TR: Roaring Plains: Fall colors and snow
Oct 7, 2014 8:40:50 GMT -5
Post by rpcv on Oct 7, 2014 8:40:50 GMT -5
Some friends invited us to go backpacking this past weekend and we eventually settled on Roaring Plains. We did a modified version of MrHyker's base camp loop hike. We arrived at the trailhead on Saturday morning in the middle of a very windy sleet/snow squall. We forged ahead since the forecast called for the weather to clear around noon. Blueberries blazed red along the South Prong Trail. The weather did, indeed, clear pretty quickly. By the time we reached the turnoff to the Hidden Passage, there were patches of blue sky. The wind, however, did not diminish.
We made good time on the Hidden Passage. I know it isn't officially a trail, but I swear I've been on named trails that are in worse shape. We reached the gas line cut in good time. This was as far as my husband and I had hiked in Roaring Plains. The last time we were out, we turned north on the gas line cut and hiked to FR 70 and back to the car. This time, we hiked down the gas line cut to the Canyon Rim Trail. Along the way, we found large clumps of Nodding Ladies Tresses in the boggy spots on the cut. The Canyon Rim Trail was awesome. We paid close attention and never had much trouble with navigation. When we would come to a spot where it looked like a couple of paths diverged, we would briefly investigate and choose the one that looked most worn and kept parallel to the ridgeline. That strategy never steered us wrong. It was slow going, however. We made a good decision in stopping to fill up all of our water containers at Roaring Creek. We didn't see any more water Saturday afternoon or well into Sunday's hike.
We stopped for the night at the campsite at the junction of the Canyon Rim Trail and the TeePee Trail. We shared the campsite with four guys from Pittsburgh, who turned out to be pleasant company. The wind howled all night long and before we went to bed, it started snowing again, although not enough to stick to anything. We woke up to ice in our water bottles. The next day, we continued on the Rim Trail, picking our way through the boulder field, making our way to the junction with the Roaring Plains Trail. After the Canyon Rim Trail, the Roaring Plains trail seemed like a paved sidewalk. Before we knew it, we were at FR 70, which we walked out to the trailhead.
It was just a spectacular trip. We'll definitely go back. I want to thank MrHyker for the trail notes. They were most helpful, especially in helping us make the decision to get water when we did.
A gray, wet start on the South Prong Trail.
Hay-Scented Ferns along the Hidden Passage
Looking down (south) the gas line cut.
Spiranthes cernua (Nodding Ladies Tresses) on the gas line cut
Looking southwest from the large boulder field on the Canyon Rim Trail.
More pictures can be found on my blog.
We made good time on the Hidden Passage. I know it isn't officially a trail, but I swear I've been on named trails that are in worse shape. We reached the gas line cut in good time. This was as far as my husband and I had hiked in Roaring Plains. The last time we were out, we turned north on the gas line cut and hiked to FR 70 and back to the car. This time, we hiked down the gas line cut to the Canyon Rim Trail. Along the way, we found large clumps of Nodding Ladies Tresses in the boggy spots on the cut. The Canyon Rim Trail was awesome. We paid close attention and never had much trouble with navigation. When we would come to a spot where it looked like a couple of paths diverged, we would briefly investigate and choose the one that looked most worn and kept parallel to the ridgeline. That strategy never steered us wrong. It was slow going, however. We made a good decision in stopping to fill up all of our water containers at Roaring Creek. We didn't see any more water Saturday afternoon or well into Sunday's hike.
We stopped for the night at the campsite at the junction of the Canyon Rim Trail and the TeePee Trail. We shared the campsite with four guys from Pittsburgh, who turned out to be pleasant company. The wind howled all night long and before we went to bed, it started snowing again, although not enough to stick to anything. We woke up to ice in our water bottles. The next day, we continued on the Rim Trail, picking our way through the boulder field, making our way to the junction with the Roaring Plains Trail. After the Canyon Rim Trail, the Roaring Plains trail seemed like a paved sidewalk. Before we knew it, we were at FR 70, which we walked out to the trailhead.
It was just a spectacular trip. We'll definitely go back. I want to thank MrHyker for the trail notes. They were most helpful, especially in helping us make the decision to get water when we did.
A gray, wet start on the South Prong Trail.
Hay-Scented Ferns along the Hidden Passage
Looking down (south) the gas line cut.
Spiranthes cernua (Nodding Ladies Tresses) on the gas line cut
Looking southwest from the large boulder field on the Canyon Rim Trail.
More pictures can be found on my blog.
