Monday, June 13, 2011

Camping Part Deux

We had so much fun last weekend we made a repeat trip to Vogel State Park.

We headed out Friday after work (Jeff picked me up to cut an hour out of the drive) and set up camp by 6PM!


On the agenda this weekend: Tackling Bear Hair Gap Trail. 4.5 miles and 1200 feet elevation change over rocky terrain and fording streams.

This photo looks innocuous enough, but that is because it's merely the side trail leading DIRECTLY FROM OUR CAMPSITE (#30) to meet up with the mini-trail that goes to the trail head.


So...that is all of the photos I have from our hike. 2 reasons: 1) we did not want to lug the camera with us and 2) whoa nelly when we were stopped I was huffing and puffing, not checking out photo ops. IT WAS TOUGH!!!

After ascending the 1200 feet in the first 1/3 of the trip, we sat down for a picnic lunch at Vogel lookout (we split a Clif bar, turkey sandwich, and Gatorade). A good 15 minute recovery prepared us for the extremely rocky, backcountry descent back down the mountain.

We tested the water resistance of our shoes several times (Jeff's favorite part) and are pretty sure we saw bear poop. (Yes there are bears. No you are not supposed to feed them. We met up with a guy that was carrying a blowhorn. Not a bad idea if you ask me.) I have never hiked anything this crazy in my life. But I am bitten by the bug...I can't wait to do it again!!! What a sense of accomplishment and an adrenaline high when all is said and done...

And when it was all said and done, we went for a swim in the cold lake (essential to keep swelling and pain down, we've discovered!), and built our fire for the night...


What a great site. I hope we get to come back soon!


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