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| Hiking | 23.47 Miles |
6,965 AEG |
| | Hiking | 23.47 Miles | 13 Hrs 1 Min | | 2.33 mph |
| 6,965 ft AEG | 2 Hrs 57 Mns Break | 30 LBS Pack | | |
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[ show ]
| partners | | Happy Birthday to me! For my birthday (and training for Rainier) we decided to do Cathedral Rock as a loop.
I had a bit of drama to start as at least one person signed up for the hike who didn't have a clue what 24 miles with over 5000+ elevation gain meant. Luckily, I was able to convince her that the first hill we went up was actually pretty flat and her and her friend turned around.
Around Bridal Veil Falls we encountered poison ivy invading the trail. It was thick!
At the Cathedral Rock saddle, we lost another person do to a sore knee. We sent him back down the trail with plans to call for help if his car was still in the parking lot when we were done.
Then we bushwhacked up to the Inner Sanctum and enjoyed that for a bit before climbing the actual summit. The rope for the climb was in reasonable conditions. It's a pretty hefty black 11+ mm static rope. Joel free climbed whereas I used the rope a bit. The entire 6 man party got up the rope even though only Joel and I had experience climbing. Then we almost all went up on the summit past the scary step. What views! A great way to celebrate one's birthday!
On the way back to the saddle, someone thought they saw a big horn sheep as the backside was bigger than a deer and white tail was flashing in alarm.
The rest of the Cathedral Rock trail is getting to be a bit overgrown and has some downfall over it but it's still pretty easy to follow.
We ran into some backpackers at the West Fork Junction on their way to Hutch's. I swear one day I will stay at this junction. It has to be one of the prettiest camping areas in the Catalinas! I was content to at least just sit there for a bit and rest.
We did run into some more patches of poison ivy before we left the canyon floor. The wind started in on us while we hiked. I was glad as it would have been pretty miserable just being baked by the sun.
Finally, Hutch's Pool! What a delight to see! I instantly took of my boots and climbed in! That break was enough to refresh us to get the top of the Sabino Canyon road. From there we went on autopilot and made it back to the cars.
Prior, I had only done this trek as a 3 night backpack, never dreaming I'd be able to crank out the whole thing in one day. What an awesome feeling it is to go above your own expectations! |
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