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| Hiking | 17.41 Miles |
2,884 AEG |
| | Hiking | 17.41 Miles | 10 Hrs 27 Mns | | 1.76 mph |
| 2,884 ft AEG | 34 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | Been meaning to make it up to Circlestone, and with the weather heating up unseasonably early, was glad to be able to make this attempt on a slightly cooler day.
We arrived at the trailhead to no other vehicles and slightly chilly temps in the low 50s. After waiting for me to nab a couple photos of nearby flora, we were off - heading up the road towards the Reavis school to pick up the trail. As we climbed past the school, we heard a bell tolling, which was soon joined by the rooster and the turkeys greeting the day. When we hit the junction with the Reavis Gap trail, we continued making our way up Campaign - note to self: stay in the main drainage if heading up Campaign again in the future.
While some of the walking up Campaign is up the drainage itself, there were some decent stretches to be caught along the benches. I had been anticipating the catclaw to be worse, but it wasn't too bad. Even so, blood tribute was paid by both myself and J - Wally was fully covered in long sleeves and long pants, and I suspect he made it thorough the gauntlets unscathed (by the catclaw at least). Wally managed to find some potsherds as we walked along one section of trail - and as we hiked along, we found several others.
We eventually made the junction with Fireline, where we stopped beneath the pines to eat a quick snack in preparation of our climb upwards. Fireline proved to be in surprisingly decent shape - though it's definitely a steep climb. I was surprised to find so many rounded riverstone-like rocks up on the ridgeline - it made me curious about the geology. The descent down the back side of the ridge was through a nice unburned area. As we began the climb back out, J's ankle gave him enough grief that he opted to stop and return towards the ridgeline while Wally and I continued onward to Circlestone. There are a couple areas on the ascent where I lost the trail a couple times when not paying attention - fortunately, it's well cairned, and Wally was good enough to stop periodically to wait as I made my slow climb.
We made our visit up at Circlestone quick. After enjoying the views and a quick tour around the site, we made our way back down, meeting back up with J at the ridgeline. The hike back was uneventful, though my feet were getting rather sore from all the rocks (and the fact that I probably should have retired this pair of hiking shoes already).
Wildlife: aside from a number of butterflies, and some bunnies on the drive in, nothing much else of note.
Other people: a pair down by the creekbed before we hit the junction with Reavis Gap on our way out...not entirely sure where they came from or where they were headed to since we didn't see any other vehicles near the trailhead - perhaps they were staying at the school?
It was a long hike, and the climb up fireline and to circlestone were warm, but there was a nice breeze to keep us comfortable. Sure enough, this was the last hike for that particular pair of shoes - I'd worn through several of the lugs on the soles, and noticed some lug portions delaminating from the midsole. Several days later, and my feet are still reminding me of their discomfort.
RS had a hiccup this trip, so my stats are an average of what my watch/phone calculated and the gpx interpolations by Strava and HAZ. |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
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Reevis School Springs |
Dripping |
Dripping |
| | | muddy as always, but now with the added challenge of a deadfall to negotiate. | | _____________________
Happier when hiking....I may not move fast (and I'm often distracted by wildflowers), but I'll get there eventually  |
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