Yesterday which was May 30, 2015 a Saturday we took the 11 year old scouts on a hike up Henderson Canyon which is on the west side of our valley in the Big Hole mountain range. Unfortunately I did not get a lot of great photos mainly because I forgot to pull out my camera except in one steep spot on the trail and then again on top of the mountain. I need to remember to get good photos of the scouts doing the things they are doing so they can remember.
Our purpose this time was to fulfill a few of the requirements for 1st and 2nd class ranks. Those included hiking with a map and compass at least 5 miles, doing an orientation course that covered about a mile, finding 10 different plants, estimating the height of objects without using a measuring device, and finding evidence of several types of animals in the forest. We accomplished most of those requirements.
The task we did was to take the map and compass and figure out where we were on the map. We chose a spring that we estimated to be about .2 miles away and set a course for it. It was interesting in that all of us chose a different angle of travel. We all figured out the correct angle to start so I don't know if it was lack of attention or malfunctioning compasses or we weren't quite starting from the right place on the map. Anyway we eventually all got there and got bit a lot by mosquitoes. The spring was actually a pipe running into some water troughs.
From the spring we headed due north on a trail and our course would be to head toward a mountain known as Horse Heaven. It looked about 3-4 miles away by the map but if it turned out to be easy enough we would shoot for that. If not then we would go at least 2.5 miles and turn around. To make a long story short we found ourselves going the wrong way on the trail and decided to go across country to catch the right trail. Later looking at the GPS I figured out that we were originally on the right trail and it would have eventually swung around to catch up to where we cut across.
After cutting across and re-finding the trail we hit a steep 2 track road which was pointing the right way. The opposite direction was the main trail that looped back to the vehicles. I pointed it out that that was the way to go once we came back. I'm glad I pointed that out or they would have gone back the hard way (as little did I know I wouldn't be with them).
The only problem with the new trail was that it was really steep. It looked like mostly motorcycles and 4-wheelers went that way. We started up it. We didn't get far and I found I was having a hard time. I kept getting slower and slower and my head started hurting, then my chest was burning. I've been in a lot of high altitude places but never experienced this before. I assumed it was from being in not so good shape at first but then I was really really getting slow. I could tell that the boys hanging back with me (Chase, Zach and Kiowa) were getting impatient. Chase and Zach started going up to catch up with Tom and Andrew and Dalton. I sat down and Kiowa sat with me. We talked for a minute but I couldn't really stand up. I felt a little dizzy and then thought "Oh no not that thing that put me in the hospital again." (I had spent a week in the hospital last year which started out as just feeling a little dizzy similar to what I was experiencing now). I kept sitting hoping it would go away as I didn't have my pills to combat it. Kiowa then said he was going to go up. I said ok and to tell them I was feeling sick but should be up in a bit. He started up and then as I was looking at my GPS I noticed I was sitting right next to another trail that sidelined up and would eventually join into the trail the rest were on. It looked way less steep but about 150 yards longer. I stood up and yelled up to Kiowa that I would take this trail and meet them up there and to tell them that I would be there.
I don't think Kiowa understood me well after talking about it later. I think he thought I said I was going down. Anyway as I started walking along the new trail my head cleared and suddenly I had energy. I hoofed it across and then climbed the little way to the top and nobody was there. I thought maybe they had gone on. The only problem was there were two trails and I couldn't tell which way they would have gone. The ground was hard and I couldn't see any tracks. I thought I would just sit, eat my lunch and wait for them to come back. I blew my bugle so they would know I was up there. I heard some voices up the trail and thought "good they heard me". (I think the wind was blowing too strong as nobody heard the bugle I learned later.)(It was also close to the Crest trail and I could have heard some other hikers.)
I waited and I waited. I walked around. I kicked over some rocks and found a little box like a geocache or something. I threw the remainder of my sandwich at a squirrel. Took pictures. Nobody came. I hoped that they were not lost up there as it had been about 45 minutes. I looked for tracks up and down the trail they had come but couldn't find any coming or going. The GPS was not wrong. I was in the right place as it positions you with the map. I could see the exact trail I was sitting on, the path that the GPS had tracked me on and they lined up. I could also see the intersection where I left and that it was only 3-400 yards down the main trail. Finally I decided to go down, hoping and praying that they had just gone on down and I had heard somebody else on top. All the way down I looked for tracks and couldn't even find a scuff, including where I had left the trail. In other words the ground was really hard.
It was a nice easy walk down and took less than 30 minutes to get to the truck. Sure enough they were all down there bored as heck, building fires out of the papers and maps we were learning on. I was very relieved to find them waiting there but also a little embarrassed as I knew it would be taken that I had gotten lost. It was really a matter of communication. In reality the fault is mine regardless of Kiowa's understanding of what I did or did not do. You should never take a turn on a trail without fully communicating where you are going to go. I knew where I was but they didn't know where I was and I didn't know they had gone down. Its kind of a funny story. I hope we can all learn from this adventure.
Otherwise enjoy the photos!
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| Chase and Zach heading up as I was sitting. |
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| The Teton Range |
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| Kiowa after he left me. This is about where I yelled up to him so you can see at that distance he probably really didn't hear me. I must have been really sick because he's a long ways up there and Chase and Zach had dissappeared over the ridge. The rest may have been sitting on top at this time. |
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| I did enjoy an awesome view. You can see the point of the Grand left of center and to the far left is Mt. Moran |
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| Craggy windblown trees. |
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| Crazy cloud formations. You can appreciate the steepness here. |
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| Just some mahogany trees |
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| The map we used |
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| The view at the top |
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| Indian paintbrush |
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| The blue line is my GPS showing our course of travel. The hike started at the green pin. We went to the right as a group. The upper loop that looks like a jump rope is our crosscountry adventure. The line connecting that and the upper triangle is the steep hill. The lower part of the triangle heading left is where I left the trail. We should have connected at the upper point of the triangle. I came down the right side of the triangle which is where they would have gone up. After going back down the steep hill the loop to the left is the way we went back down and to the truck which was not far from the green pin. |
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| This is the upper part of the triangle where we should all have met up. Notice all my wanderings while I waited. Kinda funny. |
