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Base Camp
Up
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- Statistics:
- Date Hiked: August 10, 2005
- Miles Hiked: 7.6
- Elevation Gain: 4,212'
- Hiking Partner(s): Dan Robbins
- Description:
- After eating a calzone at Poker Alice’s, I met
up with Dan Robbins from Idaho near the Grizzly Gulch/Silver Creek
Trailhead. We set up camp
and prepared for the next day. We
awoke to overcast skies, but stuck to our guns and started up the trail
to Handies at 7:00 am. We
took a quick break after 50 minutes, and the weather appeared to be
holding. The trail flattened out as we emerged from tree line to
acceptable views of Handies. We
took another break on the shelf northeast of the peak. We passed a second group of hikers on our way to the steeper
section of the route and topped out after 3 hours. For some
reason, I was eyeing Handies east ridge all day. That looks like a
very interesting and challenging route that I may have to return to
someday.
- After 30 minutes on top, we descended the north
ridge and continued over to Whitecross Mountain. There was a bit of class 2+ scrambling on the ridge.
It took 1 hour and 15 minutes to make the traverse, and we only
stayed on the summit for 5 minutes before weather deteriorated similar
to the previous day. We
descended off the southeast slopes of Whitecross to the standard trail
and back to the trailhead. It
was a 6 hour and 30 minute day with a combined time of 35 minutes on the
summits.
- We returned to camp, ate some salty snacks and
took a quick nap. After an
hour, we awoke and pigged out on a huge bucket of mashed potatoes.
We hung out for a while before preparing for day three and
racking out. I started Aron
Ralston’s “Between a Rock and a Hard Place” just prior to my trip,
so I was able to read a chapter or two each night before falling asleep.
The sky was never clear all night, and we were both skeptical
about what to expect in the morning.
- Maps:
- Click
here to view a 2D
map of the area where this hike is located.
- Photographs:
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www.
just
hiking
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