the Beaten Path DIAD (done in a day!)

M

mtwarden

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Sep 27, 2009
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Just got back from an enjoyable (but grueling) high mountain lake patrol. The "Beaten Path" is one of the main arteries of the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness, it starts (or ends depending on which way you go :)) near Cooke City and ends near Alpine- it's 27 miles in length. Most make it a 3-5 day backpacking trip, decided to tackle in a day. We got vehicles shuttled the day prior and the Forest Service provided a nice cabin that night.

cookecabin.jpg


We were up at 4:15 am and on the trail at 5:15- in the dark (for about an hour and a half)

is this really a good idea? :D

earlymorning.jpg


6.5 miles in Russell Lake (lots of trout cruising, but no people)

russelllake.jpg


making good time, headed for the pass

headedup.jpg


made the pass (10 miles) at little after 10:00, took a nice 1/2 hour break there

using my Talon 22 pack, rigged up my sidearm w/ a Fobus molle attachment that I slid over the hip belt- carried very nicely

talon22.jpg


view from the pass looking at Mount Rosebud

mountrosebud.jpg


Fossil Lake (also loaded w/ trout) sits right below the pass

fossillake.jpg


looking down the Rodebud drainage

downtherosebud.jpg


I turned my right ankle slightly gawking around, was very lucky it was on the mild side!

the halfway point (13.5 miles)- Dewey Lake (like all these lakes, loaded w/ trout)

deweylake.jpg


Impass Falls

snackimpassfalls.jpg


Lake at Falls (17.5 miles)

lakeatfalls.jpg
 
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some of the locals

goats.jpg


Rainbow Lake (19 miles)

rainbowlake.jpg


one of many (many beautiful vistas)

scenery-1.jpg


another

fallsck.jpg


another (Granite Peak in the background)

granitepeak.jpg




Rimrock Lake (21 miles)

rimrocklake.jpg


start of a steep descent

headeddown.jpg


Elk Lake (24 miles)

elklake.jpg


we made it out at the East Rosebud trailhead at 7:15 pm, 14 hours on the nose- made a lot of good contacts along the route and while we very weary and sore, glad that we took on :)
 
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Wow. Quite a day, and beautiful pics. Inspiring, too. I'm shooting for 26 in a day soon, but with a lot less elevation change(and even earlier start). At 15+ the last couple of times out, I began discovering footwear issues I didn't know I had. Definitely taking the overnight gear, just in case!
 
OwenM said:
Wow. Quite a day, and beautiful pics. Inspiring, too. I'm shooting for 26 in a day soon, but with a lot less elevation change(and even earlier start). At 15+ the last couple of times out, I began discovering footwear issues I didn't know I had. Definitely taking the overnight gear, just in case!
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my buddy had some footwear issues, these are his boots after the trip- the soles were delaminating- surprisingly his feet didn't hurt much (I think everything else did :))

my feet held up pretty good (they were plenty sore though!)- I use a light coating of Hydropel, re-applied some more about 15 miles in after soaking my feet in the coldest water I think I've ever felt (Granite Ck)- the cold water also helped w/ my ankle

my buddy put a fair amount of duct tape on his feet before the start of the hike, seemed to work great for him

we both carried minimal overnight gear, AMK thermolite bivies, heatsheets, small 1/8" ccf pad (and lots of fire starting bits, along w/ a good insulating jacket- would have been a miserable night for sure :)

HornyToad said:
Quite a feat. I'm surprised you are still smiling after 20 miles.
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you'll notice there is no more pics of me after that big descent :D my knees really took a beating on that stretch
 
The pics you posted are just stunning beautiful. You have such a awesome place to hike and camp it.
27 miles is a heck of a trek. I just could not do it in a day. There would be to many things that I would have to look at lol.

Was your neck knife the only fixed blade knife you took on this trip?

Thanks for sharing the pics and your comments,

Bryan
 
You remind me of those new super soldiers in the Kurt Russell movie "Soldier" lol
 
Do people do more fishing or hunting there this time of year ? Hasn't hunting season started there?

Great pictures and great place to work.

Thanks for posting.

Jeff
 
thats a hell of a hike my friend! i've been in the beartooths a couple of times (so i know how rough that country can be), but i never did 24 miles in a day.
i've actually been to east rosebud, we only went up to sylvan lake though, to catch a few of those elusive goldens;)
btw, nice pics also...
 
You cant complete such a grueling walk if your not in good shape.

About half a year ago i went on a 6 mile hike. I was still recovering from a knee injury and my muscles/tendons werent up to it. My knees hurt like hell that day. It taught me not to underestimate walking in tough terrain.

27 miles is impressive :thumbup:

P.S
Amazing scenery!
 
thanks gents :)

sicily02 said:
The pics you posted are just stunning beautiful. You have such a awesome place to hike and camp it.
27 miles is a heck of a trek. I just could not do it in a day. There would be to many things that I would have to look at lol.

Was your neck knife the only fixed blade knife you took on this trip?

Thanks for sharing the pics and your comments,

Bryan
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Bryan- yup only fixed blade (actually only blade), I wanted to minimize weight as much as feasible for this trip- binoculars, sidearm, extra mag, sat phone- all add weight quickly; in hindsight I probably should have throw in my SAK w/ a wood blade

crossada said:
You remind me of those new super soldiers in the Kurt Russell movie "Soldier" lol
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- I don't think those guys felt pain :D

Hawkeye5 said:
Do people do more fishing or hunting there this time of year ? Hasn't hunting season started there?

Great pictures and great place to work.

Thanks for posting.

Jeff
Click to expand...

Jeff- we've got a goat and a sheep season going but we didn't bump into any hunters this trip

Mike
 
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