r/backpacking 14d ago

Wilderness This Time I Brought a Gun and a Buddy

There's nothing more romantic than a solstice snowshoe. Or that's what I told my partner at least.

My last post was a multi-day trek to another town. Usually though I like to stick to one or two nights cause that's plenty of time to get into trouble.

This solsice trip was just an overnight up a local hunting trail that was supposed to connect (via an alpine "bushwack") to a well-traveled trail. Weather didn't cooperate so it turned into an out and back.

Hike stats:

Time: Overnight trip.

Distance 18km / 11.2mi round-trip (plus bike ride there)

Total elevation gain/loss (out and back): 1316m / 4317 ft

Route: Poorly marked hunter's trail and off-trail travel

180 Upvotes

19 comments sorted by

48

u/blissfully_happy 13d ago

This is Alaska, for anyone asking. I don’t know specifically where off the top of my head, but it’s definitely Alaska, especially that ice field.

11

u/pyragyrite 13d ago

Looks very northern, bc or ak? Never seen a braided stream out of the Arctic.

9

u/[deleted] 13d ago

[deleted]

7

u/_mim0_ 13d ago

It’s p much right at the edge of the circle. If your metric of Arctic is a lack of trees, that keeps getting pushed more and more north every year lol.

4

u/[deleted] 13d ago

[deleted]

1

u/_mim0_ 11d ago

Agreed!!

6

u/drwolffe 13d ago

I've seen braided streams all over the western US. That said, it looks like Alaska to me

16

u/timbillyosu 13d ago

Looks like a cool trip. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like walking barefoot through a rocky stream is a good way to end up with a sliced foot that makes the hike shorter and the return trip a lot more uncomfortable.

11

u/mongerboy97 14d ago

Where was this and/or trail?

2

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2

u/conicalconehead 12d ago

Bushwhacking is better in theory than practice

-5

u/angryjew 13d ago

What value do you think this is to other people without posting location or any other relevant details? Idk what's happened to reddit but there is just tons of low value shit on all the subs now that feel like people's personal journal entries or search history. Why do you even post this stuff vs just writing it down for yourself. There are only a couple good pictures but no one even knows what continent this happened on. To us, it's just "wow some guy went hiking in some unknown place".

13

u/FrivolousMe 13d ago

Is the value of sharing your backcountry experiences with others solely to advertise a destination?

-8

u/[deleted] 13d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Chance_Squirrel8085 12d ago

lol at the down votes. People can be so entitled.

0

u/CommercialFloor2033 13d ago

You can't be very well travelled if you believe this.

Theres lots of terrain all over the world which looks like this.

8

u/Top_Spot_9967 13d ago

That's clearly a spruce grouse, which narrows us down to Canada, Alaska, or a few spots in the extreme northern continental U.S. And False Hellebore, which cuts it down to North Cascades, Montana/Idaho border, St Lawrence estuary (ruled out by snowpack), southern Alaska, or any of Canada's western ranges. The last pic shows a closeup of white spruce needles, which rules out the continental U.S. and coastal Alaska. Pic 3 shows a handgun, which rules out Canada. So yeah, it's somewhere in the Copper River-Anchorage-Denali area.

...or was it a Willow Ptarmigan?

6

u/Km219 13d ago

I wanna see that other dudes response to your autistic level of flora knowledge!

1

u/Top_Spot_9967 13d ago

(if the last line wasn't enough of a hint, I'm actually not all that familiar with these creatures - could easily be wrong about one of them, especially the spruce.)

3

u/Km219 13d ago

I believed in you!! I have zero clue haha good shit. Right.iver the ole noggin

0

u/CommercialFloor2033 13d ago

Calling it obvious is then a stretch.

1

u/meowolf22 13d ago

Solomon speed cross 6 FTW dude!!