It was, again, one of my favorite times of the year. A time when it's starting to get colder - and rainier - in the Pacific Northwest. Time to drive the Tacoma more than a thousand miles. Time to return to the sunny and dry. Time to enjoy the vast deliciousness of the desert.
This fall, the first trip south would be a solo adventure; probably for the better. I'd use it as an opportunity to revisit a hike I'd attempted - and failed - earlier in the season, and as a time to hike half of the trail again, to visit the nearby Gable Lakes. A smarter me might have camped at the fork - saving myself from repeating the 1,500-foot workout two days in a row - but where's the fun in that?
And of course, the plan was to leave the Tacoma behind, ready for our next adventure into the wide open.
The Hard Way to the Top of Tom | Southern Summits #1 - It'd been four months since I'd last attempted to top Mt. Tom. Originally, I'd only wanted to reach the Tungstar Mine from the Pine Creek side - a route originally used by the miners - so I could check out the still-standing towers of the old aerial tramway that I'd seen thousands of feet below the mine workings when I visited the Tungstar from the Horton Lakes side a few years earlier. I don't exactly recall how I discovered that Matt @theesotericone was also trying to follow the old tram line, but once I did, we quickly worked out a…
Surprise at Gable Lakes | Southern Summits #2 - When I'd gone to bed at 8:45pm, I'd planned to make the next day a rest day. After all, I'd just climbed more than 6,250 feet - over the course of just more than 4.5 miles - to summit Mt. Tom. A nice view while I was brushing my teeth. Knowing that the moon was due out around midnight, I figured it couldn't hurt to set my alarm and pop out of the tent for a few photos as it illuminated the Pine Creek valley around my camp. After all, I could make up any lost sleep as the sun…