We had a very windy night and I was worried about weather. The hike up Baldy can be dangerous if the weather turns and we were advised not to hike up if we can't see the top. The wind died down and we woke at 4:30 as planned. I was quiet and Jon snoozed away.
On the trail at 5:30 and we hike to Black Horse Camp for breakfast.
The hike would gain 3500 feet in 6 miles. We went up and up and up.
We had a clear morning so far. The aspens were beautiful.
We stopped for a packs-off break at an old mine building.
We had identified our slow hiker for the day and moved Mr. Greene to the front. He was breathing hard with the altitude, taking breaks, and the rest of us appreciated the pace.
The views were stunning and would only get better.
Up.
We climbed through several zones. Here the trees were hanging with moss.
Everybody was feeling the effort even with light packs.
But we're getting closer. The weather was perfect.
Stopping for another packs-off break. With our early start, we were ahead of my pessimistic schedule.
You can see another crew headed up and little bitty people on top.
I climbed the hill behind our rest stop and came out in a beautiful meadow with more stunning views.
After our break, we get moving again and join the parade.
Now we were stopping every 50 paces or so to catch our breath.
Which gave me time to look around.
Tough hiking on the rocks but what a day.
I shot some flowers on one of our breaks.
Looking back down to the meadow where I shot the video earlier.
And then we were on top.
Lots of scouts on top enjoying the perfect day.
Somebody takes a group shot for us.
And I take some solo shots.
We loiter on top for a while. Once we decide to start moving, I go in search of 3 wayward scouts so we can all head down.
Then we start down. We're headed for that ridge path way down there. It was chilly on top and we had geared up for the descent.
After the steep, tricky descent from the top, we gathered at another old mine building.
Looks like the weather is turning a bit.
Very cool to zoom in and see the folks on top.
We had some confusion when the trail seemed to peter out, but we followed the rock cairns and figured it out.
There are three ways off the top of Baldy. Go back the way you came, take the steep and rocky original trail off the back, or take the new ridge trail with the switchbacks and beautiful views. We took the ridge trail.
If you look close, you can see the original trail down the backside.
We had great views of Baldy on our way down.
The switchback trail was superb all the way down.
Pretty flowers.
We made it to French Henry staff camp and the boys enjoyed some goldpanning.
Out of French Henry, we took the road to Baldy Town for a food drop.
The boys scattered after dropping packs and hit the Trading Post. We were able to get some pears (but no oranges :( ) with our packaged food. Plus we picked up some chocolate at the Trading Post to take back for our guys resting at camp.
We hiked out of Baldy Town and made it back to Miranda.
The boys catch up on the day's events. The three guys that stayed in camp enjoyed a restful day complete with watermelon, courtesy of the staff.
After our longest day of the trek, Ian pretty much sums up our feelings.
The boys cooked beef stir fry for dinner, then played mountain ball with the staff. We'll be up early again in the morning for burro training and black powder shooting.
2 comments:
Stunningly beautiful.
...and the boys had energy to play ball at the end of that day!
Totally Awsome! I'm really enjoying the photos. You did a great job capturing the moment for us all to share.
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