Day 36...A Cold Night...A Spectacular Hike Along Mt. Goldensides

Wow...it got really cold last night (30's). When I bought my sleeping bag, I figured that this was a summer trip, so I got a "+50" bag...figuring that should do fine. Fortunately, I had the foresight to also buy a liner that converts my bag to a "+35"...good thing because I needed it last night.
It's fall here already...they're a good four or five weeks ahead of us back home. That's why the colors here are so vivid...they're fall colors.
I got up early this morning (7:00AM) and promptly moved to the Escape where I turned up the heat full-blast. I made coffee and cooked a full breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, fried potatoes and toast...I'll need the energy for my hike.
After talking to the staff at the Tombstone Information Center, I decided to hike up and along Mt. Goldensides...an excellent choice! I drove about two miles north on the Dempster Highway and then another two miles or so up an access road to the start of the trail. All that I can say is that the views were stunning. I hiked for about four hours with the weather clear and in the mid-50's...perfect for hiking.
Again, I regret that my photos don't give you the full impact of the colors...there's green from moss, pale green to white from lichens(?), and reds, yellows and purples from the wet tundra underbrush...add the greys and blacks from the mountain stone, and you've got a tremendous palette of colors! I enjoyed my hike in Denali, but this was so much better. Denali is all brawn, this was all finesse. There wasn't another person on the trail or, for that matter, miles around. I've been to some really beautiful places in my life, and I'm sure I'll visit more...but they're going to have a hard time beating this because Tombstone has set the bar pretty high.
When I returned to my campsite, I built a roaring fire...the temperatures started to drop in late afternoon. For dinner, I used one of my "camp cookers"...it's two concave metal pieces that clip together so that you can toast things (like bread) over the fire. With the help of some French butter, potato bread, Tillamook cheddar cheese and some ok peppered bacon, I was able to fashion a crude version of my "famous" grilled cheese sandwich. Eating that as the sun went down around and behind the mountains, I was sure, absolutely sure, that I never made or ate a better grilled cheese.
Tomorrow, I'll be up early and on the road to Whitehorse...civilization...a shower...a shave...a few of Bill's "helpers", a martini or two (definitely two) and a big steak...I can't wait!

More later...