 |
| Heading out from Sheepeater Lake. |
 |
| Much easier to get back to the trail this year compared to last year’s safari. |
 |
| I do love the sunrise in the water. |
 |
| These look like snapdragons to me. |
 |
| As the sun rose, I climbed. |
 |
| Still snow up at Sheepeater Ridge. |
 |
| The trail only gets a little steep. |
 |
| We’re going to Chicken Peak! |
 |
| Ambrose made it to the junction. |
 |
| One last look down at Sheepeater Lake. |
 |
| Way off in the distance, there’s a section of a regular rectangle. That rectangular area is a part of the Chamberlain Airstrip. |
 |
| The trail moved from burned out areas to green ones with plenty of tall trees for shade. |
 |
| I remember finding this outcropping on the map last year, too. |
 |
| Looking back at the speck on top of Sheepeater Mountain that is the lookout. |
 |
| Look closely – can you spot the deer? |
 |
| Ambrose was happy that I was right about where the next water was. |
 |
| I missed this sign last time – not really surprising considering its state. |
 |
| Along with these rocks, I believe it marks what the map calls Fourway Junction. But the trail doesn’t look at all maintained. |
 |
| No storm clouds on the horizon this year. |
 |
| The way the guidebook writes about this stream, I expect it to be so much more than the muddy trickle it is. |
 |
| The views on this trail uplift me. |
 |
| This stream’s a little better, but not great. |
 |
| More climbing! |
 |
| First sight of Chicken Peak. |
 |
| That snow is awfully close to the trail over this saddle. |
 |
| No trails down in that valley. |
 |
| Snow keeps getting closer. I put some in my hat to keep cool. |
 |
| Getting closer to Chicken Peak. |
 |
| And finally, the question is answered – will there be snow on the Chicken Peak saddle? |
 |
| Yup. |
 |
| Big snow. |
 |
| Still haven’t made the time to actually go to the lookout and see it up close. |
 |
| Ambrose surmounting the snow. |
 |
| I hiked ahead and got water at Chicken Spring so by the time Ambrose arrived, I just handed him a bag full of water and we were off to the night’s campsite. (Not at the side of the trail this year.) |
 |
| The hour was getting late, but we were almost to our stopping point. |
 |
| Just another 500 or so feet to climb. |
 |
| This saddle was a decent place to camp, but not as good as I thought it would be. There really wasn’t a great flat spot to pitch the tent, but I managed. |