April 24th thru 27th, 2008
Tour de Josephus - 4 days in the Sierra
Joe and Dan
Day #4 - Sunday, 4/27/08 - Lake Italy Basin to Rock Creek Pack Station
Dan passing over Cox Col for the last time.
....continued from Day #3.....
After our fabulous day on Mount Gabb, we were ready to make the long (and mostly downhill) journey over Cox Col and down the long slopes below Bear Creek Spire to the head of Little Lakes Valley and ultimately all the way to our awaiting cars at Rock Creek Pack Station. I was also eager to get some real food in my belly and see my world of girls back in Tahoe.
Another glory morning:
Then came the heavy and steep haul up and over Cox Col. Nice jet contrails, huh? I'm not sure if I was directly under a very busy flight path, or the skies are just that busy everywhere. But I noticed jets morning, noon and night up there.
The last uphill haul for Josephus (photo Dan):
Putting the skins away for good...
We saw quite a few folks skinning up our skin track from 2 days ago to ski the creamy slopes of BCS. We kindly waited for them to get out of our fall line before we dropped onto the unconsolidated headwall. They seemed a bit surprised to see us.
Dan dropping:
and riding:
2,000' of great riding down to Little Lakes Valley:
I tried to keep the big load balanced while throwing those sticks from side to side (photos by Dan):
Our tracks below BCS. Cox Col is out of view to the right:
The out was long and flat, but went by quickly so long as we didn't take any bad snow bridges. This one was bueno.
By the end I was tired from the weight of the pig, and I found an appropriate rest spot......
Lots of folks accessing the goods from Rock Creek. But we never saw another soul (except that coyote) during our entire time out there in La La Land.
It's a sin not to finish a trip such as this with a cold beer. It never tasted so good. Thanks for joining me Dan!
So this was my maiden voyage out into the Sierras for an "extended" period of time, on skis. I hope to do at least one of these every Spring until I'm 90. I learned a lot about my gear, my preferences, myself and the importance of packing efficiently. The toughest part about making these trips is going to be deciding where to go. So many valleys, ranges, peaks, couloirs and basins to be explored.....and this is just one mountain range in California! I guess I just need to start picking them off one by one, year after year for as long as I can.
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