We
hiked out of Aspen Springs via Hidden Valley. It is probably a harder trail
than the one via Cimarroncito Camp, but well worth the effort. Note to
future crews: If your trek takes you anywhere near this area, you definitely
should go through Hidden Valley. The perched meadows and ponds, surrounded
by ponderosa pine, populated by deer, are idyllic. We stopped for a break
at Window Rock (8200 ft), which affords a wonderful view of the Tooth Ridge
and the valley below. Many pictures were taken.
We then proceeded to Clark's Fork Camp (7530 ft), arriving at 11:00, again a record for our crew. The trail to Clark's Fork was not strenuous at all.
At Clark's Fork, we branded our boots with the Philmont horse and cow brands. (The horse brand is registered to the BSA and the cow brand to Philmont. This is why there are two different brands, which is very unusual.)
After
lunch, we went to our 1:00 appointment for horseback riding. It took a
while to go through all of the preliminaries (safety issues, how to control
the horse, etc.), but then we had a nice long ride parallel to the Tooth
Ridge almost to the Tooth of Time. Except that horseback riding abuses
a whole different set of muscles than backpacking (I think that my stirrups
were adjusted too short), it was quite an enjoyable ride.
Several impressive thunderstorms were in the area. One passed down the north side of the valley dousing Ute Gulch and the trail we took yesterday, and one was on the other side of the Tooth Ridge. [We found out later that base camp got several inches of hail from that storm.] Except for a few random drops, they avoided us altogether. They were great fun to watch.
After riding, we headed up the trail to Upper Clark's Fork (7970 ft). (We asked for an itinerary change to Shaefer's Pass Camp, but were soundly denied.) We were in "Upper Upper Clark's Fork," right near the stream that is our water supply. This was listed as a dry camp, but the wet weather this year seems to have kept the stream flowing. The site is unspectacular, but is pleasant. It's mostly a staging place for crews heading in along the Tooth Ridge.
Because we want to watch the sunrise from the top of Shaefer's Peak,
we decided not to set up tents. We'll sleep under the equipment fly and
will be as completely packed as possible when we turn in. I hope that we
won't disturb the neighbors too much when we leave.
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