Back side of the Pioneers

This was my bedroom last night:

Two days ago Kyle suggested a back pack trip on the far side of the Pioneers as there would be no fire smoke and if even just the drive over and back was worth it. So I bought  freeze dried meals and some back packing food @ the grocery store.

Yesterday AM I drove up and over Trail Pass topping @ 7881. The road on the Ketchum side in the Sawtooth FS is rough as it gets hacked by the elements more than the Salmon Challis NF which is mostly well graded and a dust palative applied. After the pass I found a place to pull off the road. I dug thru my backpacking equipment. Big issue would be if the MSR Whisperlite didn’t run which would mean just cleaning it. It ran satisfactorily. Next was observing the self inflation of the thermorest which showed potential that it would protect me from the cold ground and bulging objects. Gear is go. I drove the rest of the way to the Falls creek TH. Kyle suggested Moose Lake a 3.5 mile hike. The  Lake appeared to have less steep shorelines in places for camp sites. While I was creating my back pack a group of maybe 15 jr high kids show up. I asked and @ learned they were going to Moose also. And there were maybe 8 other cars whose occupants might be there also. Next choice was to head up to Surprise Valley. First part was on same trail heading to Moose and the trail showed the wear. At a junction Moose went right and Surprise went left. The trail then became almost a climbers’ way trail: fractured granite, sand, steep, faint in places until the trail popped out into the valley where a small shallow tarn fed runoff into a creek that joined another one then dropped over the edge down to Falls Creek. I scouted around and picked the above spot.

Trail climbed 2100′. I figured from the map that it would be a hump. The few boot prints indicated few hikers had gone or go this way.

This has become my annual backpacking trip and caused by lack of bike. Last year it was the AT in rocky PA. I needed to know if I could still hump a pack. I learned that my right shoulder still has issues that cause pain. I only forgot my reading glasses left back on the stove. And I packed the hard copy to Bad Monkey, Hiiason’s new book. I am unable to make the print come into focus. Going to be a long stay as I planned on reading. I took 2 vicadons for my shoulder and crawled into my sleeping bag w/ my head out of the tent. I laid there not sleeping. High clouds filtered the full moon. I finally fell asleep about 4 then jerked awake @ 6. I bolted from bag and tent. Plan was to by mid AM be back over on the Ketchum side for cell phone coverage. I made it. The drive was well worth the effort. Lots of slow minutes on gravel roads.

One voice mail was from the local ortho from a referral. I called and scored a cancellation appointment for tomorrow. The other was from the ortho DR in Flag saying call back. He called me late in the PM and told me the 2 week ago X-Ray shows still broken ends. He said it is not unusual nor harmful, just painful. Plating is the only surgical solution. I just need to deal w/ the pain and lack of full functionality.

Shower @ the Y. I back stretched on a balance ball that was just heavenly.

Bought a 6er of canned Moose Drool. First one tasted right on.

Back out beyond Sun Valley above Trail creek, the road to my camp spot is paved.