Kyle: Oh boy, the Main Drain. We waved goodbye to developed trails and made our way across more rugged terrain. The views remained very impressive. We stayed as high as we could as long as we could and eventually made our descent into a valley containing MD. Just before descending, a glider swept down from above within 30' of us and caught us off guard. After realizing what it was, it was a neat experience. Coming down was quite a challenge though quite fun. The views continued to be wonderful. We made our way into a deep bowl containing a limestone canyon and after some more descending Brian found the MD. We took pictures, observed the rigged rope, and found a walkman containing a library book on tape. We were actually able to play the walkman and listen to it shortly. We descended more into a limestone valley and came across another cave with a big pile of icy snow in the entrance. We saw some more sheep and eventually bushwhacked and hiked an animal trail back to the car. We saw a bull moose in Tony Grove Lake and took pictures.
Brian: From Naomi Peak, we decided to follow the ridge top. I could clearly see the finger ridge that MD lay behind from the top of Naomi Peak. The first 1/4 a mile was quite easy but then the ridge became more narrow requiring contours up, down, and along steep mountainside to avoid rock cliffs. We followed an animal trail for awhile and then began bushwhacking. We saw a rock that looked like a refrigerator perched above a cliff. After we finally passed the narrow, difficult area walking became easier as the ridge smoothed out. We crested a round peak and could then see the bowl below. It was easy to see why Main Drain formed where it did. The drainage above it is huge! We descended below a saddle after being scared half-to-death by a glider. I heard whistling wind and then saw something white shooting down toward me. It then swooped back up and continued to ride the winds created by the ridge top. I showed Kyle and Erin how to descend scree and told them it’s easier to S back and forth on firmer ground. After a long descent, we arrived in the limestone bowl. Kyle and I didn't realize until Erin showed up that we'd been standing next to a dead sheep. I absolutely, thoroughly enjoyed bushwhacking through the mountains. I love mountaineering. After crossing the limestone bowl, I climbed down a rather steep slope and saw a vertical wall. I climbed up to it and saw a pit into a small canyon. I descended and ascended to the adjacent pit but it didn't look like it went either. I later entered from the canyon below and discovered that these two pits connected. To the west, I found a short 20' pit. I did my first circle about 100' away form the given point. I then expanded my radius to 300'. I found a couple more karsts features. My heart was pounding. Finally, my 300' circle brought me below and I spotted an obvious vertical crack ~ 20' wide and 10' across. It was 189' from where it was supposed to be. I bo'd Erin and Kyle in and photographed and GPSed the entrance with 21' accuracy. Then, we followed an animal trail down to a horizontal, walking cave that filtered into a crawlway. It was obviously a home of sheep or goats. We followed a dry valley down, running into a herd of sheep. Later, we veered off the dry stream and descended a steep animal trail a few hundred feet to a trail. We hiked back to the lake and saw a bull moose. Today, we hiked approximately 7 miles spending over 5 hours. We were all tired and I was famished.
Erin: After we ate on the peak, I was rejuvenated and ready to begin the quest for Main Drain. The route we chose was long and tiring but we were able to see the ridge in which the cave lay beyond. As we contoured the mountain, we climbed over narrow and steep passage. Once we made it through the treacherous uphill trek, we were able to walk along the smooth ridge top. We were startled by a glider that flew overhead. We all ducked a little. From there, we made our descent into the bowl. Kyle and I lazily rested while Brian searched for the pit. When I got up to see if I could find the sheep that I'd been hearing, Brian signaled that he found the cave. I was very impressed with the cave entrance. From the cave we followed an animal trail back to the parking lot. We hiked through a flock of sheep, and then made our way through a field of wild flowers that have lost their pedals. Then, we made it to an established trail and followed it back to the parking lot where we took pictures of a bull moose in the lake. Despite my use of sunscreen, I still left with sunburn.
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