66° Sunny
June 14, 2010…Mickinnick Tr #13 …
hike # 357
by Betsy
It was predicted to be a very nice day, not as hot as it was over the weekend…omigosh, we went from really cold to really hot. Since we got the two’ new kids’ (2 Yorkies), things were a little bit hectic in the morning so we just picked a hike near home. Mickinick is always a good workout, with its relentless steepness right to the top. The native Plant Society and the local Master Gardeners were at the trailhead, cleaning up weeds and brush…they do such a nice job of keeping it pretty. One of them told us that there have been reports of several baby bear cubs so to be careful. Jim was moving a little slower than usual today…so I had to stop several times and let him catch up to me. He said he had no energy. As we were climbing we met a gal coming down, wearing flip flops! She said her friend had told her it was an easy hike…she had no clue did not get even close to the top. Her comment was…it is so NOT easy!
This hike is usually a hot one in summer but it was fine today…and as pretty as it could be with the great abundance of wildflowers. I think we saw every one we know except the rare little orchid, Lady Slipper. So much lupine and buttercups, shooting stars, wild roses, sego lilies, pestamon and more…it was a colorful show. Then I spotted a bear print in one of the wet areas but it was the only one. We saw no bear scat. It got cloudier and there was more haze in the air as we got close to the top. No sooner had we hit the top when guy came up right behind us…wow, he got up in half our time. He said he was training to climb Mt Whitney in California in July.
Coming down we must have met 7-8 people coming up. This is a sign of summer, I guess…Sandpoint Magazine is in every motel room and the locals also begin to get out more now as well. When we got down we saw one rig with Arizona plates and another rental car with Washington plates…the rest were locals. For some odd reason, there were no dogs today! And for another odd reason, my knees behaved fairly well today...I did put the elastic wrap things on for the trek down.
Left home 100
Started up 10:10
Got to top 12:40 2 hours, 30 minutes
Started down 1:15
Got to truck 2:50 1 hour, 35 minutes
Total miles hiked 8 miles
Total hiking time 4 hours, 35 minutes
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