Backpacker – August 2019

JULY/AUGUST 2019

BACKPACKER.COM 71

PHOTOS BY (LEFT) MALLORY ROE; ELIAS BUTLER

No. 17

FLOAT TONTO CREEK.

Hellsgate Wilderness, AZ

CLUB MED HAS nothing on the R&R wa iting at the bottom of this tra il. From

your syca more-shaded ca mpsite at the conf luence of Tonto a nd Ha igler

Creeks, you’re a quick jaunt from where rosy-hued granite walls pinch the

Tonto into a nea rly impa ssable na rrows—except to you, prone, on your inf lat-

able sleeping pad, of course.

The f loat may be easy, but getting there takes some doing: The 8-mile hike

on Hell’s Gate Trail through manzanita- and juniper-filled slopes loses almost

2,000 feet in the f ina l couple of miles to the creek, a nd the wilderness hosts

rattlesna kes, black bea rs, a nd g ia nt centipedes. Rewa rds a re commensurate,

though: Besides the tubing, you’ll get a communit y pool-size swimming hole, a

7-foot water fa ll, views of the Ma zatza l Mounta ins, a nd sweet solitude.

Swim season April to October (but beware midsummer’s sometimes-

scorching temps and high f lash-f lood risk in rainy weather) Trailhead

Hellsgate (34.2798, -111.1367) Regs None Contact http://www.fs.usda.gov/tonto

No. 15

KAYAK TO BLAKE ISLANDS.

Umbagog Lake State Park, NH

IF BEING KING OR QUEEN of your own

Northwoods island for a night sounds good,

point your boat towa rd these conifer-covered

twins near the southeastern shore of Umbagog

Lake, a 10-mile-long tarn busy with bald eagles,

loons, and moose. There, at site 32, you’ll have

sole claim to the Blakes’ small, sandy shore-

line. Come nightfall, retreat to a tent site under

a canopy of pine, spruce, and tamarack within

view of the water.

The paddle to the Blakes is half the fun: You

can beeline it along the lake’s eastern shore for a

2-mile trip, but the better route loops clockwise

a round Big Isla nd for a 4.5-miler (one-way). En

route, explore Big’s rocky pockets, ledges, and

scattered shoreline stone features, dipping in

and out of Thurston Cove before heading east to

the Bla kes. (If site 32 is cla imed, tr y for 34, on a n

unna med isla nd just ea st—it ’s equa lly private.)

Swim season July to September Put-in Pa rk

headquarters (44.7023, -71.0552) Regs Permit

required for boatpacking ($30/night; reserve

a site at reserveamerica.com or try for a walk-

in). Gear rental Ca noes a nd kaya ks a re $40/

day on-site. Contact nhstateparks.org

THE BOYS OF Carl Sandburg High’s cross-country team were

not experienced mountaineers. State champion runners, yes,

but not ridge runners. This became clear on a summer train-

ing trip when we left our precious f latlands outside Chicago and ventured

west to Rocky Mountain National Park for some elevation training.

We set our sights on the “CCY,” a classic peakbagging route across the

summits of 12,454-foot Mt. Chapin, 13,069-foot Mt. Chiquita, a nd 13,514-

foot Ypsilon Mountain. As the newbies we were, we wore basketball

shorts for the 8.1-miler and packed ponchos, which we hoped not to use.

By mid-afternoon we needed them. We’d climbed the first two peaks

ha ndily, stopping of ten to throw snowba lls—in July! But on our last pea k,

the heavens gave way to a perfectly outrageous summer storm. I’d expe-

rienced thunderstorms in the Midwest, but nothing can compare to the

mountain variety, which spring from purple-and-green skies pumped

with electricity and gumball-size hailstones.

Not to be deterred (a good quality in cross-country running, but not in

mountain climbing), we tagged Ypsilon’s open, rocky summit block. Our

thin, plastic ponchos did little to protect us from the pummeling ice balls,

but luckily we made it back down safely.

I’ve learned a little about summer in the mountains since then—now

I start early and head below treeline when the skies turn—but I’m still

enamored by summer storms. There’s nothing quite like a good mountain

squall, hailstones and all. I have since upgraded my poncho, though.

Summer + Squall

By David Gleisner

Play campsite bocce.

16. There’s nothing lighter than a game you
    don’t have to carr y.
    1.Find level ground, a nd ma rk off a
    30-by-10-yard-or-so rectangle with
    rocks or sticks. (Disma ntle a f ter.)

2.Take turns tossing baseball-size

rocks toward the pallino ( golf ba ll-

size rock) to see who can get closest.

Feeling competitive? Find a full list of

rules at backpacker.com/bocce. –Z.G.

Hell’s Gate Narrows