Sunday, I headed out on a solo tour up Friendly Ghost Creek. Today I had the
Karhu Guides. It was another hot day here, nearly 50 degrees in Ned for a high. I didn't feel like trying to wax for that or deal with clumping snow on skins and skin wax...so the Guides were a perfect ski for the day. They are the perfect exploration setup.
Buddha's Pecker is an amazing peak. I've never been up here when it was this clear out...and not windy. The other two times I've been up this way were whiteout conditions and breaking trail in deep powder. Not today. After getting past the first 2 or 3 miles which are
posthole and snowshoe critical mass, I hit my intersection. No tracks. Again, I break trail up this secluded mountain drainage that has to be one of the most remote places in this Wilderness Areas. It takes a hell of a long time to get there, but it's so worth it. I saw more animal tracks in the last mile than in the entire previous 6 miles. Pine marten, weasel, coyote and maybe a bobcat showed their paths to me, wandering around unaffected by any disturbance.
Buddha's Pecker overshadows my gear
Today wasn't about the turns, but the Guides always enable that possibility on the way down. I actually think they have a mind of their own and
lead me to these places. There were some nice short low angle shots that had so much surface hoar on top that it felt like a few inches of new snow had fallen in the last 24 hours. I now know where to go for turns when everything else is tracked out and a week as passed since the last snowfall. But the biggest reason to come here is the complete solitude this valley provides.
It's only you and the animals. And the only way you know they are there is because of their tracks. So like them, I left only my tracks as evidence.
Sunday, I headed out on a solo tour up Friendly Ghost Creek. Today I had the Karhu Guides. It was another hot day here, nearly 50 degrees in Ned for a high. I didn't feel like trying to wax for that or deal with clumping snow on skins and skin wax...so the Guides were a perfect ski for the day. They are the perfect exploration setup.
Buddha's Pecker is an amazing peak. I've never been up here when it was this clear out...and not windy. The other two times I've been up this way were whiteout conditions and breaking trail in deep powder. Not today. After getting past the first 2 or 3 miles which are posthole and snowshoe critical mass, I hit my intersection. No tracks. Again, I break trail up this secluded mountain drainage that has to be one of the most remote places in this Wilderness Areas. It takes a hell of a long time to get there, but it's so worth it. I saw more animal tracks in the last mile than in the entire previous 6 miles. Pine marten, weasel, coyote and maybe a bobcat showed their paths to me, wandering around unaffected by any disturbance. 
Buddha's Pecker overshadows my gear
Today wasn't about the turns, but the Guides always enable that possibility on the way down. I actually think they have a mind of their own and lead me to these places. There were some nice short low angle shots that had so much surface hoar on top that it felt like a few inches of new snow had fallen in the last 24 hours. I now know where to go for turns when everything else is tracked out and a week as passed since the last snowfall. But the biggest reason to come here is the complete solitude this valley provides.
It's only you and the animals. And the only way you know they are there is because of their tracks. So like them, I left only my tracks as evidence.
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