Goblin's Forest |
|||
|
by Jerry Cates |
|||
|
Again sleep came quickly. As before, rain fell a couple of times in the middle of the night from two or three short rain showers that didn't amount to much. The Third Day, August 14, 1999 The next morning, after breakfast, I packed everything and headed for Goblin's Forest, the campground that was to be my abode for the coming day and night. This time at Eugenia Fork I turned right, taking the trail toward the peak.
This trail travels west about 200 ft., then turns left, to the south, in the direction of Alpine Brook. After hiking 3/10ths of a mile past Eugenia Fork, Alpine Brook's crashing waters became loud once more. They could be heard earlier, first faint but now quite noisy, much louder than along the trail leading from the ranger station. This stretch of the brook's path has an average decline of 25%, twice as steep as the portion that passes by the ranger station. Here it drops 200 ft. vertically to travel 800 ft. horizontally. In the process it cascades over a series of small waterfalls that send a chorus of sounds through the forest. At a point some 100 feet from the brook the trail makes a hairpin turn to the north, leaving the loudest crescendos of Alpine Brook's waters behind. The elevation at the hairpin is 9,930 ft., some 230 ft. higher than the fork (9,700 ft.). The section of trail from the fork to the hairpin inclines 15%, a bit steeper than the worst part between Moore Park and Eugenia Bridge. But this incline is continuous, while the Moore Park trek had only one small challenge along its length. I was now beginning to feel the strain, and stopped for a short break every 200 feet or so, just to catch my breath. I continued to Goblin's Forest, first hiking north about 300 ft. along a relatively level section of trail before reaching another 300 ft. of steep trail that climbed up another 80 ft. before trending west again. Near the upper end of this stretch, the trail passes the 10,000 ft. elev. mark. This small section of trail has an average incline of 27%, and hiking it was beginning to feel a lot like work. Fortunately, as the trail turned westward it leveled out for the next tenth of a mile.
The next 3/10ths of a mile to the Goblin's Forest turnoff is a relatively straight section that inclines only 7%. On nearing Goblins Forest the sounds of Alpine Brook grew louder. The watercourse itself declines only 10% in this area, so the water flows in relative serenity. The Goblins Forest turnoff is marked with a wooden sign on the south side of the trail. I took the turn, marched down into the Alpine Brook gorge, crossed over a small footbridge, and began looking for a suitable campsite. A narrow path extends from the lower section of Goblins Forest, on the left, to the highest section on the right. The camp latrine is near the junction of the egress path and the main trail for the camp, at the base of the hill, in the northwest corner of the intersection. Several "communal" campsites are crammed tightly together in a small meadow at Goblins' eastern extremity. They were much too public for a guy with a bivvy sack, so after a cursory look I turned and headed up the hill to the west. The most secluded sites are located further up the west slope, and the one at the top, near the junction of Alpine Brook and Larkspur Creek, is as secluded as any. The only bad thing about this site is the slope. No part of it was on level ground. I figured I would place the bivvy sack so my feet would be lower than my head. In a heavy rainstorm, at least my body would not create a natural dam. The trees are still pretty thick here, even though the campsite is less than 200 ft. below tree-line.
After cooking a hot meal, I did KP and washed bod and underwear. Then I set up a lanyard and raised the backpack as high as possible, tying each end of the cord around a rock and throwing it over a high limb on each of two anchoring trees. When this was done, the backpack was at least 25 feet in the air, well out of the reach of bears... Next: Death On the Mountain... Longs Peak Menu ... Bugsinthenews ... Books About Longs Peak |
|
||
