ET's Info-Stew

23:28 - This morning I awoke at about 8 AM after a pretty good night of sleep. At 10 AM we hit the trail back to the car. Because Carl was carrying about 55 pounds with that 15 pound bowling ball rock, I expected we'd hit the car at about 2 PM. Well we set a good steady pace and hit the half-way point at 11:20 AM! 3.5 miles in 80 minutes is pretty good considering our shape and the terrain.

Last night's sleep wasn't as good as the first night, but it was decent. I got up at about 7:30 AM, ate breakfast, and thought about what I wanted to do today. Bill and Carl left for the south side of Rockbound for fishing, so I decided I would hike up to Rubicon Reservoir.

I left camp at about 10:30 AM and made it to a ridge more than a mile further in that overlooked Rockbound, Rubicon Reservoir, and Fox Lake. Seeing how close Fox Lake was I figured I'd go check it out after a swim in Rubicon Reservoir.

12:58 - Sleep last night was pretty good. As usual I woke up a dozen or more times to change positions. But I was comfortable enough that I wasn't kept awake by neck or back pain. I've come to learn that both Bill and Carl wake up several times per night but they don't tend to consider that waking up because they go right back to sleep. So at least I know I'm a typical backcountry sleeper.

16:24 - This year's trip is another return to Rockbound in Desolation Wilderness. Since we now live in Colorado, I flew in for four days of backpacking and a couple days of work. Yesterday Carl and I left for Ranch Cicaca in the evening after gathering last-minute items. We got there around 11 PM and had to be up at around 5 AM. We slept on the floor and my sleep was not good. I think I need something to support my head and shoulders like pillows at home, not just my head. My neck was very sore and so I didn't sleep well.

In August of 2008 I flew out to California to go backpacking with Bill and Carl. We went to our staple location, Desolation Wilderness.

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After a few days back from the trip, it's time for some reflection.

I didn't write near as much in my log as usual. I'm usually writing about all the mundane things, like food, reading, swimming, etc. just to fill pages. I decided to leave these details out and the result is less writing that is more informational. One consequence of this is that I didn't write interesting log entries for the last two days. True, these days not much happened, but I should have written something.

I got about as good of sleep as I can expect last night. I put my pack under my sleeping pad to give my knees a place to rest while lying on my back. The extra available sleeping position meant my body could stay in positions longer, so I woke up to move fewer times.

18:01 - The plan today was to go to Cinder Cone. It is about 8 miles round trip to the cone from our camp spot, though it's not clear if that includes the hike up.

Most of the trial approaching Cinder Cone was gradually downhill, so I kicked up the pace a bit. The part of the trail is largely coarse sand. Eventually, half a mile to the cone, the trees open up to a volcanic desert.

Near the base of the cone the trail forks, with the right fork heading to the top of Cinder Cone. You really start to feel how annoying it is to hike in sand while going up this first uphill.

15:19 - The first leg of the hike was fairly easy, though for someone in my shape...well let's just say I'm glad we stopped when we did. At around 6,600 feet, Lower Twin Lake has plenty of shade provided by pine trees. The trail to here is about 4.5 miles and the trail head is about the same elevation. The first part is uphill about 600 feet, summiting near an excellent view of Lassen Peak, then downhill in stages until you reach Upper Twin Lake.

In July of 2007 I took my first trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park. We had been planning such a trip for years, but we were always delayed for one reason or another (one year heavy snow, another year a huge fire). I took a lot more food than normal, but my pack was still light. With full water loaded up it was still less that 30 pounds for three nights. I was thankful for the lighter load because I still wasn't in shape for the hike. Carl was worse off because he was carrying 45 pounds. For the first time in history, Bill wasn't carrying the heaviest pack, having purchased a whole bunch of new gear.

My biggest worry was sleep, and sure enough I slept as poor as I always did on the first night. Fortunately I started sleeping better then next couple nights when I placed my pack "hamburger-wise" underneath my sleeping pad to support my knees. What a difference! The highlight of the trip, which was also the most difficult, was my long day hike to the top of the Cinder Cone. Writing this nearly a week later my body has all but recovered, and so I can say that it was very rewarding.

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