Eagle Valley: A Disappointing Visit

    After the grueling hike up the Eagle Valley Trail,  I anxiously awaited finally arriving at the plateau of Eagle Valley.  When I finally got there I was confronted with clouds of mosquitoes.  This is the first time this has happened on a Ozalenka Alpine Club hike.  The other times I was up at Eagle Valley there were no mosquitoes. 

    I spent some time scanning at the panorama of mountains and glaciers, and sat down on a boulder to eat the sandwich that I had been carrying in my daypack.  I was hungry and I eagerly awaiting biting into my lunch.  The pleasure of eating was greatly diminished by all of the mosquitoes that gave me no peace.  I gulped ate my sandwich as I swatted mosquitoes.  The photo below shows 24 of the beasties sitting on my pant legs as I ate.

    Once I had finished the sandwich, I had had enough of the mosquitoes, and I decided to head for the cabin, so I could finish the rest of my lunch and rest with out the torment.  The bugs and my weariness from the hike, had stifled any desire to explore Eagle Valley.  I had seen it before.  It was largely gravel and boulders from the outwash plain of the glaciers.  There were a few scattered alpine flowers, but not many.  

    It was a good move to head to the cabin when I did, because on the way it began to sprinkle and then rain.  The cabin was full of the other hikers, and we sat around talking about the hike, the dog with the porcupine quills, and all of the mosquitoes.  I finished eating the other bits of food that I had brought along, and rested my brutalized legs.

    After an hour, it was raining harder than ever, but I thought I had better head back down the trail so I could take it at my own pace and not be pressured by other hikers.  I was happy that I had brought my raincoat along in my pack because it was raining heavily.  

    The rain had made the trail more dangerous, as many of the rocks and dirt were now wet and slippery.  As I slowly and carefully picked my way down the trail, I couldn’t help but be a bit bummed out by the mosquitoes that had really ruined the visit to Eagle Valley.  I was happy that my old legs were still able to make it to the destination, and I knew they would be letting me know how they felt about all that exertion by the time I made it home. 

    

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