lost_but_found

Leslie and I did a 3day 2night trip for our 1 year anniversary this past weekend. Her first time to hike in 'mountains.' She was very apprehensive about the trip and had low expectations. But she loved it. She really didn't think she could handle trekking over some mountains, but that ended up being her favorite part of the trip. Below is the trip report:

We arrived at Albert Pike Recreation Area late Friday night. On the way up there, I realized that I had forgotten the coffee cups and, most importantly, my camera. I had to use a film camera for the trip – but didn’t end up taking many pictures anyway. Digital has spoiled me!

We couldn’t find a camping spot in the Albert Pike Recreation Area, so we drove down CR106 quite a ways and finally found a spot to pitch the tent and catch some z’s for next day’s hike. We were serenaded by the local denizens of the forest – mostly the frogs. I arose shortly after the sun and walked down to wash my face in the crisp clear water of Blaylock Creek. After packing up, we drove up to the little store off SH369 to get some coffee and find out if permits were needed.

We couldn’t find a parking spot anywhere around the Albert Pike Rec. Area, so we drove down to the Winding Stair Trail Head. From there, it was a very short trip to what would be the first of many water crossings. The creek was pretty fast and the current was strong. Helped a couple from Fort Worth get across, and then assisted Less through the rushing waters. She didn’t find it as enjoyable as I. From the crossing the trail starts winding through some fairly sparse undergrowth, and large trees. The area seemed to be maintained pretty well. We hiked most of the way to Winding Stairs with a family of 5. The father and I had to make several trips across the river to help everyone else across and get gear across. I rather enjoyed the crossings.

Winding Stairs was quite crowded, definitely a local hot spot for swimming, rock climbing, tubing and kayaking. Very beautiful area, and easy to see why the locals liked it so much. It had some really nice caves, deep swimming holes, jagged cliffs, and surrounding mountains to entertain. After looking around there for a little while, Less and I headed up to the Viles Branch Trail – which would be our last Little Missouri River Crossing – but not our last water crossing.

Some horseback riders came up before we crossed the Little Missouri and offered to carry our packs across for us. We gladly obliged, and then carefully made our way across. After putting back on the shoes, we hiked maybe another ¼ mile up the trail and had to cross Viles Branch. I saw a large water snake of some kind (didn’t get a good look at him) in the grasses growing out of the creek as I was looking for a dry passage. So we again had to remove the shoes and use the handy aqua socks (I highly recommend these, they are great camp shoes and great for crossing water). We somehow passed the horse riders, and they again offered to carry our packs. We declined this time, as the crossing was small and easy to navigate. We had several more crossings ahead of us, and one in which Less slipped and ended up with some wet feet. She really wasn’t enjoying the water crossings.

We finally came upon the Athens – Big Fork Trail Head. I started feeling light headed from not eating or drinking much throughout the day. So I had to sit and take break and cook some food. After the little break, we made our way up Eagle Rock Vista – Less’ first mountain! She wasn’t so much for the uphill, but enjoyed the reward once we got up top. We camped right on the Eagle Rock overlook. A very pretty place. I had been enjoying the flora all day, and was wishing that I had my digital camera to take pictures of all the beautiful flowers along the way. After setting up camp, we snacked and enjoyed conversation about the day. Saw some rather immense centipedes that were a little unnerving! Clouds filled the sky, so there was no star gazing for the night. I have to admit my disappointment.

Sunday morning we were woken up with some very strong winds (nothing like the winds on St. Peter’s Dome in Bandelier, or the tops of the Pecos though), and heavy down pours. So we slept some more. Finally the rain stopped long enough for us to pack up camp around 9:30am. We hit the trail and headed down to the creek for some water renewal. The hike was absolutely beautiful. Extremely lush, untamed growth all around us (harboring many chiggers and ticks though). We really enjoyed the many varieties of ferns. We crossed CR106 as we were making our way up the Athens-Big Fork Trail. Since we had to leave in the early afternoon on Monday, we only hiked another mile to a mile and half north of 106. We camped in between Leader Mt and Brier Creek Mt along what would, I guess, be Brier Creek. We walked a ways down a fire line to set up camp away from the trail. This is when I noticed I was covered with the little demon chigger mites. After bathing and dosing myself with Benadryl and sting medicine, I cooked some dinner and went to bed.

Monday we hiked back to CR106, and then up 106 back to the car. Then made our way back to the ‘civilization’ called Houston. We really enjoyed the trip immensely. Our one year of being together anniversary was on Monday. I have to consider myself a very lucky guy!!!