Finally got around to posting a video on my hike on my youtube channel:
I hiked this trail in pretty much the exact same order almost exactly 2 years ago (May 2014) with my wife. As last time, we did the trail in 2 nights and 2 days (the evening of the first day, a full second day, and morning/afternoon of the third day). This time, I took a group of guys with me, some of whom had never had much backpacking experience at all. We got to the trailhead (Winding Stairs) around 5 pm, March 31, for a rather late start after taking a wrong turn along the steep, winding road. I also forgot my glasses in my car and had to turn around after he had hiked in about 1/2 mile. I was hoping to get in 5-6 miles the first day, but we probably only did about 3 or so before we had to pitch camp, somewhere along the Little Missouri River. (We hiked counterclockwise). Temps were a bit cooler than the last time I hiked the trail: highs in the high 60s to around 70 and lows down to around 36 F on the coldest night. I took the Hexamid with me, and it did quite well. No rain during the trip, but a bit cloudy the first two days. The second day was the most difficult–that’s when we did most of the elevation gain along the Athens-Big Fork trail. One of our party ended up twisting his ankle (or injuring it due to repetitive impact going up/down the steep climbs/descents) after he lent his trekking poles to someone else who didn’t have trekking poles. (I cautioned everyone that trekking poles were in order). He was hobbling along the last 10 miles or so to finish the trail, which pushed back our finish to around 4-5 pm on day 3. Fortunately, this happened mostly during the last day of the trip, and he managed to make it back by slowing his/our pace. The last day of the trip I went for a swim in the Little Missouri River–the part where the river is wide and deep and a beautiful teal-green. It was extremely cold! Some of the other guys went in halfway and got right out because they couldn’t bear the cold. I did swim across to the other side and back. Was nice and refreshing after a tough 2 days of hiking. Overall, a great hike again–this trail has become one of my favorites. Tons of water crossings–the water was a bit deeper than last time I did the hike due to heavy rainfall before the hike. There was one point where the water got up to my waist, and one of our party nearly fell in the water (and did eventually slip and fall later) whilst trying to scramble around a steep rock.
We ran into a bunch of other hikers on the last day of our trip near the scenic part of the river (near Winding Stairs), where the river widens to about 50-75 yards across and there is no option but to ford the river. I smiled as others took off their shoes/boots and grimaced in pain as they waded across barefoot–all carrying obscenely heavy packs. On this trip, we probably had about 25-30 wet crossings (nearly one every other hour). I kept my trail runners on the whole time and did not have any issues. I did use Hydropel to prevent blisters. I am definitely a convert to the strategy of managing wet feet rather than attempting to keep them dry at all costs.
I also learned on this trip to remember to hook your food bag to your carabiner when you bear bagging PCT style. I forgot as it was late at night and I ended up having to retrieve my carabiner / bear bag line the next morning using 3 trekking poles taped together and my Spyderco ladybug. Finally got to put my duct tape to use!
