Day 9 of the Wonderland: Summer Land to Nickel Creek

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

We awake today at 7:30am. We had a limited water supply as we chose to bed early and wait to filter water but Katie still had oatmeal while I munched on cashews and a Clif bar. When we set off, it was very cold and foggy. We filtered water from the stream and watched marmots lie about leisurely on the jagged rocks. The way up to Panhandle Gap was difficult – snowy, steep, not marked for convenience… we followed the dirtiest, broadest path with relative success. In the Panhandle, we continued to cross numerous snowfields, keeping our eyes open for mountain goats. We ended up spotting two ptarmigan families with chicks and baby marmots (4!) but no goats. The party far behind us said that there was a herd that crossed our path right behind us once we crested out of the Gap – if only we’d turned our heads! Although this region was slippery and unsteady, it was manageable with normal backpacking boots and trekking poles, and I was thankful for the overcast as I did not bring protective eyewear against snow blindness. The partial sun was persistent throughout the eleven miles, and we were rained on only briefly near the end of the day.

Probably the most exciting part of our day was entering Indian Bar, with its neat shelter and ‘bubble’ like atmosphere. You see the camp ages before you get there, which makes hunger for lunch break seem interminable. We were warned about a bear cub that we again never saw and ate, sat, and explored for an hour – putting off the hike to Nickel Creek. We met up with a couple we saw back from our day to Mowich Lake and a guy we saw at the suspension bridge by Carbon Glacier, which was exciting given how close everyone is to completing their adventures. They were all traveling counter-clockwise and had run into 5 straight days of rain!

The view of the mountains on the way to Nickel was a phenomenal panoramic vista. Among the series of small peaks, you get some 360 views and alleys of mountains splayed out on the horizon. We also passed by tree after tree scratched and marred by bear activity. The last 3.5 miles was all downhill which meant happy feet (yay for moleskin) and angry knees. When we finally got to camp, there was a family eating dinner in our site. Katie picked up some leftovers off the ground from the kids to prevent bear activity and we pitched our tent and prepared for dinner (chicken/potatoes for me; Louisiana red beans for Katie). The family that ate in our site offered us some chocolate covered blueberries, which was very nice and appreciated. It was past 9pm by the time dinner was over, and I had strung our food bags on the bear pole, but I hope to be asleep by 10pm tonight. Oh, lots of little biting bugs flying around in addition to the mosquitoes – really annoying!
 I’m exhausted; the Panhandle, though gorgeous and exciting, took a slow pace and more effort than usual, making the mileage seem longer. Proud to have made it!