For its annual June outing, the Beginners’ Backpack returned to the Bull of the Woods Wilderness. We began at Elk Lake and camped the first night at Upper Twin Lake. The next day we packed up and hiked to the confluence of Battle Creek and Elk Lake Creek. On day three we returned to Elk Lake.
Our route took us 14 miles, and we gained 3140 feet. As a bonus we climbed Battle Axe in route to Twin Lakes. This trip has a little of everything you might encounter on a backpack but not too much of anything. It even has two stream crossings. The only thing in excess was the number of logs across the trail. We crossed around 200 the second day of the trip! Certainly an opportunity for some grousing, and well, actually, there was some. According to the before and after photos, however, everyone survived with all body parts intact.
While not perfect, the weather was pretty darn good for our three day, two night adventure. Only day one left a bit to be desired. It was overcast, and chilly, and the trail side brush was wet from rain the day before. Overall, however, the views were spectacular, the lake lovely and the wildflowers abundant. Hiking through the burn, the hillsides were covered with rhododendrons and bear grass in full bloom. Quite an amazing site.
Although quite a number of beginners signed up for the trip early on, for a variety of reasons only two were able to make the trip. In addition we had two experienced backpackers new to Chemeketan backpacking. The rest to the roster was filled with experienced Chemeketan backpackers. The new backpackers passed with flying colors. Overall it was an excellent group: enthusiastic, prepared, and mostly cheerful in the face of all those logs.
Our two new backpackers were Lark Reese and Dawn Mach. Backpackers new to Chemeketan backpacking were Alex Brame and Andree Bain. Old Chemeketan hands were Nancy Rockwell, Karie Hutchings, Roz Shirack, Mary Coleman, and Blanka Truncekova. Trip leaders were Rick Cooper and Joel Zak.
See Photo Albums for pictures of the trip.