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| Hiking | 8.21 Miles |
2,705 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.21 Miles | | | |
| 2,705 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Day 6
Trailhead elevation = 9,090‘ Destination elevation = 11,422’
Breakfast at Mickey D’s then hit the trailhead just before sunrise, but I was on the west flanks of the mountain so it was pretty dark still. Could barely tell there were elk on the edge of the woods. Started up the trail, which was a fire break straight up the side of the mountain for a couple hundred feet elevation (1/3 mile) then it suddenly ended. Obviously this wasn’t the trail. So instead of going back I figured I’d just cut through the forest heading north. Another dose of LRRHS, but it worked.
So it was after sunrise but still pretty dark on this side of the mountain in the forest. Just ahead I caught in my peripheral vision something dark (black) moving off the trail behind a boulder just ahead. I cautiously moved ahead to peer around the boulder and there it was, a big black bunny rabbit. Phew.
This trail had almost as many switchbacks as the Bright Angle trail at the Grand Canyon, but being in the forest they weren’t noticeable. At about 11,000’ the trail broke out of the trees into a huge boulder field that encompassed the entire top of the mountain. Looking off across the boulder field while walking I spied a round shape. The boulders on top the mountains are all very sharp angles, so this was out of place. Zooming in with the camera showed it to be a set of horns from a big horned sheep and attached to the horns were an eye and nose. Walking further showed there were actually two sheep.
Once I got to the top I was on a saddle between the two peaks. The only trail went up the west peak, so that’s where I headed. It also looked like a much easier peak to climb. At the top I was doing a slow 360 admiring the view until I got to the east peak, it looked slightly higher. So down I climbed and up the east peak. Sure enough the east peak was 16 feet higher.
On the way down the big horned sheep were still in the same area. Ran into a couple elk. Several pikas were also seen. Chipmunks and squirrels were all over the place. |
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