April 30 - May 1, 2016.
Partners: Deez.
Stats: Approx 5 mile round. Camp at Baron Creek.
Gear notes: Standard overnight kit.
Grandjean in the years past: 2013, 2014, 2015.
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| Western edge of the Sawtooths from the road. Photo: Denise Savoy. |
A few years ago, we got a wild hair and decided to do an overnight hike out of Grandjean. It was April and a low snow year so we were good to go. We went for it the next two years and have since decided that we no longer consider it a teaser trip. It is now the annual Grandjean kickoff trip. After 4 times and counting, we have camped at a different site each time. Its a short and easy hike to Baron Creek, which has a host of good camp sites, so it is doable even if you leave town late.
We started out from the trail head about 4:30pm under cloudy skies and warm temps. The weather forecast gave a 30% chance of precip, so we were prepared for the worst and headed out for 100% fun.
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| Trailhead goofballs. |
This trip gets categorized as easy; the stress factor is as low as the mileage.
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| South Fork Payette River Trail. |
The area had melted out nicely and we explored off trail a bit. Even though we had plenty of time and could have easily walked farther, we stopped at Baron Creek and found a splendid camp site west of the trail.
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| Camp along side Baron Creek. |
Only a few small patches of snow lingered and the ground was dry, so we had no difficulty finding a spot to pitch the tent. I had a loose plan of climbing Grandjean Peak the following morning, but after distant observation, I decided that the creek would be too difficult to cross and there was more snow than would be safe for the class 3 scramble to the top.
Maybe some other time.
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| The DiMaggio never tasted so good. |
We take this trip nice and easy; we don't even cook dinner. It was gourmet Italian sandwiches for us.
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| Camp. |
Getting into camp after just over an hour of walking gave us lots of time to relax; just what we had came for.
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| In camp. Photo: Denise Savoy. |
Hey, lets have some drinks and take some pictures!
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| Evening sky. Photo: Denise Savoy. |
The cloud cover broke up and we were gawking at the stars before it was dark enough for headlamps.
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| Fire. |
We sipped our drinks and got our groove on while the music played. As usual on the Grandjean trip, it was later than I'll admit when we decided it was time for bed. The next morning was crystal clear and warm. With only a short walk back to the car, we got up and rolling at a lazy hour.
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| Morning at Baron Creek. |
We broke camp and unhurriedly headed down the trail. Short and easy was the name of the game. Too bad the weather was so nice. We would have rather headed to the next camp site instead of having to go back home and return to adulting.
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| Grandjean Peak west summit. |
With the big trips coming up soon, we enjoyed the chill that is our annual Grandjean outing.
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| Hike out. |
Best pun ever: Hey, did I tell you about the backpacking trip I just did? Yeah, the hike was fun and the camping was in-tents.
Happy trails! Granola, out.
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