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| Hiking | 11.54 Miles |
4,788 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.54 Miles | 9 Hrs 50 Mns | | 1.43 mph |
| 4,788 ft AEG | 1 Hour 45 Mns Break | | | |
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We signed up for this Meetup hike about six weeks ago, and we have been doing tougher and tougher hikes each weekend to get ready for it. I thought I was prepared, and then nature decided to play a little joke and add some snow and ice to the mix. 
I impressed myself, when I was actually passing people going up Flat Iron. For awhile the snow was just pretty and fun. Then, closer to the top it got a little slick. I did do a little hiking on all fours. We were definitely glad we didn't need to hike (slide) back down it.
We happened to start the Ridgline right behind two groups of two guys. We all kept together for awhile. Two guys said they were turning around at the halfway point. I just kept waiting for them to turn around, so I would know when I was closer to the end than the beginning.  Finally, they did! Shortly after we stopped for a lunch break. The other two guys left, but our group opted to take in the views a little longer. We never did catch up to them again.
After lunch we ran into some Boy Scouts. They had come up from Carney. They said they were the first to walk through the snow in that direction. I think we were very lucky they paved that path! 
I'm not very good with exposure, and there was a section crawling over boulders, that I wasn't sure if snow was covering air or rock. I was a little nervous. Then there is that section of climbing up onto a rock shelf. Luckily we had Karl the mountain goat, he pulled three out of four of us up.
I did fall into the trap of thinking it was going to be all down hill once we passed through the Cairn Gate.... Now I know, until you get to the sign that says Carney Spring, you will have more UP.
It was as challenging as I thought it would be and I don't regret going! |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
