The boss man called for an early end to the work week on Friday sending me scrambling to finish getting my gear together to get an early start on the weekend. After drenching my pack from a leaking bladder, I made the drive up to Pillsbury Mt TH by 4pm (I suppose that's not the worst thing that could happen from an o-ring problem). I was happy to see that the road back to the trail head has been vastly improved since the last time I was there. There were already 4 other cars in the parking lot and I would later learn that people were parking down the road later in the weekend.
The rain from earlier in the day gave way to a light mist as I made tracks to the northernmost Cedar Lake Lean-to. Made it to the lean-to by 6 after passing one group headed in the same direction. Mud and bug season are in full force right now (LOTS OF MUD!), although the rain kept the bugs at bay on Friday. Had the lean-to to myself where I read the log book and then settled into a book. The night was filled with tons of loon calls and a call and response from 2 owls on either side of the lean-to. It was quite a beautiful area despite the Lean-to being almost directly on the trail.
Saturday morning fog gave way to sun and eventually the black flies that come with it. I spent some time exploring the area around the dam and immediately ran into a couple who had hiked in overnight :eek: After breakfast I worked my way south, exploring the other two lean-tos on Cedar Lake and chatting with a couple guys relaxing on their off day. As with most of the weekend, I kept moving to avoid the omnipresent bugs. I took a compass bearing off trail and in a little while was happy to find myself about 50ft from French Louie's cave (better lucky than good!). I explored around a little and despite the AM hours sipped a little whiskey to his memory :boozing:. After making my way back to trail, I continued on running into a few different groups. I could tell the holiday rush must be catching up to me. Having my pick of the West Lake and South Lake Lean-tos, I settled in to the latter around 3pm for some relaxation. I was later joined for the night by a couple who graciously shared some of their intimate knowledge of the area with me as well as some good conversation.
After a laid back morning, I made my way down the trail to Sampson Lean-to where I met a few fishermen camped at the lean-to. I chatted with them a bit and talked about my plans to fish Whitney Lake that afternoon. They kindly offered me up some night crawlers and a sip of Canadian whiskey :boozing: to which I obliged. There is no shortage of generous people in the back country! :) They were not thrilled when I mentioned the impending rain but chuckled when I reminded them that you can't have mud without rain. I made my way to Whitney Lake and spent some time catching only a couple more bug bites.
I decided to make tracks out on Sunday rather than deal with rain so I pushed on back to the car. I ran into a large group who were also finishing up the loop and was completely amazed at how impeccably clean their boots were :confused: I told their leader that muddy boots are a badge of honor as I passed them through ankle deep mud :D Got back to trail head by 6pm and got to work on the gluttonous meal I had meticulously contemplated during the hike out.
It was a great weekend in a very beautiful area. Can't wait to explore the area more!
The rain from earlier in the day gave way to a light mist as I made tracks to the northernmost Cedar Lake Lean-to. Made it to the lean-to by 6 after passing one group headed in the same direction. Mud and bug season are in full force right now (LOTS OF MUD!), although the rain kept the bugs at bay on Friday. Had the lean-to to myself where I read the log book and then settled into a book. The night was filled with tons of loon calls and a call and response from 2 owls on either side of the lean-to. It was quite a beautiful area despite the Lean-to being almost directly on the trail.
Saturday morning fog gave way to sun and eventually the black flies that come with it. I spent some time exploring the area around the dam and immediately ran into a couple who had hiked in overnight :eek: After breakfast I worked my way south, exploring the other two lean-tos on Cedar Lake and chatting with a couple guys relaxing on their off day. As with most of the weekend, I kept moving to avoid the omnipresent bugs. I took a compass bearing off trail and in a little while was happy to find myself about 50ft from French Louie's cave (better lucky than good!). I explored around a little and despite the AM hours sipped a little whiskey to his memory :boozing:. After making my way back to trail, I continued on running into a few different groups. I could tell the holiday rush must be catching up to me. Having my pick of the West Lake and South Lake Lean-tos, I settled in to the latter around 3pm for some relaxation. I was later joined for the night by a couple who graciously shared some of their intimate knowledge of the area with me as well as some good conversation.
After a laid back morning, I made my way down the trail to Sampson Lean-to where I met a few fishermen camped at the lean-to. I chatted with them a bit and talked about my plans to fish Whitney Lake that afternoon. They kindly offered me up some night crawlers and a sip of Canadian whiskey :boozing: to which I obliged. There is no shortage of generous people in the back country! :) They were not thrilled when I mentioned the impending rain but chuckled when I reminded them that you can't have mud without rain. I made my way to Whitney Lake and spent some time catching only a couple more bug bites.
I decided to make tracks out on Sunday rather than deal with rain so I pushed on back to the car. I ran into a large group who were also finishing up the loop and was completely amazed at how impeccably clean their boots were :confused: I told their leader that muddy boots are a badge of honor as I passed them through ankle deep mud :D Got back to trail head by 6pm and got to work on the gluttonous meal I had meticulously contemplated during the hike out.
It was a great weekend in a very beautiful area. Can't wait to explore the area more!
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