Mountain Solitude

I arrived at the Donut Falls trail head parking lot at 7:30 and began hiking the dirt road leading up Cardiff Fork. My intent was to summit Kessler Peak via the North Route and descend by way of Carbonite Pass. I watched for the N. Route trail but missed it on the way up. I checked my GPSR frequently, but because of lack of signal, could not get a continuous reading on how far I had walked from the car. Change of plans: I would now hike up further to find the trail leading to Carbonite Pass and then hike over the ridge to the Peak, and finally descend via the North Route. Approximately 1.5 miles up the fork, I saw a faint trail heaing up to the west through the trees. I followed this path and within a minute my entire lower body was soaked by the dew coming off the lush greenery hanging over the trail. I soon was hiking up through aspen groves, steep green meadows, shady spruces, and crossing rocky gashes while the sun continued to rise higher in the east. I crossed two parallel rusty cables running straight up the mountain side to some unknown ancorage. Higher up, when I realized the trail I was on took me more North than I wanted to go, I crossed the cables again. I had to lose some ground as I made my way South until I found a good place to head up to Carbonite. Along the way I saw two moose in the trees and one clucking mountain chicken (grouse). He was calling to his date who stayed unseen in the forest. Gratefully I reached the pass just at the spot where the ridge climbs up to Kessler's Southernmost shoulder or 'sub'peak. Here I surprised a mountain goat and her kid as they were resting in a shady spot behind a rock wall. They got up quickly and ran down the slope into Mineral Fork. From the pass, the scramble up looked daunting and difficult, but as I started up, frequently using my hands, I realized that I was enjoying the climb and making good progress. I continued up and North, over a false peak, down where I discovered the remains of a rock-walled cabin, with pieces of a steel stove or oven strewn about. Up again to another false summit, then over to the high point on the ridge: Kessler Peak. To get on top, I chose to take the trail under and on the West of the summit block, and then I went straight up a steep, narrow gully that brought me exactly on top of Kesler Peak. I sat down and enjoyed a snack and the solitude--I was the only person there and I had seen nobody since I started the trail below. The 360 degree view of the surrounding terrain is gorgeous and I just wanted to stay up there and try to comprehend it all. Since, however, I needed to get back to wife and children by 1 pm, I followed the trail down and North, and soon I was half-running down the steep North Route trail. On the way down I passed two old cabin remnants and I saw one deep mining cave. I left the peak at 11:30 and reached my vehicle at 12:30. When I finally emerged from the North Route trail to finally meet with the Cardiff Fork road, I saw where the trail to the North Route begins, the trail I had missed before. I seemed obvious now, but I could see how one might mistake the rocky path as just a small, dry stream bed coming off the mountain. This was a very enjoyable hike for me, especially the solitude, the views, and the animals.

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