Photos Trip Report: Bighorn River/Crescent Falls Hike

A

Aikiguy

Joined
Aug 28, 2013
Messages
1,795
Have been watching the weather for the past month, trying to get a backpacking trip in before the snow flies. Finally, last week it seemed like the rain had toned down a bit, and the weekend was forecasted for some actual sun. Add to that no school on Monday, and it turned into a perfect opportunity to get out of the city. Packed up the kiddo and mutt, and headed off to the mountains.



Got to the trailhead a little before noon. Due to some flooding a few years back, the start of he trailhead has been washed away, so we had to ford the river a couple of times before we found the path:







Sun was shining, air was cool and crisp as we headed up the trail. Was rewarded with some beautiful views of the river valley:









The hike in was 4kms. Made it to the campsite in good time. Was the first time Em was carrying her own stuff in her pack. Hardly any complaints from her, but I made sure to give her lots of breaks.

Setting up camp, right beside the waterfall:













Was feeling a little old school in my tool selection for this trip:



As Em started with fire prep, I broke out the Beckhart for some carving duty:











To Be Continued...
 
Firebug in action:











Lunch consisted of smokies and tea. After lunch, we finished setting up camp, then I let her do her own thing while I started bucking up some wood for the night:







All the wood out there was pretty wet on the outside, but after scraping off the bark, I found it reasonably dry on the inside. Unfortunately, it was also extremely knotty, to the point where I had trouble splitting it with my hatchet. Was finally able to split enough for a fire that evening, and boil some water for dinner.



Dinner was dehydrated lasagna, made better by my spice kit I made up beforehand:






Evening shots:









Next morning, firebug was on fire duty again, while I tried to break down the wood using my 62. Worked better than the hatchet, but the thinness of the blade and the swedge really made extra work for me. Remembered why I usually take my BK4 to baton with. Oh well, worked well enough to get some fuel for breakfast:











To Be Continued...
 
Random nature shots - tons of mushrooms in the area due to the rain all summer.












Dead doggo.



Em getting use to her sixteen (big thanks to a certain Viking!!) to baton wood, work on fire skills, carve with, and practice her feather sticks. The 16 actually batonned a little better than the 62, I found, and chewed up the baton a lot less.






















Here’s her project she was working on; a fairy campsite she built up.







Quiet evening spent eating another dehydrated meal and watching the campfire. Next day, we packed up camp, headed out and was on our way home, with a quick stop at McD’s for some grease intake.



All in all a good trip, glad I was able to slide it in before the weather completely went to crap. Next time I’ll definitely be bringing the machax for splitting duty. The hatchet I’ll delegate to carving duty. The new blade I got for my buck saw worked like a charm. And the BK62 was right at home in the wilderness, as expected. Em had a great time, and was getting more and more confident in doing her own thang. She’s already made me promise to do 2 backpacking trips next year...


Hope you enjoyed the pics; thanks for looking!
 
The Warrior said:
Pure awesomeness man. What a beautiful area. Insanely jealous, haha. I can't believe how much your daughter has grown, wow. I remember when you first started posting photos of outings with her. Thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...

Thanks brother. Was a much needed trip. I guess I don’t see it, but you’re right; looking back at old pics she sure has sprouted. Glad you enjoyed it.
 
Xr6x said:
PERFECTION at its BEST!! What an Absolutely GREAT TIME it looks like you two had. I mean you Three :D . Thank you Alkiguy for sharing your pics :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Thanks man, we sure did have a blast. Well, except for my dog. Within 10 minutes of setting up camp, he managed to find some horse poop to happily roll in. Was subsequently banished from the tent for this outing :D
 
1066vik said:
nice outing!
thanks for all the pics -- Em is growing like a weed!
that's an awesome firesteel -- and happy to see how well the BK16 fits her hand.
Click to expand...
Haha, that’s her “pharaoh rod” lol. She loves loves loves her knife. Getting more confident with it too. Mentioned she wants to make a leather sheath for it soon, so we’ve got a project coming up. Thanks again buddy.
 
Great pics, and that's a big understatement.
Wonderful to see the enthousiasm and stunning scenery.
You had some great company on you trip :)
 
What a fantastic trip! It is such a good thing to get your children outside. The dogs like it too. Thanks so much for taking the time to post photos of your trip.
 
Beautiful country there Aiki!

Cute dogs...check
Cute kid...check
Fire...check
Food...check
Knives...check

Time spent with loved ones out in the wilderness...priceless!

Thanks for sharing!
 
Gorgeous Location…. Everything by me is crawling with people...

Posts like this, make me want to be a better Dad...Ha. :D
Good Job! She is learning more in that one weekend than one can imagine.... *Not even the outdoorsy stuff.
Awesome Post!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top