July 20, Wednesday: Camping Test / Bean Creek Trail

A cluster of flowers at the Beverly Creek campground in Teanaway Community Forest

Backpack and Jean "Baptiste with my new Half Dome tent, by Beverly Creek

July 19-20 were field test days for my Honda CRV camping system, and they were spent in the Teanaway Community Forest east of Cle Elum, WA. The area includes Bean Creek Basin, and involved a hike along Bean Creek. I used the opportunity to practice shooting compass bearings and plotting our location on a map of the area. Here are stats for the hike:

Distance: 9.232 km
Pace: Plodding 1 mph
Weight: At least 19 pounds
Weather: Clear
Elevation gain:  2,000 feet (Map My Hike)
Accumulated distance for 2016:  365.611 km
Accumulated height for 2016:  49,858 feet

Accompanying me on the outing was Dian Wanner, a friend from Wenatchee who traveled with me to Yellowstone a year earlier. At the end of the hike, I took compass bearings on landmarks, such as the one pictured below, which I believe is Mount Stuart, whose peak reaches 9,415 feet of elevation. The bearing was 332 degrees, and when I plotted that bearing on the map following the hike, it lead right back to the switchback area where I took the bearing.

Taken toward the end of our hike, this photo appears to show Mount Stuart.

The image below is the portion of the map that shows the path traveled. We hiked from the red dot next to the number, "1391," past the second red dot,where we turned right and climbed an area of steep switchbacks. The Map My Hike software indicated we climbed from an area of 3,627 (or 3,651) feet of elevation to 5,647 feet. This appears to be close to the elevations indicated on the map, possibly within 200 feet.

Our hike followed Bean Creek, and beyond, to the switchbacks. Note contour lines.

The Map My Hike record of the hike, showing path travled and a chart of elevation gains.

The photo below was taken at the second red dot on the map, which is situated at 5,100 feet. I shot this on a bearing of 345 degrees, which is within 5 degrees of where Sherpa Peak is situated on my map. The bearing I took involved peering through trees, so some inaccuracy was programmed in. I'm confident that this is indeed Sherpa Peak, which is at an elevation of 8,605 feet.

Analysis suggests this is a view of Sherpa Peak (see map at end of dispatch).

The larger map below shows more of the area, including Mount Stuart, and Bean Creek Trail and Beverly Campground, highlighted with red marker.

A portion of Teanaway Community Forest, and surrounding lands

Additional obserations: One of my down sleeping bags proved insufficient for keeping me warm. It didn't help that my water bag in my backpack either leaked or caused condensation that got the bag wet. It also didn't help that the zipper caught in the bag's fabric. I needed to pack more warm clothing, and  create a vapor barrier between clothing and water.I also probably needed a slightly larger backpack, which I will use in the future for such outings.

I gave up as much as two liters of water during the night. This has happened before when I camped at 4,000 feet of elevation. I suspect this is related to the phenomenon of the body casting off water at elevation, but it seems like a large amount for only 4,000 feet, the approximate elevation of our camp site.