Mount Lincoln Way Trail

Decided to head up to Big Log without the dog.  Dog’s are not allowed in the National Park.  Kind of dreaded my decision the night before.  Such a long boring hike in a tunnel and I knew I would be tired and hurting at the end.  So why do it?  It felt nostalgic.  I kept thinking of the one winter my mother came to visit for Christmas and the hike I did while she was visiting.  4 stream in the snow and I lost the trail not knowing it crossed the stream.   My mother is dead now and the visit did not end on a good note, so mixed feelings, but mostly just wish she was still alive.

A song from Rudolph and the Island of the misfit toys came on my radio just as I reached staircase.  The movie was playing a lot in my home during that Christmas visit from my mother.

I’ve been wanting to go up the Mount Lincoln way trail for a while but never was in good enough shape to deal with the elevation gain last year.  But now my iron stores are up and I can tackle the hills again.  Still the snow level was low.  Was beginning to think I might need snowshoes just to make to big log.

Hit the trail at 9am, that is a respectably early start for me.  The snow was melting, should I go up the Mount Lincoln way trail instead?  I read that the views were good and it was a wonderful sunny  day.  I made up my mind to change my mind.

The trail was very easy to follow at first, even in the snow.  Views opened up pretty quickly too thanks to the Beaver Fire.  These view s will not last though as the trees grow back.  I made it up to 2,000 feet before I lost the trail.  I had a little family of deer breaking the trail for me but then I lost their tracks.

Just before the going was about to get rough I took a long coffee break.  During my break trees kept throwing snowballs at me.  I was lucky that they did not knock over my coffee.

Trees throwing snowballs at me

I was pretty sure that there was a switch back where I lost the trail but the way was just not clear and for whatever reason I was starting to feel a bit spooked.  Perhaps my coffee break at a view point was to blame. 

The views were great, the sun was out and I had  lots of fun in the snow.  My feet stayed perfectly dry in my La Sportiva boots.  Gortex boots do keep my feet dry if they are well made and don’t leak.  My Solomon brand Gore-Tex boots and shoes were all leaky and horrible.

I will go back this summer maybe and see how high I can get up that trail before it becomes too technical.  Need to hurry and get up there a few times before the trees grow back and the views are gone.  Always nice to find a “new” trail in such an old place.     

I would have gone up that trail a long time ago if I had known it was so easy to follow.

7 miles with 1,500 feet elevation gain.

coffee break

Lost the trail near here

log hidden under snow is the trail