Page 6-Saturday, April 15, 1978-The Michigan Daily Travel Supplement.

The Michigan Daily Travel Supplement-Sc

Colorado: A backpacker's delight

By Elisa Frye
W HEN MY PARENTS asked my
sister Alice and I if we wanted to
go backpacking out West, our response
was less than enthusiastic. We'd been
camping with Mom and Dad before,
and, quite frankly, I can think of other
people I'd rather share a tent with.
Alice and I were ready to immediately
veto the idea until Mom said we could
each bring a friend. Then the trip
seemed more appealing.
Plans were quickly hammered out:
we would spend one month out West -
three weeks strictly camping and one
week backpacking.
One morning late in June, packed to
the gills with enough equipment for six
people and two dogs, we jumped into
the car and were off.
I was praying the first few days we
spent driving wouldn't be any in-
dication of what the rest .of the trip
would'be like. The station wagon was
hot and muggy, and the drive nothing.

less than incredibly boring. Alice and
her friend Marlene were cramped into
the back with all the equipment, and
my friend Sandy and I were crunched in
the middle seat, trying desperately to
fight off car sickness and the dogs.
After several days, we finally
reached the Bighorn Mountains in nor-
thwestern Wyoming. We spent three
quiet days there, camped on the banks
of a narrow river where my father in-
dulged in some trout fishing.
FROM THE BIGHORNS we
traveled to Jackson Hole where
the University maintains a geology
camp. The camp was not much to look
at - only rows and rows of bleak
aluminum shacks. There wasn't much
activity either, because the students
and ground crews would not arrive until
our last day there.
We made the best of it, though. We
spent the days playing football, the
nights huddled around a fire, toasting
marshmallows and telling ghost
stories.
We left the geology camp for Green
River, the site of the original dude ran-

ch. Abandoned split-log cabins - the
remains of ranches past - are a com-
mon find.
One day we decided to take a day-
long hike to Twin Lakes, a pair of alpine
lakes about seven miles from our camp.
Seven miles straight up, that is. Though
we all hit the trail with equal energy
and enthusiasm, as the day wore on, my
mother and Marlene gradually lagged
behind.
A T FIRST THEIR pokiness was an-
noying, but the irritation grew to
worry, and we decided to wait for them

to catch up. We waited an hour, then
started back down the trail to hunt for
them.
We soon found them, wheezing their
way up the path with sheepish looks on
their faces. We demanded to know
where they had been - they could not
have gotten lost because the trail was
clearly marked. Somewhat em-
barrassed, my mother admitted that
briefly resting by the side of the trail,
she and Marlene had gotten up and con-
tinued the trek - back down the moun-
tain!
See UPS~~Page 11

By Martha Retallick
YOU PROBABLY won't find many
Cornish hens in Cornwall. How-
ever, you will find miles of windswept
beaches outlining rocky cliffs, forests
so thick you can hardly walk through.
them, and moors that will make you
feel-as if you just stepped into a scene in
a Thomas Hardy novel.
Geographically, Cornwall is the
southwesternmost county in England,
about 300 miles from London. Cornwall
is a peninsula, bordered by the Irish
Sea on the north and the English Chan-
nel on the south.. Except for the four
miles between the Irish Sea and where
it begins, the River Tamar separates
Cornwall from County Devon and the
rest of England. Some Cornish wish the
River Tamar were four miles longer.
Although many English - and many
Americans - go to Cornwall for its
beaches don't skip the countryside bet-
ween the north and south coast.
There are several pockets of forest
scattered about the coulfy so thick they
make you think of what America was
like before the white settlers came. One
such forest, near the village of
Luxulyan, has an aqueduct running
through it. Built in the 1800s, the
aqueduct still carries water - to
nowhere in particular.-
A LL OVER CORNWALL are the
moors, the largest one being
Bodmin Moor. Going through a moor, a
field covered with bracken and heath
that goes on for miles, is an incom-
parable experience.
When I first saw Bodmin Moor, there
was something about the place that at-
tracted and repelled me at the same
time. The moor itself seems to swallow
all sound and that wind that seems to
follow you everywhere in Cornwall
feels a bit colder than usual.
In Bodmin Moor are the two highest
hills in Cornwall, Rough Tor and Brown

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Tips for backpacking

No hiker, no matter how inexperien-
ced, should totally rely on someone
else's equipment list. Use the following
as a guide, and add or delete items ac-
cording to your needs or idiosyncrasies.
DAY TRIP-boots, socks, shirts and
sweaters, parka, trousers or knickers,
headwear, food, sunglasses, knife,
matches, first aid kit, flashlight, map,
compass, canteen, moleskin (for
covering blisters).
ADD FOR OVERNIGHT TRIP -
packframe and bag, sleeping bag,
groundsheets (air mattress optional),
tarp or tent, stove, cooking pots and ac-
cessories, eating utensils, toilet ar-
ticles.
CONSIDER - down vest, poncho,
rain pants, mittens, ice ax, hiking rope,
.snowshoes, cross country skis.

Think about bringing a few frivolous
items which might be non-essential but
are nice to have along. For example, a
windmeter, pocket thermometer, or a
pair of binoculars can always come in.
handy. For early rising hikers, a light-
weight alarm clock is a must.
To pass time after setting up camp,
carry along cards, a pocket chess set,
and a kite. And if you have enough room
after packing all that, bring your
camera and fishing gear.
Be sure you have a map and compass
before you embark upon your back-
packing trip. Avoid buying expensive
precision equipment - it really won't
be necessary. For mountain hiking, a
simple $5 compass will more than suf-
fice.

Photo by MARTHA RETALLICK
The ups and downs of
mountain backpacking


I


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(Continued from Page 6)
After Green River, we launched into
the best part of the vacation: the back-
pack trip.
In Durango, Colorado, we boarded a
Denver and Rio Grande Western train,
the same one used in the movie Butch
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
THE TRAIN chugged along the Anu-
mus River, and took us through
the river gorge. The river rushed
furiously below us, white and torren-
tous.I
Four hours later we were un-
ceremoniously dumped in a huge field.
We unpacked our equipment and were
off on a hike through the mountains. A
tributary of the Anumus followed by
our trail, though it seemed harmless
compared to its roaring comrade.
The next day we moved to a new
campsite. Sandy and I were to stay in
camp and pack up the equipment while
the rest of the party traveled ahead. We
weren't really happy with our assign-
ment - it meant boring work and
eating lunch by ourselves. But that was
before Mattie and Johnny came up the
trail.
They stopped to tend to blisters and
rest and ended up eating lunch with us.
Before departing, Mattie invited us to
"a wild party" up at a miner's shack
near the Great Divide. It wasn't very
far, he assured us, and the trail was in
good condition.
After their visit, the day went faster
and we finished the move to the new
campsite in good spirits.
Wu went on several-hikes a alpine

lake, Lake El Dorado, and up to the
Continental Divide (and the Miners'
Shack). The trip to the Great Divide
made Sandy and I thankful that we
didn't take Mattie up on his offer - it
was rocky and precipitous in places.
I'm sure we could never hati ~ found our
way up to the Miner's Shack in the
dark.
Six days later, somewhat tired and
with the smell of woodsmoke clinging to
our clothes, we flagged down the train
and climbed aboard for the trip back to
Durango. The conductor struggled as
he lifted our packs up. Sandy and I had
loaded railroad plates and spikes into
our packs adding a good twenty pounds
to each.
As the train pulled into the station, we
jumped off and headed for a motel
-where we indulged in hot showers and
soft beds for the first time in weeks.
PITC H
IN!
Barth Defects
Urnless YOU.
H ELP
-H OF MES


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Doily Photo by ANDY.FREEBERG
TWO BACKPACKERS HIKE through beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park
in Colorado.

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