This was a solo 2-night trek across the Colvin Range the weekend of August 14 to 16, 2015. This would be my second solo backpacking this year, this time for two nights. I had wanted to do the Pinnacle for a while now and thought I could do another loop, over the Colvin Range and down to the Warden's Camp and up over the Great Range back to the Lake Road. It was a very ambitious trek but I was also able to alter this route as I went along and paced myself. I parked at the St. Hubert's hiker's parking lot just near the Ausable Club, donned my pack and hiked down the Lake Road to my entry point to my first designated campsite near Gill Brook. When I was signing in just before the gate, next to the guard's office, the attendant came out and warned me of the nuisance bear that has been wandering about the area, particularly near the campsites. I thanked him and thought I had my bear barrel, bears are out there anyway, and I know I'll keep a clean campsite and will only eat away from my sleeping area. I arrived in good time at the first campsite and then decided to keep moving to the campsite closer to Mount Colvin at Elk Pass. I went in and checked around and saw tents set up. I thought with a nuisance bear, that bear will be more interested in lots of smells where a group is located, so I decided to carrying on further to another small site that I read about off the shoulder of Colvin. I met up with a group of students out for a week hiking the High Peaks. The told me about the bear and that they had seen it and gave it a nick-name. They were making their way back to camp after hiking Mount Colvin. I arrived at my campsite and set up my bivy and tarp between two trees. I ate supper further away and then hid my bear barrel in a creek bed wedged among some rocks. The night passed quietly and morning came. This morning, I would do the Pinnacle but as I made my way there, passing over the summit of Blake, I realized the mileage will take me a lot longer than I planned on, so after a short distance past Blake, I turned around and made my way back to my campsite. I packed up my pack and headed down the mountain towards the Warden's Station where I would hike up the backside of Sawteeth. This area was very beautiful, well groomed, nice path along a shallow river. The Warden's Station had lots of log buildings and cabins, a cozy place to visit but only for guests as I was on private land with a right of way for hikers to pass through only. I continued on and stopped to have an early supper before making my way up Sawteeth. I met up with a man coming back from hiking Sawteeth and shared with me that it was a beautiful trail, all pine needles all the way up to the summit and indeed it was; however, as I started my climb it started to rain and continued to downpour. I was drenched and since it was still raining, I continued to hike up as I didn't want to stop as everywhere was wet. Finally, the rain stopped and the sun came back out. Things started to dry out and I was now looking for a good place for my bivy to set up for the night. I found a nice little divet in the side of the mountain big enough for my bivy and tarp where I would not role down the mountain. I then found another creek bed to wedge my bear barrel in and off to bed I went. The next morning, I packed up and headed for the summit of Sawteeth where I would make my breakfast. I enjoyed the views from there and decided I would drop my pack at the junction of Sawteeth and Gothics and hike up to the Pyramid and come down the Weld Trail to the Lake Road and out. I made it up Pyramid and enjoyed the views from there, a place I had wanted to see and finally arrived at. The views were amazing all around of the High Peaks and down to Ausable Lake. I could see my route from when I started. Once I was back on the Lake Road, I really felt the load on my back and the road seemed to be endless. I finally made it to the gate, signed myself out and was back at the car by mid-afternoon. Another great journey that really challenged my abilities and I was grateful to be back home to share it.
