2003 Bull Run Lake Backpacking Trip - Day 3
(Sunday, 07 September, 2003)
See also my photo gallery from this
trip.
I woke up at around 8am after a not-too-fitful and windy night, boiled water
for coffee and oatmeal, and refilled my water bladder. My water filter was
difficult to pump this morning - it must be nearing time to replace the
cartridge.
After breakfast I went
fishing for a bit. It was too windy for fly fishing so I shortly switched to
a gold lure. That didn't seem too enticing to the fish either, and after 45
minutes or so, I gave up. Barry & I packed up camp and I realized I was a
bit low on food for our return trip. No matter, as Barry had much more snack
food than he was going to eat. We hit the trail at 12:20 and struck a brisk
pace.
The scenery returning was nice, but familiar from Friday's hike in, and it was
pretty warm as we descended past the junction with the Mosquito Lakes trail.
I was feeling pretty good though, despite a little tiredness from the previous
day's peak hike. We found a nice granite outcropping and stopped there for a
few to have lunch (mainly eating leftover snacks and PB & crackers), and
continued down to the creek crossing that had confused me on the way in.
Apparently I wasn't the only one, as someone had left a series of ducks across
the river to mark the way - too bad they weren't there when I arrived on
Friday!
The last 1.2mi were a gentle uphill and they passed uneventfully. We arrived
at our cars at about 2:30. I'd have liked to have had lunch with Barry in
Arnold on the way out, but I was feeling the need to get the 3.5hr drive home
out of the way, so we parted ways.
This was a fun and low-key trip. I took away some good lessons/ideas for
lightweight backpacking, and my new pack and shoes proved excellent, at least
so far. The nearly-deserted lake was quite the contrast to Gilmore Lake the
previous weekend!
Day's statistics:
| Distance: |
3.8mi |
| Total Time: |
1hrs 53min (including a 15min snack break) |
| Elevation gain: |
350 feet |
| Difficulty: |
4 |
| Scenery: |
6 |
| Trail condition/markings/etc: |
4 - easier to follow on the way back, but still faint in places
|
| Overall rating: |
6 |
Trip links:
Other links: