Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
PCT 2002 - September 13th
Day 143: Friday 13th September Ridge Lake – Escondido Ridge
It was a fantastic high-level traverse along an alpine ridge. There were many high-
pitched calls from Marmots and Pikas. The Pika was a small animal that was rather like
a cross between a chipmunk and a mouse. There were also several Ptarmigan, the
mountain version of the grouse. From Chikamin Pass there was a 3,000ft descent down
to Lemah Creek before starting the 2,500ft climb back to the Escondido Ridge. Peter,
with new trainers, and Asher came through while I was resting at Lemah Creek. They
had had a day off with their parents. It didn’t look as if there was likely to be any
campsite until the top of the ridge and since it was 5pm before I started up the hill it
looked likely that I would not be able to camp before it got dark. At 7pm I met an
elderly couple descending and it was going to be dark well before they reached campsites
by Lemah Creek. Fortunately I found a small flat spot to camp a few minutes up the
trail, with views across to the glaciers on Lemah Peak. It had been another warm, almost
cloud free day.
I stayed up until 11pm, finishing off Tom Clancy’s “Real and Present Danger”, very
“heavy” reading at 800 pages. I wanted to burn it in the morning rather than carry the
weight any further.
Day 143: 18.6 miles 8.53 hours Camp: W. slope, Escondido Ridge
It was a fantastic high-level traverse along an alpine ridge. There were many high-
pitched calls from Marmots and Pikas. The Pika was a small animal that was rather like
a cross between a chipmunk and a mouse. There were also several Ptarmigan, the
mountain version of the grouse. From Chikamin Pass there was a 3,000ft descent down
to Lemah Creek before starting the 2,500ft climb back to the Escondido Ridge. Peter,
with new trainers, and Asher came through while I was resting at Lemah Creek. They
had had a day off with their parents. It didn’t look as if there was likely to be any
campsite until the top of the ridge and since it was 5pm before I started up the hill it
looked likely that I would not be able to camp before it got dark. At 7pm I met an
elderly couple descending and it was going to be dark well before they reached campsites
by Lemah Creek. Fortunately I found a small flat spot to camp a few minutes up the
trail, with views across to the glaciers on Lemah Peak. It had been another warm, almost
cloud free day.
I stayed up until 11pm, finishing off Tom Clancy’s “Real and Present Danger”, very
“heavy” reading at 800 pages. I wanted to burn it in the morning rather than carry the
weight any further.
Day 143: 18.6 miles 8.53 hours Camp: W. slope, Escondido Ridge
Mount Thompson
Huckleberry Mountain
Mount Thompson and
Huckleberry Mountain
Huckleberry Mountain
Lemah Mountain
Ancient Brit and
Lemah Mountain
Lemah Mountain
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