Got out this weekend for a 2 day hike in the gorge, the weather was forecast to be unseasonably warm, so this time we brought our youngest daughter along.
We planned to start at the Sheltowee bridge, and take the rough trail up to Hansons point. Depending on the time, we could camp there or continue on to another spot- at Footwash basin, or perhaps Rush ridge.
Camp was red dot, on rush ridge.
The start, on the bridge. This is a cool bridge, the missing/broken boards sure add to the fun!
Looky what we saw on the first ridge, several days old they seem, but there were 7-8 tracks total. If they aren't bear, then someone had a kid in bear foot slippers out there lol
Things got WET down along Chimney top creek. I was surprised at how much snow was still around. There was 8-10" in spots.
I had no pictures of the creek crossings, Although a couple of hikers did apparently take video/pics of me crossing on a tree. I noticed their onlooking when I was halfway across a 30ft crossing, about 5 feet above the creek.Lucky me I didn't fall. We found a spot a few hundred feet downstream that was OK for keeping feet somewhat dry.
After getting water at the last crossing, we headed up to the ridge for the night. By now, the sun was high, and there was a very odd mix of cool air from the snow, and downright warm breezes swirling about. Perfect hiking!
We started to see ALOT of hikers, due to the nice weather. We saw a group camped on Hansons point ridge, and although the last 2 good camp areas we open, decided against staying there. We did go out to the point for a view. Saw a couple there, who asked me to take pictures of them.. Apparently they had just got engaged on the point. (This would be the first of 2 times we were asked to take pictures of people on this trip!!)
It was 4pm by the time we exited the pinetree exfoliation that is Hansons point ridge, and we planned to hustle down Pinch-em Tight, to Rush ridge, and stay at a spot we knew would work well for us. The hike down this section was fairly flat and quick going. We did run into a few hikers who asked about our packs, specifically my Circuit. One had a very old ULA pack, and was interested in a newer one. He asked about weight, guessing 40-45lbs. They were surprised to hear even with 4L's of water and food for 3 my pack was barely 32-34lbs. That felt nice! We rushed on the camp, and I sat things up while my wife started food.
My wife+I's WL night owls, and her new dutch sock. Unfortunately the low was to be in the 40's, so we were overly warm the whole night.
Heres how I rigged the spreader bars, using prusik knots. Seemed to work fine, I had no complaints of the spreader setup.
I did not have a very good sleep. Although I thought I had a good hang from the looks, I had very little/no "footbox", meaning my feet would fall out. Luckily I was tired from the days hike, I managed with side sleeping mainly. My sleep was also compromised by a certain spouse who decided to watch a movie about a couple hikers who got eaten by a bear the day before. I was awoken 3-4 times during the night due to strange noises that needed my attention..
After a quick breakfast, we loaded up and headed back out. The terrain on this short section of the rough trail is great.
More cool air and snow!
The cool footbridge at Footwash basin was taken out by floods, Still cross-able, but tricky in the icy conditions. Luckily the other bridge was intact.
We lugged back up to the ridge, shedding our light morning layers along the way, and were welcomed by warm sun and great views again. I was back to hiking in a T-shirt at this point, the weather sure was nice for January.
We backtracked the Sheltowee, and plunged through the creek crossings with less regard to wet feet, knowing the car was a few miles away. We saw more and more people as we approached the parking lot, I would guess 40-50 ppl total over the 2 days! All in all, a fun trip!
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Originally Posted by ShellHammock
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