ANNIVERSARY

Father - just a little dream/fantasy I thought I'd pass along. Click on the picture for a blown up view.

Black path is the trail. Triangle is where we camp. We could camp for one night. Hike up in the morning - get up to Ridge lake and set up camp. Maybe hit a summit in the late afternoon. 

The orange trail is up for debate but is the part that makes the anniversary : ) Circles are hazards we probably want to avoid and didn't last time...    We would hit the orange trail early in the morning and then make it back up to our camp in the early afternoon - and come down to the trail head in the evening.

click on picture and after you click, you can then magnify for detail

If we properly plan and do compass coordinates, etc - we can probably avoid any cliffs or anything else on our way down. We could bring accessory rope, webbing or anything else just to be safe. We could also bring large plastic strips and leave them at key junctions so we could easily navigate our way back through any tricky parts. I would vote against actually re-creating our same trail, as fine as that would be : P. The difference would be that this time we would be prepared and would not go pass any points that we could not go back up easily. 

We would always have the option to bale out and come back early. And we would have a turn around time and come back early if we needed to. If there was too much bush wacking, no big deal - we would come back. 

We could also reserve a camera just for navigational pictures (turning around every 10 minutes and snapping a picture of the landscape so that we could virtually re-trace our footsteps on the way back).

I think the actual hike to Ridge lake is something like 6-7 miles (good uphill). and then judge for yourself how many miles it is Goldmyer. I would say not more than 3.5 miles - but it would be bush wacking - but if stuck to the ridge line (in orange) then it would take a fraction of the time it took us last time. On the ridge you typically have big trees that have big roots - since no water stays there - and less bushes than the valleys. 

If we decided not to do the orange trail - then going back to Ridge lake and hiking around, climbing a few peaks - would be well worth it too..... but it would be nostalgically fun to re-visit our old trail much more prepared.

I would elect to bring a sleeping bag with us - even our tent if we needed to. I have a water filter. We would have cell phones - we would leave a detailed map with mother-dear on our chosen path. The trail is pretty steep - Ridge lake is 5200 feet, Goldmyer is 2000. So it would be a heck of a hike coming back up!!

Anyway - just a little dream I'd pass along if you want to go when we come and visit next May/June. And again - down to Goldmyer is only if we're feeling like it - it'd be pretty hard.

Love you father dear. 

Happy Father's day