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Posted by David K. (38.70.4.130) on 09:24:43 04/16/14
In Reply to: One suggestion on the logistics posted by Ballpark Frank
Hello Frank. Thanks for your thoughts.
I've done this trip before as a 5-nighter, and even with 5 nights I felt like we had to move on to the next site before I got to really do as much exploring as I wanted. (Partly that was due to the location of the campsites we were assigned). For a route that is so relatively short and not particulary strenuous there is just an abundance of things to see (which is why I thnk it will make a great trip to do with a 13 year old).
Your advice about the shuttle set up is solid. I'm a whitewater paddler and have learned many lessons about shuttle logistics the hard way. Two things I learned fairly early on are to always have a car at the takeout and not to rely on bumming a ride at the beginning or the end of the run. Besides convenience and peace of mind, there are safety issues involved. (Being cold and wet or injured at the bottom of a Forest Service road late in the day without a vehicle can, on rare occasion, lead to a bad outcome).
The only time I tried to hitch a ride in the Park (after hiking Specimen Ridge) the lone car that stopped (and there was no shortage of cars driving by) was a Park Police officer. He didn't ticket me and kindly gave me a ride back to my car, but my name is likely now in some database and they might be less inclined to be so accommodating the next time.
If I can arrange it, I was hoping to meet the shuttle early on the morning of Day 1 at Cave Falls, leave our rental car there, and have the shuttle drive us to the trailhead. If I can't get that to happen, I'll have to go to Plan B (which has yet to be devised).
Here's our itinerary and the "exploring" I had in mind for each day:
OK2 (Howard Eaton)
Day/Night 1 - OA2 (watch Lone Star erupt)
Day/Night 2 - 8R5 (Shoshone Geyser basin and rock skipping competition on the lake)
Day/Night 3 - 9B3 (? - longest day in miles and most elevation gain)
Day/Night 4 - 9D1 (Ferris Fork thermals / Tendoy & Wahhi Falls)
Day/Night 5 - 9B4 (take our time enjoying the canyon)
Day/Night 6 - 9C1 (? - Ranger Lake or Ouzel Falls)
Day 7 - Hike out past Bechler and Cave Falls
9K2 (Cave Falls)
The only campsite I requested but didn't get was 9B5 (between Iris and Colonnade Falls) which would have allowed us to do more exploring of the canyon without packs, but I'm in no position to grumble.
If you have any suggestions of other things to do/see I would greatly appreciate the generosity of your knowledge.
(That's the longest post I've made to any online forum to date. Thanks for indulging me).
David K.
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