A couple of years ago, I promised myself that I
wouldn't come back to this area again because I didn't like the hot, dry, dusty
condition to hike. I had came here for the Fortune Peak hike and now I'm back
for the Esmeralda Basin hike.
Lots of flowers all around, like
Indian Paintbrushes,
Harebells,
Hellebores,
Douglas' asters,
Western Pasqueflowers, and
Pearly Everlastings. I would've taken my camera out and snap pictures, but I
wasn't in a "weathering" mood.
Our plan is to loop the Esmeralda Peaks and
Gallagher Lake where it connects into the DeRoux Creek Trail before connecting back to the trailhead. Just past County
Line 22, the trail made a steep drop into a logging road which then forked, only
to come back together and then leading to Gallagher Lake. At this point, I was
beginning to doubt myself on the directions (plus I didn't bring my Green Trails
map #209) and beginning to look forward to getting back to the parking lot. Near the tail end of 15 miles, my feet ache that I was ready to play dead on the road so I
can hitch a ride. I ended up sitting on the side of the road eating my peach
while Jan and Michi forged on back to the car. They picked me up later on the way out.
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I'm not going to promise myself that I won't be back again because I suspect that I will be back for the Ingalls hike/climb one day.
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