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| Hiking | 12.03 Miles |
3,150 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.03 Miles | 9 Hrs 16 Mns | | 1.30 mph |
| 3,150 ft AEG | | 30 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | The first time I saw photos of "The Cirque" I was downright captivated by the powerful and jagged lines of "The Core Ridge" and since then was obsessed with the idea of visiting a place of such magnitude.
My friend and I started our hike at the Interior Valley in the middle of the night with the intention of catching sunrise at the cirque so with that being said it certainly was a memorable hike from the start. It was quite surreal to walk through the inner basin at night especially the way the moonlight shimmered through the thick groves of aspen. We were in the midst of a great conversation and took a wrong turn on the Bear Jaw Abineau Trail and luckily noticed before going too far!
Other than that everything was working out nicely and even with temperatures dipping below 40° I was still sweating like a fat guy in a sauna due to the decent amount of elevation gain, especially the section above Flagstaff Spring.
I was surprised how nice of game trails there were leading up to cirque and also by the abundance of deer and possibly elk scat which was cool to see at that elevation.
Upon reaching the cirque I was completely amazed by where I was, pictures just don't do justice, you really need to be here to feel and see the immaculate beauty of this area.
Just after we entered the cirque I spotted a lone deer prancing around the area below the Core Ridge, it was awesome to physically see wildlife up there!
Soon after the sun rise broke a red glow from the heavens gleamed across the entire cirque lighting up the rough edges of the Core Ridge almost as if it were painted that color, this is something I will honestly never forget. The sunrise came and went in a matter of minutes but boy was it quite the spectacular show!
After taking photos I put my stuff down and wandered around the cirque looking for wildflowers and anything of interest. I found the nice field of Parrys Primrose up there but unfortunately we were a little late, the majority of the flowers were gone and the plants themselves are starting to wilt but nonetheless still great to see so much life at that elavation.
After exploring and getting my fix of the cirque we began our descent which was such a relief compared to the trek up and the fact that it was daylight out it was nice to see all the portions of the hike that I missed in the darkness. There are a couple areas of interest I found during the descent and found myself already begining to think of future unique trips up there.
I have done a lot of night hiking but never anything to that extent so it was quite the momentous feeling finishing up a hike like that in the early morning hours and it was well worth the effort and careful planning to make this trip happen! |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
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