Hitch Numero Uno

7/9/03

North Fork, ID

We just got off our first ‘hitch’ here in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. Our mission was simple: GPS all of the system trails. We started a day late and finished a day early. I hiked (backpack and day-hike) some 75 miles in 5 days. TopoFusion claims 20,000 feet of climbing and 4.0 mph average speed.

The first day was rough — 20 miles and we were coming off our 9 hour Alta to American Fork ride just two days previous. But eventually things settled down and I was able to keep putting the miles in.

Our first day was a complete whirlwind. They expected us a day earlier (though we were on time from what we were told) and the office was a complete and total mess. They were throwing around words like ‘hitch’ ‘rig’ ‘six-pack’ and ‘crick’ and for a minute I was frightened at what we were getting into.

After being told several things we should have known weeks ago and after a classic display of government inefficiency we finally left for the Crags. Once we got into the wilderness, things improved. It’s beautiful out there.

As we hiked we took pictures of all trail obstructions and signs. It was exciting to be challenged with covering all the trails in an area–and with coming up with a plan to do it efficiently.

Unfortunately, efficiency does not seem to be one of the Forest Service’s goals. It’s amazing that they expect us to hold regular hours when out in the backcountry. We’re supposed to be out on the trail by 7am and ‘working’ until 1730. One day we backpacked 5 miles in the
morning, then ate lunch at our new spot. I hiked 20 miles the day before so I was looking for some rest. The sun goes down at 10:30pm, so after lunch we had two options: 1) rest for the afternoon and hike in the evening 2) hike in the afternoon, rest in the evening.

From a recovery (and at this point we still had 50 miles of trail in front of us) standpoint 1) is the clear choice. From a temperature standpoint 1) is the clear choice as well.

Yet, our boss was camping with us at the time, so we went out in the afternoon for a 7 mile day hike out and back to Ship Island Lake. To top it off, the team didn’t split up–we ALL went to Ship Island Lake–when two of us could have been resting.

It’s more about putting the hours in than getting the job done. Unfortunately, I refuse to get into this backwards mindset. Fortunately this job will be very brief. And, the benefits (getting paid to backpack and GPS trails) are worth it.

Now we’re off for a few days and will have a chance to explore the local riding here at the North Fork of the Salmon River.

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