Wednesday, October 16, 2024 We had even more frost from the cold night than the day before and made quick work of breaking camp as we expected we’d be able to hike out today if the last bit of the loop was as easy walking as the first part we hiked on day one. We found more trees down mostly between North Wilder Lake and South Wilder Lake that slowed our progress. When we arrived at Pose Creek, we found it completely flooded. We contemplated wandering upstream to see if we could find a dry option to cross but instead we opted to shed our boots and cross with wet feet. In a warmer season we might have crossed right where the trail ran but after taking a single step forward into the creek and frigid water coming up to my knees, we didn’t want to risk getting so wet in such cool temps (We suspected the middle might reach up to my waist). Using some of the fallen trees nearby, we were able to mostly navigate the crossing by using a combination of the trees, submerged rocks and submerged logs and only got wet up to our knees. The huskies somewhat followed our route but swam through some of the areas that made the most sense to them. All our huskies are confident hikers and were comfortable finding their own way across. After swapping for dry socks, we continued on. As expected, past the Pose Lake Campsite spur trail the hiking was relatively easy, especially after the trail turned back towards the “Wye”. This whole section is relatively easy (compared to the northwestern side of the loop) and we were finally able to pound some quicker miles back to the car.

Plan for a slower pace of hiking between Superstition Lake and Pose Creek, not only because the terrain is harder but also because I expect these are the further out, harder areas for volunteer crews to reach for tree clearing.