Addicted
05-24-2010, 10:51 AM
Well, we decided to hike Moriah despite the fact that their might still be snow higher up. I won't be able to hike again till 6/26, so we took our chances.
The trail starts off with a quick incline, but only for a very short distance, then it levels out and stays pretty gradual till you reach the large slabs of rock. We were pretty happy with the trail so far, and couldn't help but think how much we would appreciate these mild sections on the trek back down.
The black flies were really hungry, and in large numbers. I put on an unhealthy amount of bug dope which seemed to hold most of them off. Except for the one that flew into my eye and stayed there till the rest stop on the way home.
I felt a little like a billy goat on the rock slabs as we climbed up over Mt Surprise. Or should I say, "Mt, I'd be surprised there was a summit there". We passed over Suprise and were a lot further along than we thought once we stopped to look at the map again. Looking back, I think we stopped to take a break and take in the scenery and sit on the rocks on top of Mt Surprise, but still can't be sure.
About 3/4 of the way up the trail (I'm totally guessing, as I never really know where I am on a trial with no junctions) we found the snow. A little at first, then it really was everywhere, as promised in an early post last week. It made the going a little more challenging at this point, as it was less than stable snow and you had to work in spots to stay on what was left of the monorail. I only went through 4 or 5 times, mostly working around (or over) some of the blow downs. It was a little slippery in spots, so we put on the microspikes since we had them, and finished the rest of the hike. The summit was great, fairly cloudless sky, lying in the sun, looking at the Northern Presi's. We had it to ourselves for a while, then we were joined by a half dozen hikers and their 2 dogs.
We made it back down through the snow in about 1/2 hour and gained back some of the time we lost on the way up. The slabs slowed us down, with some butt sliding, but they were dry most of the time so not too slippery. The did take a toll on the knees, just from the sheer angle on the way down. We stopped for some pics by the big random boulder on the side of the trail, then down we went, appreciating the lack of rock hopping on the lower trails and dragged our butts back to the car.
We made it in 10 hours, with a fairly good break at the summit and the snow slowing us down. Still not bad considering I gave us 9 hours as a goal.
Without the snow, this would have been a excellent little hike, not too stenuous but plenty of challenge with the slabs.
The trail starts off with a quick incline, but only for a very short distance, then it levels out and stays pretty gradual till you reach the large slabs of rock. We were pretty happy with the trail so far, and couldn't help but think how much we would appreciate these mild sections on the trek back down.
The black flies were really hungry, and in large numbers. I put on an unhealthy amount of bug dope which seemed to hold most of them off. Except for the one that flew into my eye and stayed there till the rest stop on the way home.
I felt a little like a billy goat on the rock slabs as we climbed up over Mt Surprise. Or should I say, "Mt, I'd be surprised there was a summit there". We passed over Suprise and were a lot further along than we thought once we stopped to look at the map again. Looking back, I think we stopped to take a break and take in the scenery and sit on the rocks on top of Mt Surprise, but still can't be sure.
About 3/4 of the way up the trail (I'm totally guessing, as I never really know where I am on a trial with no junctions) we found the snow. A little at first, then it really was everywhere, as promised in an early post last week. It made the going a little more challenging at this point, as it was less than stable snow and you had to work in spots to stay on what was left of the monorail. I only went through 4 or 5 times, mostly working around (or over) some of the blow downs. It was a little slippery in spots, so we put on the microspikes since we had them, and finished the rest of the hike. The summit was great, fairly cloudless sky, lying in the sun, looking at the Northern Presi's. We had it to ourselves for a while, then we were joined by a half dozen hikers and their 2 dogs.
We made it back down through the snow in about 1/2 hour and gained back some of the time we lost on the way up. The slabs slowed us down, with some butt sliding, but they were dry most of the time so not too slippery. The did take a toll on the knees, just from the sheer angle on the way down. We stopped for some pics by the big random boulder on the side of the trail, then down we went, appreciating the lack of rock hopping on the lower trails and dragged our butts back to the car.
We made it in 10 hours, with a fairly good break at the summit and the snow slowing us down. Still not bad considering I gave us 9 hours as a goal.
Without the snow, this would have been a excellent little hike, not too stenuous but plenty of challenge with the slabs.