The plan Sunday morning was to hike Ontario Peak with a group, but life happens and plans changed at the last minute, so I found myself sitting in line at the bottom of the hill leading up to Chantry Flats at 6 a.m. before the gates opened. Since I had gotten up at 3:30 and driven out there it seemed a shame to waste an opportunity to knock out one of my peaks. Wilson is one of my least favorite peaks, so I wanted to get it over with before the plague of bugs returns to the mountain, so around 7:30 after I found out I'd be on my own for the day, I set out on the trail.

I'd never done a solo hike this long before, and I was afraid without the motivation of another person I'd get lazy halfway up and turn around, but I persisted and kept motivating myself – “only 3 more miles….”, “only 1.5 more miles….” The Fiona Apple song “Extraordinary Machine” kept playing through my head for some reason, but it helped set a steady pace. In spite of trying to “change the channel”, I played this song in my head on repeat for over 7 hours!

Weather was great. It was cool but not cold, and fairly clear. From Chantry I took the Upper Falls route, which I don't remember taking in the past. There were lots of groups on the way up, but I was in almost solitude on the way down which was great.

Excellent first solo hike experience, but I'm still glad I don't have to do Wilson again for a while 😉