My 2nd peak in the challenge, I arrived to the new trailhead around 5:30pm and knew this would mean hiking in the dark. I took the longer, more gradual route up and plugged away through the foggy forest.
I was so thankful to run into a female hiker on the way down who told me the granite section was above the clouds and there were amazing views. The blue skies peaked through the clouds right as the treeline edged into granite and the panoramic blanket of clouds layer was just below the final push to the summit.
Stunning views! I caught the sunset at 8:30/9pm, the only challenge was then hiking down in the dark. I had a headlamp and ended up hiking with another solo hiker. He borrowed my headlamp and one of my trekking poles (he didn't have either), and I used the flashlight on my phone as we hiked down. We got back to the trailhead at 12:40am.
Overall, a looooong hike, but the views were spectacular.
Total Stats (according to AllTrails):
Time: 7:17 hours
Distance: 12.24 mi.
Elev. gain: 4,047 ft.
Responses
Amazing pics!