Bagger Challenge 2010

For October, and for being up at Cypress Bowl, the weather was undeniably fantastic - warm, clear, sunny with some clouds, and the number of hikers was plentiful. I've been up there in early September some years as the weather turns to winter in the blink of an eye, but, this Bagging season mother nature has kept the door wide open quite late.

The Seymour Sweep involves bagging all of the named peaks in the Fannin Range in one day.  This takes some doing.  Few have been successful.  Those who have experienced hardship.

After last weeks white-out and retreat from Seymour, the forecast today looked promising and I planned to bag DePencier Bluffs.  A unsuspecting guest at a friends dinner party last night, Karen, got roped into the action.  Little did she know about the Bagger Challenge, waterbagging and helicopter rides.

Karen arrived for a late start around 9:30 at my house.  I tried not to freak her out as I set her up with a flashlight, emergency blankie and a whistle.  
 

After my fall two weeks ago and missing the Sunshine in September run and most of the Mountain Highway Madness, I was eager to get out on the trails again.  A 10min trial run had established that I wouldn't be able to go for a longer run, but I felt confident, that I could go on a shorter hike.  Perfect timing, as Wendy, who also is recovering from a fall, was game for a little peak bagging.  

Without much discussion, we settled on heading for DePencier Bluffs, the newest kid on the block with regards to the Bagger Challenge, and by all accounts an easy peak that could be done before lunch without problem.   The weather forecast was for rain overnight and it looked like things could ease up mid morning.  Well, it didn't just rain overnight, it hammered....Noticed that the forecast was downgraded and now called for heavy rain, but undeterred, I picked up Wendy on the way to the base of Seymour.

Capilano Mountain is one of the handful of peaks in the Bagger Challenge I'd not yet bagged, so when Neil contacted me about sneaking off to bag it mid-week, I was on it like white on rice.

With reference to the reasons why I love the Bagger Challenge, a key consideration for me is the reward of a panoramic view from the peak and the exhilarating feeling of being on top of the world.

Yesterday (a week day), I bagged a peak for the first time with my friend Neil the ChickenMan.  Immediately upon my return, I went to a street party where none of the attendees were Baggers.  My non-bagging friends could not understand what could possibly motivate someone to play hooky and go for a 6-hour run on an obscure trail.  All this for bragging rights on a claim to have reached the peak of an obscure mountain peak and making it home alive in time for dinner.

Good question!

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!