Well I did manage to take a few photos while I was out there..never as many as i wish i had after getting back home though.
I got to the trail head at about 6 am on Friday, unloaded my stuff and hiked in. It was a nice experience not feeling the usual pressure of the clock, having to come and go the same day...this time i could actually stop and smell the roses. I set up camp at a spot that I've seen others set up at...first mistake of the trip. I immediately realized the importance of shade in a place like this. The only place to escape the elements is your camp, i've learned to try to make it as comfortable as possible. Anyways after i set up camp, i got to finally explore some of the areas of the river that i've been curious about. I took off with a pan, water, and some necessities and got to sampling along the river. I didn't notice anything worth drawing me away from my usual spot so i eventually made my way back there to work some gravels. It was still nice to satisfy my curiousities though, and finally see what's around those bends I've wondered about for so long.
Then along comes MadMarshall, head down in the water checkin out crevaces and cracks as he makes his way down the river. It was nice to have some company for a minute- he seems to know the river better than most.. and after he departed i dug a little more before deciding to call it a day. At this point I'm pretty dehydrated and hungry. I brought a water purifier to filter river water but i failed to keep it cool by keeping the filtered water in the river. Because of this I didn't drink that much throughout the day and it all caught up to me in the evening, along with the hunger. So i'm sorry to say that i hiked out and hit up the gas station for gatorades and subway for some sandwiches lol. That's one of my biggest take aways from this trip-camping is not for comfort.. I need to sack up and deal with drinking warm water, and eat my not so delicious canned chili. -Guess it all just takes a little getting used to.
Ended up grabbin a beer from the gas station as well and after putting down 2 sandwiches and drinking what i didn't spill of the beer I was sleepin by 9. The river and it's multitude of noises woke me several times throughout the night, but after realizing it was just the river- back to sleep it was. Woke up in the morning refreshed and enjoyed the cool weather while it lasted. Warmed up some chili, took an energy shot, and got back to work until mid-afternoon.
I saw a couple of salamanders, a little snake (not sure what kind), some frogs, and apparently a doe visited me in the night as i could see her tracks along the river in the morning.
I had a lot of fun and learned a lot as some of you suggested i would, and although i didn't find as much gold as i had hoped for it was a great trip. I look forward to checking another part of the river out next weekend with my girlfriend and son.
Once again, thanks for all of the input.. I learned a lot and am definitely looking forward to the next adventure.
