The easy start that wasn't easy

Since Fran is justifiably nervous about the road, I drive downhill with her about two miles until we reach acceptable roadbed, and then walk back up to the trailhead where WILDCAT waits with the packs. Starting hikes with walks to the trailhead seem to be a habit of mine:  I walked about ten miles to start the Continental Divide Trail and a thousand to the origin of the Appalachian Trail. Two bonus miles is nothing, and Fran is spared driving the dodgy road alone.

We can see just a little snow on South Yolla Bolly Mountain. At 8,000 feet high, it represents the limit of how high we will hike on this trip, so we likely will have little or no snow to deal with. We both brought ice axes and crampons, but it appears we will have no need for them, so we leave them in the RV.

Reviewing the map last night, it looked like today's trail would be gentle with just a few climbs of a few hundred feet. We're two guys in their sixties and both out of shape, so a few days of easy hiking is a welcome plan. Unfortunately, the map study was quite misleading. What we couldn't see was that the trail was constantly going up and down rather than flat.

We take a little detour to Square Lake. Actually, we were trying to figure out which faint trail to follow and arrived at the lake by accident, but it was well worth the extra tenth of a mile. The crystal clear lake is nestled against towering rock walls and softened by a dense forest of Western White Pine and Sugar Pine. One fisherman is on the other side of the lake enjoying the solitude.

We made plodding progress, partially due to being out of shape, but even more so because of the condition of the trail. Since the trail has little use, it is not maintained. Years of windfalls have blocked the trail with debris. The tread is faint, disappearing under the forest floor of pine needles and cones. We typically follow the trail just 20-50 feet before we lose it under a brush pile. By lunch time we have made just four miles, a fraction of our usual pace. The maps show trail junctions at mile 4.6 and 6.9. We see neither one, which is concerning because there is no reliable water on the trail for fourteen miles. We need to find the faint side trail to Frying Pan creek for water and camp.

By afternoon our trail finding skills are improving, and we are spending a little less time hunting for the trail. The trail generally follows the ridgeline, just off to one side or the other, so when it disappears walking on the side slope is rough on our ankles. Sometimes we just walk on the ridge until we spot the trail again.

Today's plan was for 12 miles, to camp at Frying Pan. That seemed like a short day when we reviewed it, but the trail condition conspired to make it quite challenging. Given the water situation we really had to make it to Frying Pan, so we hiked eleven hours and are quite tired. So much for the easy start!

12 miles to Frying Pan Creek