around to come up with the supplies needed to build a proper enclosure.
Eventually the chore was done. We shouldered out 55 lb packs and headed
down the trail.
Knowing that we had around 3200 feet to climb along a 3.5 mile trail we were a
bit disconcerted when the trail seemed to stay nearly level for quite a bit.
This did certainly not bode well for the rest of the trail! A thousand
feet per mile is steep enough, but most of the climbing on this
trail is crammed into less than three miles.
Despite taking our time on the trail, there was still sweat dripping off my
elbows as I shot photos of the ever amazing scenery that was opening up in front
of us as we climbed. Much of the trail was through dense vegetation, so it
was quite hot and muggy. We questioned the wisdom of not bringing shorts
with us, but
hoped
that it would be cooler once we made it above tree line. At any rate, we
got our 6-day stink off to a good start!
Going at our hare's pace, we got passed by a couple of groups. We stopped
to chat a bit in passing and everyone just seemed so nice! I guess we were
all just feeling psyched to have the privilege to visit such an
otherworldly climbing area. For some it was their first trip up the trail,
and others were coming back up after re-supplying in town. Either way,
everyone was in good spirits despite the relentless grade of the trail.
As
we climbed higher, new things kept
coming into view. Houndstooth, which
can be seen from the road and parking lot dominated the view much of the day,
but eventually the
very impressive Snowpatch Spire rolled into view. And after that we could
start to see the top of Bugaboo Spire. If I hadn't been so tired from
hauling the load uphill, I would've been giddy. It was
hard to believe that we had finally
arrived in the Bugaboos after looking
forward to it for over two years.
Eventually after toiling for over four hours we reached the
Conrad Kain Hut.
While our hike
wasn't over yet, we had to stop in at the hut to register for camping.
After paying the park custodian, Mark, we took a quick break outside
the
hut and pumped some more water to get us up the rest of the trail. From
the Hut to the Applebee Dome campground, the trail switchbacks up very steep and
gravelly moraine. By this time our packs were feeling much heavier than 55
lbs. Supposedly it's only six-tenths of a mile from the hut to the
campground, but
this
also involves a climb of
over 800 feet! (That's about a 26% grade!!) If only Nebraska would
sprout some descent hills that we could work out on!
Finally
we strolled into camp. What a place!! There were tents everywhere.
It looked like it was going to be a busy week in the Bugs. Since we were
required to camp on solid rock to keep the impact down, it took some hunting to
find a descent
chunk
of rock to call home. The pickings were definitely slim at six o'clock on
a Sunday night, but we ended up finding a very nice piece of rock in the upper
campground that had been overlooked.
Setting up the tent on solid rock was a new experience for us. And to think, poor Angela carried tent stakes all the way up that hill for nothing! The worst part was just rounding up enough rocks that could be used for anchors. Angela and I both ended up smashing a finger or two under the rocks before the task was complete.
With
the tent erected, we made a quick dinner and chatted briefly with our
neighbors--the same four guys from Seattle that we'd met in the parking lot!
We didn't know it at the time, but we'd be seeing a lot of them throughout the
week. After hanging our food and trekking poles out of the reach of the
critters, we retired to our tent for some sleep. The next day we planned
to climb the West Ridge of Pigeon Spire--The Best
5.4 on the Planet!
