Since I knew this was going to be a fairly large group, especially for hiking one of the 6POP, I knew right away that this was going to be an all day leisure hike. Was I dissappointed that it took us 12 hours to complete when it normally takes 7? Hell no, this hike was one of the funest hikes I’ve ever been on. This is one of my favorite peaks, and when your hiking with such great company it doesn’t matter how fast or slow your going, it’s just awesome to be outside with amazing people on such a beautiful trail.

The trail was pretty clear and well marked. A few patches of snow scattered around once you get passed Ice House Saddle. And once to the saddle it was windy, and COLD. When your hiking in cold temps it’s best to not stop for long periods of time, but since we were in such a large group stopping was the norm, and probably the toughest challenge of this hike, staying warm. From the saddle all the way up to the peak we had 3 main challenges, 1) the brutally cold wind 2) the patches of snow we came across that required us to wear spikes, and 3) the groups pace. As far as the trail itself, this was by far the toughest section of the day with this size of a group. But once we got to the peak it was absolutely perfect. All the wind and snow was non existent it was almost a bit strange. It was very pleasant. We spent a good hour at the peak relaxing, eating lunch and taking A LOT of pictures. Best part of the hike hands down.

On our descent the weather stayed perfect and all that wind we were battling on the way up was completely gone. It’s as if the Mountain didn’t want to make it easy for us on the way up. Who knows, the weather can be so unpredictable up here.

Nonetheless this was a perfect day with the perfect group. From this hike on we decided to call ourselves Team Almost There. Because you can imagine, with such a large group, how many people kept asking if we were almost there.