With it being decided that Fire Creek was only practical route out given the size of our loads I decided to get the ascent over with. I packed up camp and headed up along the creek. Upon entering the upper little valley, I turned east and headed for the ridge. By the time I was a half hour into the scramble I realized I forgot to get water. At this point I wasn't turning back now to go grab some.
At only 550ft, a grade of 35 turning to 45 degrees, 75lbs (34kg) of gear and me being 153lbs (69kg) at the time, it was slow going. When the grade made a sharp incline I went another 15ft and found one of the only large boulders among the scree. I thought this was a good spot to rest and secure my packraft and food bag to my backpack so I could get better balance and stability. I set my camera down, followed by my packraft. Then, I swung my backpack around and the next thing I know my packraft is bouncing down the slope. It rolled and bounced nearly 300ft down before coming to a stop. Poop!
Not only was I frustrated about having to hike down and back up, but all the rocks in the Shublik Mountains are coarse. Who knows how many holes I just put in my packraft... I angled all my gear as best I could to ensure it wouldn't tumble down the mountain while left unattended. With no weight on my back the descent was a breeze. I reached the packraft and everything appeared alright. Now I just had to hike back up. If I hadn't just ascended up with so much weight it would have been a pleasant scramble. Being a little knackered I made it with the rest of my gear where I left it. I cautiously continued securing everything on to my pack, waited a few minutes, and then started back up towards the pass.
