The first day of our trip this year we hiked from the Maxson Meadows trailhead at Courtright Reservoir over to the North Fork of the King's River. This was the first time Libby and I started a trip out of the west side of the Sierra, so it was interesting to have a first day that wasn't over a pass. We only gained about 800 feet this first day, but it was more than 10 miles, so it was a bit longer than we normally do on a first day. It was also the first time we started a backpack trip on Libby's birthday!
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It turned out to be a pretty memorable day. A few miles into the hike, we took off our packs to apply DEET. I had started the day with sunscreen, but there were mosquitoes attending any damp and shady spot in the forest. These spots weren't uncommon, despite the dry winter, and after entering one of these areas, I'd soon attract an attending retinue of the bloodsuckers -- with a flock focusing on each elbow. The wisest route was clearly chemical, so out came the bug juice.
As we were applying, we heard a strange noise in the distance. The first mile or so of the trail starts out on a multi-use four-wheel drive trail, which we had only left a short time before, so my first thought was that a noisy jeep was bumping down the road. But, this was too chaotic of a noise for that, so it was one of those nagging curiosities in the back of our minds. Dad looked down the trail the way we had come, and suddenly exclaimed, "Run-away mules! Get off the trail!"
So, we scrambled for high ground! Sure enough, here came two mules tearing down the trail toward us with a riderless horse in their train. I split east, and Dad and Libby split west, and here they came east of the trail straight toward me! I had the new-to-me experience of seeing their bright white terror-filled eyes as they galloped just around me off the trail, before circling back and plunging through a fallen tree to regain the path. They were dragging their lead lines and their loads were jostling, undoubtedly compounding their panic. The horse took an even wider birth before following suit.
Just a half a minute later, their wrangler came loping down the trail after them, a little dog trailing behind him. This was really a new experience! Mule trains are common sights on backcountry entrance trails, but we'd never seen one out of control before. Later, as the wrangler came back down the trail with the horse and one mule (he got all of them eventually), he explained that his client had gotten off his horse to use the bathroom without telling him, and that I guess one thing led to another.
The hiking itself wasn't bad. Our packs were heavy, and the day was long, but it was nice to be at 8,000' for the first day of the trip. We crossed Post Corral Creek at lunch, and soaked our feet there. We saw quite a few people coming out, but after lunch we didn't see anyone else for five days.
Our campsite was fantastic. We found a few granite benches in the warm sun and went swimming in the creek. It was cold, but not chillingly cold, and the granite surrounding it was beautifully warm to lay out and dry on.
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| Our swimming hole on the North Fork Kings River |
That night there were some high clouds that caught the moonlight and were very beautiful. To celebrate Libby's birthday, we had a Mountain House stew and some instant pudding before walking down to a lovely waterfall downstream from our camp.
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| The birthday girl and the waterfall |
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