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| Hiking | 7.80 Miles |
4,060 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.80 Miles | | | |
| 4,060 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | First, thank you for the beta posted on previous triplogs and the GPS route that I downloaded and used via Route Scout app.
I hiked the four peaks on 5/27/2019 starting with Amethyst, the most southern, and in order of 4-3-2-1. My Strava app logged 9.7 miles and 4,332 vertical feet. I began at Lone Peak Trail Head at 6am and returned 7hr and 45 mins later. Temps were in the 40's (f) throughout the morning, tons of wind, overcast (only over the peaks though) and there was a chance for rain. Perfect!
I made it to the summit of peak 4 (Amethyst) in 2.5 hrs. Very windy and cloudy. From the summit of peak 4 I could not see the saddle between peaks 3 and 4, nor any other peak. Heading down to the saddle from peak 4 I tried not to follow the GPS. This lead to some wandering and descending below the saddle, resulting in the need to hike back up. This added a lot time.
I eventually had to use the GPS to find the path that started up to peak 3 from the saddle. Shortly after starting on the path I climbed up an alternate route to the main ridge and headed north to the summit instead of traversing along the western side of peak along the GPS route. I don't advise this if you are uncomfortable climbing class 5.5 or 5.6 rock with exposure. For me this was a very straighforward way to the top. I can't speak for the GPS path, but this route has some fairly technical sections so be aware. At 3hrs and 50 mins I made it to the summit of peak 3 (sister). From the summit it was still cloudy and the saddle to north and peak 2 were not visible. Descending peak 3 to the north I descended too much on the west side and ended up hiking back up a gulley on the south side of the prominent towering rock feature in the middle of the saddle. I believe the GPS route will keep you a bit higher on the north ridge of peak 3 and you can avoid the bushwhacking. Despite this detour the traverse over to peak 2 was not that bad in terms of finding and following a path, mostly because I think the weather was clearing and once I crossed the saddle between peaks 3 and 2 I could start to get a view of the east side of peak 2 and where to go up. By this time my phone battery was at 10% so i was not checking the GPS.
I arrived on the summit of peak 2 in just under 6 hours. Although the skies were clear by this point I didn't stay long. I descended north along the ridge until I almost came to the cliffs that descend to the east. There was an obvious opening in the cliff where it looked like a good place to descend. It seemed further down than what I thought was possible, having vaguely scouted a route from Browns peak on previous hikes. The down climb through the opening in the cliff was the sketchiest of the entire hike for me. Lots of loose rock and steep drops. On the way up to Browns (peak 1) I wandered a bit looking for the path that started the steep climb up. Once I found it, it brought me up just east of the Browns peak summit.
I loved this hike and plan to return. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
