Joining the bagger challenge from Missouri ain't easy. And truth be told, I'm not a big fan of sketchy scrambles up deadly mountain sides. It's just not my BAG. However, Sunshine In September went swimingly well and I was faced with plenty of time to get something fun done while the sun was still up. But what to do? Jackson came up with a GREAT idea - let's go bag DePencier Bluff - the newest peak added to the Club Fat Ass Bagger Challenge! Best of all, DePencier bluff is not a climb, per se, more like a mild hike. Nothing scary, nothing dangerous (except for the ocassional bear in a blueberry patch) - just my cup of tea.
Ean and I headed out of the Seymour Mountain ski park area parking lot at about 3:15pm. Wouldn't you know it, just before we were going to start heading up the mountain road towards Brockton ski lift we bumped in to baggermeister and friend, David Crerar! He had some handsome kids in tow, and they had just finished bagging Mt. Seymour AND DePencier Bluffs. Fantastic! Better yet, David showed us his GPS recording on a map that gave us a much more interesting alternate route to get up to Mystery Lake and then on to DePencier Bluffs. It's actually a fairly short little hike - I'd guess about 45 minutes. Mystery Lake is VERY cool, I really enjoyed that little spot on the hike.
Once past Mystery Lake, we headed up a steeper trail and on to the bluffs themselves. There are GREAT views of Mt. Seymour's peak back there! We also encountered some super-tasty blueberries, more than one could ever count. Jackson and I weren't the only bodies on the mountain interested in blueberries, either. It wasn't far from the peak of D.B. that we encountered a nice sized bear. He was in the thick of a massive patch of blueberries and although he wasn't very close to us, Ean suggested that his stance was a bit agressive, so we moved on quickly. I regret (a little) that I didn't take a quick picture to include here, but I certainly will remember it so at least I have the mental image.
On past the bear, we got ourselves up on top of DePencier Bluffs peak, right at about 4,000ft of elevation or so. Great views up there, and Ean rightly noticed that there was no cairn to mark bagger efforts to that point. He obliged by suggesting we build one, and so we did! Weather was turning a little sour and misty, so we decided to head back. We had only been out about 1 hour and it's a quick jog down the mountain road, past the ski lifts to the parking lot. We snapped a couple of photos on our way down of the views of the city of Vancouver (what little we could see, due to the rain approaching) and otherwise had a great time on the decent.
If you're looking for a family friendly sort of bag (just my style!), then I definitely recommend this little outing. Mystery Lake is cool, and Harry Crerar (David's son) educated us a bit on the salamander population up there. Very cool to check out. We made the round trip in well under 2 hours and we weren't going hard - so that's a nice feature if you're short for time.
Thanks, Jackson, for giving me an easy one, and helping me get my 1 and ONLY Bagger Challenge point in 2010!
Submitted by Ean Jackson on 12 September, 2010 - 11:13.
I thought you promised Lauren back home in St. Louis that you would not, under any circumstances, join Jackson, Crerar or any of the other baggers in the Bagger Challenge on any bagging forays this weekend, so help me God?
So what gives? Now I am up to my ankle in bear do-do... and you are, too. (Remember: we call it "skat" up here in the north woods.)
Good job of making the bagging of this particular killer peak look like a stroll in the park, though. Goodness, one wrong move on that cliff face and you wouldn't have even bounced once before hitting the valley floor about 100-stories below. I admit I was a bit worried when that ledge crumbled and you were left hanging there by 2 fingers. Nice recovery! Good that nobody was around when you cleaned that little accident out of your shorts, eh?
Sorry about trying to piss off that bear. I thought it would be kind of funny to make a little video of your face when he pounced on you. I did plan on showing you how we ride the suckers, but the rain kind of put an end to those plans. Hard to hold on to wet fur.
Anyway, glad to see you in the 2010 North Shore Bagger Challenge. 'Hope it doesn't cost your marriage.
Joining the bagger challenge from Missouri ain't easy. And truth be told, I'm not a big fan of sketchy scrambles up deadly mountain sides. It's just not my BAG. However, Sunshine In September went swimingly well and I was faced with plenty of time to get something fun done while the sun was still up. But what to do? Jackson came up with a GREAT idea - let's go bag DePencier Bluff - the newest peak added to the Club Fat Ass Bagger Challenge! Best of all, DePencier bluff is not a climb, per se, more like a mild hike. Nothing scary, nothing dangerous (except for the ocassional bear in a blueberry patch) - just my cup of tea.
If you're looking for a family friendly sort of bag (just my style!), then I definitely recommend this little outing. Mystery Lake is cool, and Harry Crerar (David's son) educated us a bit on the salamander population up there. Very cool to check out. We made the round trip in well under 2 hours and we weren't going hard - so that's a nice feature if you're short for time.
Comments
Didn't you forget a cliff or
Didn't you forget a cliff or two in the description of your afternoon stroll. Glad you finally made it back before midnight...
Bad Jason
I thought you promised Lauren back home in St. Louis that you would not, under any circumstances, join Jackson, Crerar or any of the other baggers in the Bagger Challenge on any bagging forays this weekend, so help me God?
So what gives? Now I am up to my ankle in bear do-do... and you are, too. (Remember: we call it "skat" up here in the north woods.)
Good job of making the bagging of this particular killer peak look like a stroll in the park, though. Goodness, one wrong move on that cliff face and you wouldn't have even bounced once before hitting the valley floor about 100-stories below. I admit I was a bit worried when that ledge crumbled and you were left hanging there by 2 fingers. Nice recovery! Good that nobody was around when you cleaned that little accident out of your shorts, eh?
Sorry about trying to piss off that bear. I thought it would be kind of funny to make a little video of your face when he pounced on you. I did plan on showing you how we ride the suckers, but the rain kind of put an end to those plans. Hard to hold on to wet fur.
Anyway, glad to see you in the 2010 North Shore Bagger Challenge. 'Hope it doesn't cost your marriage.
Nice try, Jackson.
If my grandma can bag it, then I would say it's not dangerous. But I appreciate your efforts here, Jackson.