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| Hiking | 8.30 Miles |
4,600 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.30 Miles | 8 Hrs 7 Mns | | 1.22 mph |
| 4,600 ft AEG | 1 Hour 20 Mns Break | 26 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Solo Trip today across the the ridgline. As I was alone today and had not previously experienced this route I carted along gear for potential technical access in case I needed to bail somewhere along the way.
I started off just after six to the occasional patter of rain drops. Fortunately the rain never developed or my plans certainly would have had to change. I reached the saddle around a quarter to seven and continued on the Amethyst trail to some point before it reached the mine area. I found a loose drainage and made my way down and around the mine. I can't say I would recommend this as it was either loose rock or dense brush for a decent stretch. I then came to another gully that lead up to the Southwest side of Amethyst Peak. Seeing a section above where I would be walled out I made my way out and up onto one of the shoulders. Most of this area was class 4 scrambling with some areas of significant exposure. There were a couple of short sections of low class 5 that were short lived. I backtracked a few times to avoid significant climbing and potential consequences.
Roughly around 9:30 I reached the top of the peak and took some time to take in the views. The clouds added to the scenery and kept the peaks in the distance from washing out.
With the sweat nearly dry I continued down toward Sister Peak. This seemed pretty straightforward and in about 45 minutes I found myself once again surrounded with the beautiful panorama.
As many have stated the hop between sister and brother is truly where the fun is. I definitely felt the elevation on that one. As I was going up the slabby section on the east side of Brother I could feel the effects of excessive sweating starting to manifest in my foot. Upon nearing the top my quad began to quiver on the bigger steps. At this point I knew I needed to stop and load up on salt.
I took a long break at the peak and let everything catch up as I watched the piles of ladybugs moving around on the grass.
The cross over to Brown's was much more straightforward than between the other peaks but still took quite a bit longer than I was expecting. Seven hours in I reached the final peak. After updating my wife on my progress and downing water I was ready to get back to the truck. The chute seemed more loose than the last time I was up there but that's probably just my faded memory.
It was probably due to tired legs but for some reason the coming down the chute seemed like the worst part of the day. I ran out most of the last two miles and surprised my second rattler of the day. Running past I never saw it but the one earlier made my heart skip a beat. It was thoroughly annoyed with my presence and continued to make that clear even after I was well away.
All in all it was a beautiful day and the weather held out wonderfully. I was surprised to see two speckled frogs coming down between Sister and Brother. The best moment though was the time spent being watched and watching the hummingbird that landed near me. I've never seen one land and stay put for so long before. I'm glad I finally got this one done. It might be a bit but I'll definitely be back. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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