A challenging off-trail hike near McCall, Buckhorn Mountain Lake is seldom visited.
- 1998
- Team: Richard, Art, Tom, and John
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Although parts of this hike were easy, overall it was quite difficult: over 20 miles, over half off-trail, and over several high passes requiring scrambling. This was a Richard expedition, and he wisely got us off to an early start. |
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The beginning of the hike took us to Boulder Lake, and then through the meadows and benches above. We visited amongst ourselves, then ran into a sheepherder. Art and the sheepherder had a lengthy conversation in Spanish. |
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| Then things got a little more serious. First, climb up the pass to the right of the high peak. Then drop down and cross another basin, scramble a steep and loose gully to another ridge, traverse that one and.... |  |
Let's see here. Are we in the right valley? Tom doesn't see anything very promising. But Richard can see it's time to get out the walking stick. |
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Oh, THERE it is! We finally found our lake, where we caught fish and poached them on a stove by lakeside- fish so fresh they're still wiggling when they hit the pan. Then a quick swim in same said lake, and after about 7 hours we were off for the second half of the hike. Art hadn't been hiking much. When he ran low on blood sugar after about 10 hours of walking, he found himself struggling to keep up with Richard's long-legged pace. This was only one day, but it's hard to forget the day you were out-walked by a man 25 years your senior. |
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