August 6

Senger Creek to Vermillion Valley Resort – 20.2 miles

Vermillion Valley Resort (VVR) is a popular resupply spot which also provides a store (with about 30+ beer choices!), showers, laundry, hot meals and a ferry service across adjoining Lake Edison. We didn’t need a resupply, but the prospect of the amenities (can’t honestly say which was more compelling) led to a consensus decision by our trail family to make VVR the next day’s destination. It was also nice to patronize VVR since their season was shortened by over a month because of the high snow. Catching the last ferry across the lake was going to be a stretch, but VVR can also be reached by trail by adding just a few miles. We opted for the guaranteed arrival at VVR by taking the Bear Ridge Trail route above the lake.

But before we would get to the trail junction which would take us to VVR, we had several miles to travel, first over Seldon Pass at almost 11,000’. Since we’d camped on the climb we had a jump start on the climb, and crossed the summit relatively early. Beyond the pass was the picturesque Marie Lake, then after we’d continued descending, a crossing of Bear Creek. This “creek” until recently was running so hard that hikers were skipping this section of trail and taking a long westward road detour from MTR by Florence Lake north to VVR by Lake Edison. We’d heard from other hikers about a log crossing downstream from the “summer”  crossing, and a handwritten sign confirmed this when we arrived at the creek. We carefully checked the crossing and felt bullish to cross as we had done with all other such rivers and streams thus far. Given my height, I went first to test the waters (literally). It was the strongest current we’d encountered, but doable with a cautious approach. Several more tributary crossings followed, but all easy.

The final run down Bear Ridge Trail to VVR brought some rain and hail, but as we arrived at Lake Edison, the skies ahead of us to the west were cloudless and brilliantly blue, and behind us where we’d come from dark. As it turned out, that was the end of the wet weather for us as the sky stayed blue as the unseasonable summer storm finally relented. We were grateful to dry out our tents and gear once we set up in camp. And all the better that we could do laundry and shower, and then enjoy a great meal with beer/s!