Berry Pass to the 20 Mile River

A pretty impressive showing of girl power met at Carr's Huffman at 8am on a Monday morning.   By 11, all six of us we were hiking on the Winner Creek trail up to Berry Pass.

It was an overcast, muggy day, but it seemed to magnify the greens in the rain forest. 

 

 

Hiking without trails is the most sure fire way to appreciate an amazing trail the next time you are on one.  The trail has been extended on the 20 mile side of Berry pass, rumor has it, eventually it will extend all the way out to the highway. 

 This is the second time I've been with a virgin packrafter on this trip and I'm not convinced that this is the best river to start on.  The first bit is fast and tends to suck newbies into the alders along the side, its painful and scary to watch.  Poor Margo was wet, cold and scared within the first 5 minutes.  Luckily the latter half  is  mellow, if not a little unrelentingly flat and slow . What makes this trip worthwhile are the beautiful views and ability to chat the whole way.

Merrick towed me for a little while, it was pretty entertaining.

 

 

I absolutely had a great day, but an all together different experience than I usually seek. Its funny how a small group outing can turn into a larger one, and my reaction to that. I'll just be lame and say it, but I don't like doing outdoor trips with more than 3-4 people. My patience to wait for all the separate pieces just isn't there.

T.9ish:D.24.6:EG.2760