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| Hiking | 7.63 Miles |
2,301 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.63 Miles | 5 Hrs 49 Mns | | 1.67 mph |
| 2,301 ft AEG | 1 Hour 15 Mns Break | | | |
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| | | Some new territory for me. Got started before 0900 and headed uphill, where we were quickly shielded from the worst of the wind. The first mile up to the saddle is fairly easy, although there were some icy spots, which continued throughout the day. If someone were to want to get to the summit of Black Cross Butte the easy way, this is the way to go.
From the saddle, we headed west. At times there was a distinct route, other times, not so much. A good amount of tall grass in places, and more ice in a lot of places. A gps track was helpful through here. It’s a short, but steep, final climb up to 3042, but the views are excellent. After a break and group pics, we headed back down to get out of the wind. On the way down, some of us veered farther west to the edge of the dropoff overlooking the river. It was slightly easier (for me, at least) to route find on the way back out.
Once back at the original saddle, we took another break and decided who wanted to continue up to Black Cross and who didn’t. A third of the group decided that they’d already had enough of us for the year and headed back down the original trail, while the remaining half dozen continued up to Black Cross.
The route from the saddle up to the summit was generally distinct and easy to follow and really not too steep for the quick 300’ or so that it gained. Up top, we took a look at the medicine wheel, then meandered over to the obvious high point. From there, we immediately dropped down off the summit and played “pick a route” from none of the obvious options, occasionally spotting a cairn. The route finding and debating was fun, with three spots that required a little bit of work. The descent was quite fun for me, but it was nice to be hiking with a few who knew the route, which eliminated a lot of trial and error. Again a gps track was helpful.
Definitely not a hike I would do in warmer months, and I loved the cooler weather we had for this one. Fun day with a great group of people. Nice to see some faces I hadn’t seen in a year, and good to meet Bruce’s son. Thank you, Bruce and Denny, for the invitation. |
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| Stop crying and just go do the hike. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
