Friday, September 16, 2011

I started walking out at 6 am...

in the dark, using my headlamp to illuminate the trail, after extricating myself from my bivi bag in an early season snowstorm in the Pintler Wilderness.  I had solo hiked ~ 9 mi the day before to Oreamnos Lake, situated in a glacial basin immediately astride the Continental Divide, and head of the Pintler Creek drainage.  Here's a shot I took upon arrival, with West Pintler Peak standing in the distance (click to enlarge):
I explored the upper basin in the late afternoon, scouting approaches to tomorrow's climbing objectives, and here's a view back toward the lake, and to East Pintler Peak (bald summit on the left):
The weather was stable and clear at dinner time, and as my water came to a boil for my freeze-dried meal, I mulled the possible routes to the summits of the two aforementioned peaks:
As bull elk bugled eerily nearby in the alpine basin, I took this last image at sunset:
Around 9 pm the stars began to disappear when the wind picked up, as an enormous lightning/thunderstorm rolled over the divide.  I was buried in my bivi bag when it began raining heavily, eventually falling asleep in a steady drizzle as the storm waned.  Upon wakening in the early morning the precipitation had turned to snow flurries, and I thought it best to head down the mountain, abandoning my climbing goals for another occasion.

2 comments:

  1. "Another occasion".......no kiddin'

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  2. Nice little stroll (Caver) John - SIU friend, D. Ceckowski.

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