[pct-l] Red Buttes hike

[Nathan Miller]

> I hiked up into the Red Buttes last weekend from
> Cookn'Green Pass. It was a 
> cold clear trip, with some old snow to walk on. Shoulda
> taken my snowshoes, 
> but I was able to walk into Bee Camp on the old mining road
> on firm snow on 
> a very nice sunny day. I've been camping on all the full
> moons of 2009, and 
> this was my 12th one. Funny, 2009 has 13 full moons, so
> I've got one more 
> moon to chase on 12/31. I posted 10 photos for sharing, and
> gained new PCT 
> memories for myself.
>  http://www.pbase.com/losthiker/red_buttes&page=5 

Tell me more about this Bee Camp.  I hiked this section in June, saw the road and saw that, from the rim above Lily Pad Lake, the thing simply vanishes, even though the map suggests that it should be visible.  Does this road lead to Bee Camp and does it lie on the north side of Red Butte?  How's the camping there?  The guidebook mentions camping at Kangaroo Springs and while the terrain is suitable, nearly all of what I saw was lumpy limestone and peridotite with little or no space that I'd consider suitable for pitching a tent or even throwing out a bag--same thing with Lily Pad Lake (although I did once sleep on a ledge about 2 ft. wide in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness and last Septmeber pitched my tent in the middle of the trail north of Lolo Pass).  Perhaps my concept of what constitutes a suitable campsite is too limited.

-Nate the Trail Zombie

When you know where the trail goes
It doesn't matter if you're fast or slow