Our plan was to hike within 5 miles of the trailhead so that we could hike out on Monday. However, we quickly lost the White River trail due to snow within 10 minutes. It should of been tough to get lost since we had the aid of two rivers, one on each side. Unfortunately, we dropped to hike beside one river and found brush so thick that it literally required all 4's to get through. We navigated up somewhat to a forested area, which was easier to travel through, but had many fallen tree crossings. After several hours of this, it really began to get quite old and caused the morale to drop significantly. Even Murphy didn't like it.
Alas, we found the 2nd river. According to Mark's altimeter we were within a hundred feet of where the trail should be, so we dropped packs and began hunting. Whew! Never before in our lives have we been so glad to see a trail! We picked it up about a 1/4 mile uphill (or 100' in elevation). Unfortunately there was a river crossing that required the removal of boots and pant legs. The water was raging from the heavy snow melt this year and the water was likely 32.1F. We had an approximate 15 foot, waist deep crossing of water that was running at a good 100 gallons/second. Mark tossed Murphy across the river, grabbed Dani's hand, and across we went. The water felt like sharp icicles piercing our legs and feet until we could no longer feel them. Dani wanted to turn around somewhere between knee and waist deep, so Mark squeezed her hand a little harder and kept walking. On the other shore, Murphy shook himself dry and Dani sat down wondering if feeling would ever return to her feet. Mark insisted we keep moving so that our legs would warm back up, so we hiked in our sandals expecting the next crossing to be only a 1/4 mile away. It was probably a mile or two, and in the mean time our feet were subject to thorns, stickers, bites, and dirt that the trail enjoyed throwing at us. The 2nd crossing was probably twice as wide as the first. Again, Mark grabbed Murphy in one hand and Dani's hand with the other. Mark led the way and at one point thought he was going to lose his footing and start floating down the river. The same cold water sucked all feeling out of our legs and left us gasping short breaths on the opposite bank. But, we had made it. 
Our fear of the third crossing left us with little hope, since we knew we couldn't turn around and retrace our steps through the rivers and dense forest at this point. Luckily there was a large tree that had nicely placed itself between the two banks. Mark opted to walk, Dani scooted, and Murphy shot across on Mark's heels. It was the last of the White River crossings and we were quite glad to have those behind us. The remainder of the hike we looked for a campsite, which we found near a smaller river that provided water and a cool breeze. We set up camp, ate rehydrated BBQ Jamaican chicken for dinner and apple cobbler for dessert. The evening was finished off with a cup of much deserved hot apple cider.
No comments:
Post a Comment