I picked the wrong hike to take with my friend today. He's been nursing a sore ankle for a few months and today he wedged it between rocks and twisted it at 5400 feet. Deciding it was best to descend he shortly slipped on a muddy spot and jammed his braced wrist which has two fractures trying to break his fall. I gave him some Ibuprofen, but it was a long slow walk down.
There's a couple creek crossing near the start that aren't too bad, just watch for slippery rocks. One hiker slipped and went down and had to chase a lost pole downstream. After climbing the meadows you'll enter woods around a half mile. You'll see a paper plate on the ground at each end of a short section marked 'Bees', they're in an old stump on the downside of the trail. We stayed on the upside of the trail and never had a problem either direction. After rounding the ridge, the trail changes from rooty to rocky and eventually is straight talus. Foot placement is critical. There's lots of cairns to keep you on track. Hard to keep your eyes on the surroundings as you navigate up valley and to the top of Headlee Pass.
From there we traversed more talus across the valley wall to Vesper Lake and took a short break. Then we started ascending heather, reaching tree line and eventually 5400 where we turned around. Despite our troubles, Headlee Pass was fun to hike, Vesper Lake was beautiful in its starkness, and we still had pretty good views.
There were quite a few hikers today but never felt crowded. After a little morning fog, the weather was great. Guess I'll have to leave Vesper Peak on my list. FR 4065 is rough in spots but doable, one tricky spot might be best for high clearance. Lot was almost full when we started, and cars were down the road on our return.
Comments
Photo #2 is stunning! Great shot!
Posted by:
mato on Nov 14, 2023 07:05 PM
Thanks!
Posted by:
Ups n Downs on Nov 14, 2023 07:43 PM