It was time to go hiking or go fishing. Which one should we do? Why not do both! Our friend, Tom and his dog Lola, hiked Little Shelly the previous week and so the seed was planted. We decided to get up early on Friday and take a drive to the Tushars (just outside of Beaver) and bring both our fishing poles and hiking shoes.
After some deliberation we decided to hike Little Shelly, roughly following a similar route Tom had made. We should have paid more attention to his use of the words, "serious bushwhacking." Somehow, Kent read "minor bushwhacking" and so we set off on an adventure. Later, Allison would remind Kent, "You're not Tom and Chipper is not Lola" . . . oh, how so true!
Maybe we should have stuck to fishing! Nah! After we got home and recovered from our scratches, we both felt a sense of satisfaction in making it to the ridgeline and enjoying some incredible views. I don't think we'll ever get tired of visiting the Tushars!
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| We were surprised to see these rock formations above Manderfield Reservoir . . . Something worth exploring on another outing in the Tushars |
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| We started our hike in Mill Hollow . . . there was no trail . . . just pick a ridge and head up through and around the manzanita |
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| It's a good thing the scenery is amazing . . . the hike was brutal! Looking southeast towards Mt. Baldy (12,090) |
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| Doesn't this rock look like a Hasselback potato? |
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| Oregon Grape were in bloom |
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| We have never experienced bushwhacking like this before! Ouch! It was exhausting . . . it wore both of us and Chipper out! |
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| Allison spotted this Small-Flowered Blue-Eyed Mary nestled among a rocky section |
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| After a break at the two-mile mark, we decided it was best to turn around . . . Chipper reached his limit and we still had the bushwhack to go back through . . . yikes! You can see Mt. Belknap (12,137) behind us . . . we hiked it in 2008 |
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| Yep, it was a hard decision . . . the summit of Little Shelly (9,900) was right there . . . but hiking, without a trail, through this mess got the best of us . . . I know . . . hard for us to believe, too! |
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| This picture is courtesy of Tom who made it to the top of Little Shelly one week earlier . . . This "would" have been our view! We stopped on the ridge just below the two snow patches |
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| In spite of the lightning caused fire that burned through this area in 2010, it's still a beautiful area to explore (click on the picture to make it open in a larger format) |
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| It's been fun using our new GPS |
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| Starting our descent . . . doesn't Chipper look excited? He just wants to get back to the 4Runner! |
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| Back into the baby aspens and ankle grabbing cedars . . . I can hardly see Kent and Chipper |
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| It was time for another break before the last section of our descent |
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| The manzanita bushes were really colorful |
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| Hiking along this hoodoo ridge was fun, such unique formations in the middle of the forest |
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| More formations to our east |
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| This might be a Lodge Pole Pine, it stood out among the rest of the trees |
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| Chipper was so happy to see Mill Hollow Creek . . . he drank his fill and cooled off his feet |
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| We stopped downstream and did a little fishing in Indian Creek . . . we caught a few trout and then let them go free! |
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| Ouch . . . Are we a little crazy? . . . Maybe . . . give us a day we'll be fine! Lesson learned: Next time Tom says the hike involves brutal bushwhacking . . . We will be sure to wear pants or turn around and run the other way! |
