August 23, 2014
We spent Friday night at the National Park Inn at Longmire so we could get a good night's rest and an early start for our first day. Turned out to be a great idea. The room was cozy, very warm, and there are communal showers and toilets. While hot breakfast was good, I wouldn't recommend eating a breakfast of eggs, potato, and bread like we did unless you're used to it. I felt very tired and digest-y for the first part of the hike and it made even the slightest elevation gain difficult.
After stopping by the Longmire Wilderness Information Center and having a good laugh with the ranger we were on our way.
There are a couple roads you need to cross to continue on the trail, so watch for cars.
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| Washout near Kautz Creek |
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| Indian Henry's Hunting Ground |
Wow, what a beautiful area. We did not walk up to the cabin just 300' off the main trail. Still had a long day ahead of us.
One of the parts I was most excited about was the suspension bridge. I've never been on one. This first one took us above the canyon of Tahoma Creek. The sign (and I, too) would recommend only one person at a time.
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| Awesome suspension bridge. Tried looking back for a picture, but too scared! |
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| What a cool construction. Also, I thought creeks were gentle, but this was roaring. |
After the excitement of the suspension bridge, we continued on to Emerald Ridge. I remember walking slowly behind Andy. The sun was beating down on us, there was no shade and barely a breeze. It was hot and we were tired and hungry. But, you know that feeling that something amazing is just around the bend?
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| Climb up to Emerald Ridge. Smile! It's beautiful here, too! |
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| At the top of Emerald Ridge and just around the bend. |
It was windy up here. We stopped for lunch in the lush meadow with a view of Tahoma Glacier.
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| Day 1 Lunch - Delicious cheap parmesan, landjaeger, homemade protein granola bar |
I think Andy brought his knife just for the cheese. Haha! Salty cheese was so incredibly satisfying. Should've brought two wedges.
We had to be careful and cautious of our steps on the decent down. There were some precarious areas where we noticed the trail had broken off the cliff side. The trail follows very closely to the cliff.
I remember reading that Aurora Lake at Klapatche Park was no good. When we came by the last lake before Aurora Lake we made sure to fill up on water and brought extra for the next morning.
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| Yummy and cold lake water |
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| Klapatche Park "campsite" |
We made it to camp with about an hour of light left. It was a long day. Why do I have "campsite" in quotations captioned in the above picture? Well, let me tell you. All five of the campsites were taken! How could this be with the permit system? We went from site to site asking if each hiker had the right site and day on his or her permit. Well, the one lady with a small tent at the very last (and biggest) site didn't have a physical permit, but she said she "faxed in her application". (How did I know this was going to happen?) It was totally her. Everyone knew it. Andy found a little patch of sloped ground where we were able to set up camp. Whatever. We were tired.
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| Aurora Lake in the morning. See the scum? Don't drink! |
Total miles: 14.8 miles
Total time on trail (including breaks): 9 hours
