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| Hiking | 12.81 Miles |
3,098 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.81 Miles | 8 Hrs 26 Mns | | 1.78 mph |
| 3,098 ft AEG | 1 Hour 15 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Did this one almost exactly one year ago with the same crew. This time we decided to try the Promontory Butte trail for fun. It was sunny and cool and perfect weather for hiking. The sign at the Promontory Butte trail junction is missing, but the signpost is still there. We were following the official route on Route Scout, and the app announced our approach and arrival at the junction multiple times, so there was no chance of missing it.
The Promontory Butte trail was challenging. It's steep, and that's ok. But the footing was precarious in lots of places. There were sections covered with slippery pine needles and other sections covered with slippery leaves. Some places were rocky, and even large rocks would move and slide when we stepped on them. Also there were areas with soft dirt and places covered with loose stones that were a pain. I was glad I had my trekking poles along on this trail. There were a couple of spots on the way up where it wasn't clear which way to go, but we managed to find the trail. And it gets steeper and steeper the farther you go. After what seemed like forever we eventually reached the top. Whew! Legs hurting.
The view from the top was great. Almost as good as the sense of accomplishment for getting there. Walking on the nice level ground at the top felt like a treat after the hike to get there. We followed the dirt road for a little way until it turned away from the rim, and then followed the rim around to the high point. Where we first left the road there was a large, shallow pond. Didn't see any sort of life in the pond water. There were also lots of trees marked with orange stripes, presumably these will be cut down to thin out the forest. It will be much, much thinner for sure when that is done.
Eventually it was time to head back down that treacherous trail so we could continue our loop. It wasn't quite as bad as I expected, but we had to take it slow. My poor tired legs were not real happy on the uphill parts of the trail. We saw several little baby horned lizards on the trail. Horton Springs and Horton Creek were flowing strong. It's so cool to see this whole river of water flowing out of a hole in the side of a mountain!
Horton Creek trail is a pleasant, gentle downhill the whole way which my legs very much appreciated. There were lots of trees fallen across the trail. Some look like they have been down for a while and there is a path around the trees, but a lot of them seem freshly fallen and we had to climb over them. Not sure why some many trees have fallen across the trail. |
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Horton Spring |
Gallon + per minute |
Gallon + per minute |
| | | Lots of water coming out of the spring. | | _____________________
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