Backpacker – August 2019

JULY/AUGUST 2019

76 BACKPACKER.COM

No. 43

SLIDE DOWN TATE CREEK.

Wild Rogue Wilderness, OR

WATERPARK DESIGNERS wish their t wist y

pla stic chutes packed the spla shy fun Mother

Nature pulled off with this 15-foot wilderness

waterslide. Deep in the lush canyons surround-

ing Oregon’s Rog ue R iver, Tate Creek pours off

a moss-slicked rock slab into a fa ir y-ta le g rotto.

Scramble up the cliff face, let ’er rip, and plunge

into the pearly-blue pool at the base. Repeat.

Tate Creek Slide is the cherry on top of

a classic overnight hike in the Wild Rogue

Wilderness. Start in the large meadow at the

Big Bend trailhead, then trace the Rogue 9 miles

upriver through oak savannas and Douglas fir

forest (watch for poison oak). Grab one of the

sandy, beachfront campsites at the mouth of

Tate Creek (some have pit toilets), then scram-

ble .3 mile upstream to the waterslide.

Swim season May to September Trailhead

Big Bend (42.6390, -124.0555) Regs None

Contact http://www.fs.usda.gov/rogue-siskiyou

THERE ARE OTHER PLACES where you ca n launch yourself from on high into the

water, but we cha llenge you to f ind one with a better backdrop tha n The Jumping

Rock on Phelps La ke. Sta nd on the edge of the sheer-sided boulder that rests on

the nor thea stern shore a nd you’ll ta ke in the yawning mouth of Death Ca nyon just

across the water, fra med by 10,552-foot A lbright Pea k a nd 11, 241-foot Prospector’s

Mounta in. Then jump 25 feet into the glacia lly fed la ke, a nd for a moment, your mind

will go blissfully blank.

You can reach The Jumping Rock on a 4.6-mile round-trip dayhike from the

Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve, but why just look at the magnificence of Death

Canyon when you’re right on its doorstep? Better idea: Hike 4 miles up into the chasm

to sleep among the expansive Teton vistas and kaleidoscopic wildf lowers of the

upper ca nyon, then ta ke the plunge into Phelps La ke on the way back.

Swim season July to September Trailhead Death Ca nyon (43.6558, -110.7811)

Regs $35 entry fee; permit required for backpacking ($35 walk-in, $45 advance

reservations; recreation.gov) Contact nps.gov/grte

I SHIELD MY EYES from

the sun’s wa rm rays a nd

nestle deeper into my

down-filled nest. I’m

ca mped on the ba nks of A laska’s

A latna River, suffering from major

chronological disorientation as the

midnight sun a rcs in the sky. Nor th

of the Arctic Circle, summertime

sunshine transcends the horizon.

But it is bedtime, a nd our quintet

just finished a high-mileage

packraf ting day through Gates of

the A rctic Nationa l Pa rk. Turns

out, you cover a lot of miles with

endless daylight. Now, I’m pooped.

As I bask in the sun’s wa rmth,

the rays lull me into a coma—or a

siesta. As yesterday, a long day of

paddling has given way to a n even

longer “night.” My hiking pa r tners

sha re paddling stories from the

day—did anyone else see the white

wolf today?!—a nd I drif t in a nd

out of consciousness. The evening

progresses, a nd we prattle on,

drunk on sunshine and whiskey.

Daylight perseveres. Just like us, it

is oblivious of the hour.

Summer +Sun

By Heather Balogh Rochfort

No. 41

GO BIG IN

PHELPS

LAKE.

Grand Teton National

Park , W Y

No. 42

SCORE LAKE MICHIGAN’S BEST CAMPSITE.

Newport State Park, WI

THE DOOR PENINSULA JUTS OUT into La ke Michiga n like Wisconsin’s ex tended

pinkie f inger, a nd New por t State Pa rk clings to its ea stern knuck le. Ca mpsite 16 sits

on the pa rk ’s sa ndy nor thern beach, leaving nothing bet ween you a nd the Michiga n

border but miles of lapping waves. Better yet? The submerged shoa ls here keep the

water shallow (only knee-deep well into the lake) and relatively warm. Claim your

beachfront proper t y with a 3-mile hike on the Europe Bay Tra il.

Swim season July to September Trailhead Pa rking Lot 3/Europe Bay (45.2380,

-86.9878) Regs Permit required for backpacking ($20/night; reservations

required; wisconsin.goingtocamp.com) Contact bit.do/newport-state-park

Death Canyon makes

a nice backdrop.

Best
Summer
Ever

PHOTOS BY (CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT) SAM AXNESS; ADAM MOWERY; CHRIS BENNETT PHOTO