Trip Report: Millcreek Ridge Hike???
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Millcreek Ridge Hike??? By Steve Glaser |
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| HIKE | 10/17/2021 | MSD |
| This was the plan. Hike the Millcreek Ridge from Murdock to Lamb's Canyon Pass. The downhill, and easier, direction. It's a long hike and requires a car shuttle. 6:30 isn't too early to meet. It would happen Sunday, October 17th. By the time you are reading this, you may have forgotten about a snowstorm that happened a week earlier. This was the one that dropped 17” at the ski resorts and required all of the runners in an ultramarathon to be rescued. But how much fell on our route? Our organizer, Steve, was pretty much useless. He had been in Maine at the time of the storm, and was cooped up at home afterwards as all of his galvanized piping was being replaced. So he wasn't going up to check things out. No one else took the initiative either. Lots of emails were exchanged. Should we reverse the direction? What if we started later, and warmer? How much snow is there? How much slush and how much mud? Steve finally owned up to his responsibilities and simply declared that the hike would go as planned, but with a 7:30 start. And if the conditions were lousy, we'd just turn around at Murdock. Then a new hiker, Sue, emailed Steve at 7:30 the night before. She wanted to come, but . . . did you know that the Millcreek Gate is closed? Would that affect your plans? Oh crap. There was no way to do the hike unless the gate was open. We all had been clue free. So at 9:30 pm on Saturday night, a new email went out. We would do something completely different. We'd hike to Broads Meadow, a nice half-day jaunt where we could be done in time to avoid the snow and slush. And we'd meet at 8:30 so that the world could warm up a bit before we started. This last point was met with uniform approval. And that's how it all worked out. It was a bit chilly at first, but the temperatures must have been 20 or 30 degrees warmer as soon as we were in the sun. Trail conditions stayed solid throughout. Snow started shortly before the bridge, but never got more than a couple of inches deep. We missed out on the fall colors as all of the aspens had dropped their leaves, with one solitary exception. But the view from the meadow of Dromedary, Sunrise, and whatever the false peak is in front of Twins was spectacular, with the mountains covered in snow and the sun shining brilliantly on them. And when it came down to it, everyone seemed to prefer the morning hike to an all-day foray. So hurray for snow! Participants: Sue Baker, Connie Muldrow, Julie Kilgore, and Steve Glaser |
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