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| Hiking | 16.26 Miles |
4,692 AEG |
| | Hiking | 16.26 Miles | 7 Hrs 37 Mns | | 2.43 mph |
| 4,692 ft AEG | 56 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | The weather seemed to line up for this one, so at the last minute, I decided it would make a good day to stack up a few feet and miles.
On the drive, all the sky islands remained socked in after the storms yesterday, though it was perfectly clear in the lower elevations. Evidence of plenty of rain was present on the road, with a couple of crossings flowing nicely enough that you might not want to make the drive in your grandfather's Chevy Malibu.
Miller Creek was not flowing, and the lower mile of the trail was largely obliterated by the local cattle. Once it climbs out of the valley, the route is more defined, but also hasn't seen any maintenance in a long time. This was a theme on the day, with the 3 miles of Rincon Peak Trail littered with a couple dozen deadfall obstacles. I don't think NPS has put a saw on this trail in a decade or more. Maybe shift some of the "step-building" crew from down low to basic trail maintenance up high? 
There was water flowing in the big drainage on the way up, in the creek at Happy Valley and in a handful of the drainages below the peak, though I wouldn't expect any of that to continue for more than a week unless additional rainfall soaks this mountain.
7700-8400 is insanely steep, and while I remembered that, I was also reminded that I didn't actually remember how steep! Lol.
Somewhere during that final climb is when the summit clouds cleared, providing views that I hadn't been sure I would see during the whole hike up. My 7:30 start was a pleasant 72 degrees, and by the time I reached the summit it was only 60, which is about as nice as you could expect. It had been cloudy the whole way, save for a couple of 5 minute glimpses of sun. Unfortunately, the dew point was in the 50s (presumably also 60 when the peak was enshrouded in clouds!) so I was mostly soaked despite the cool weather.
After a lengthy break and some attempted summit breeze air drying I headed back downhill. The 3 miles back to HV seemed to drag forever as the sun popped out periodically and the temp came back up near 70. I stopped at the unoccupied campground for a rejuvinating snack break before making the final descent back to the trailhead, where it had climbed to 82 and was more sunny than cloudy.
Only one other hiker on the mountain today; a backpacker headed back home after his dog had a very evident face-to-face encounter with a skunk last night at camp.
On the drive home, I obliterated a well-earned cherry dip'd at the PP DQ.
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| I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
