Thursday, August 8, 2013

Hannegan Pass and Peak 2013

Peggy, Rita, New Guy Bob, Mary, Doug, and Terry
What a day! Fourteen of us headed up to Hannegan Pass. Since this is a wilderness area, we were stopped by the Forest Ranger and told to honor the no-more-than-twelve group size, so we decided to split up according to who would try to make it to Hannegan Peak rather than just hiking to the pass. Getting to the pass means hiking an eight-mile round trip, and going up to the peak is more than eleven miles round trip!
Fireweed as we trudged up the valley
I've hiked up to the pass several times, but it was only in 2009 that I made it to the top of the peak. It was a hot day then, too, but today almost everybody decided to hike at least part way towards the peak. It's just over a mile from the pass to the peak, but you gain another 1,200 feet in that short mile. The views are stunning and just keep getting better, but in the hot sun the going was very slow for most of us. After we reached the pass, three or four of the fittest started up to the peak, while the rest of us took our time.
Almost to the pass in fields of wildflowers
I looked ahead to see the others as they trudged ahead of me towards the summit, which isn't even visible yet from this picture. We began to sort out into smaller groups of people who have a similar speed up to the top. I ended up hiking most of the way with Diane and Rita, while others behind us began to stop and looked for a nice place to have lunch, forfeiting going all the way to the top.
The faster hikers in front of me
We stopped often and were very grateful for the strong breeze, which increased as we climbed above the trees. The flies and other bugs were relentless; I was slathered in bug spray and covered most of my body in clothing so that they wouldn't find me too appealing. It worked most of the time, but the breeze helped the most.
Rita and Diane (and me) taking a breather
The higher we got, however, the more spectacular the view of the surrounding mountains became. Al had decided to stop earlier and not try for the peak, since he was slowing down and realized that he needed to take a rest. Of the fourteen of us, eight reached the top, but everybody made some distance beyond the pass itself.
Rita and me on the summit
By the time I reached the summit, I was lightheaded and knew I had pushed myself right to the limit. But after having a nice lunch, which was enhanced by New Guy Bob's quart of hand-picked blueberries (yum), I asked for a summit shot. Unfortunately, I was not thinking with all my cylinders, having changed the settings on my camera for the shot above, and I didn't remember to change them back again before I got this shot.
Back: Diane, Bob, me, Rita, Doug, Mike
Front: Mary and Don (a guest visiting Rita)
The eight of us spent a good while on the top, but we knew that our friends below would be waiting for us to rejoin them, so we finally turned to begin our descent to the valley. Going down was almost harder than going up, since there were so many loose rocks and you had to watch your footing the entire way. When we got to the pass, there was Al waiting for us, and we learned that the other five had decided to go on down to the trailhead. We met them there, and it turned out they waited more than an hour for us before taking off for home.
Doug on the way back down
It was an absolutely beautiful day, if a bit on the hot side, with all of us having drained our water supplies dry on the way down. (I brought two liters and drank every drop!) We stopped at Graham's store in Glacier to get ice cream and cold drinks before heading back to the Senior Center parking lot and saying goodbye after another amazing hike!
:-)

22 comments:

  1. Jan, do you have a pair of day hikers you really like? I need to buy some lightweight comfortable boots.

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  2. "Amazing" is a great adjective to describe this hike. I am in awe of each of you.
    And the group photo is great! When I looked at Doug's outstretched arms, the song "The Sound of Music" came immediately to my mind. Great shot!!

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  3. I am not sure whether light headed or light hearted would be a more accurate description of my feelings if I went on a trek like that. Disbelieving if I achieved the summit. I am in awe. Again.

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  4. You and your karmic group trek out into gorgeous wilderness and the rest of us here in blogland are swept along. I think you're of the ilk that climbs everest because it's there.

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  5. Wow! That is just so incredible. The views are magnificent. I almost felt like visiting you and taking that climb... until you mentioned the heat, the flies, the thirst. Still those wildflowers look so beautiful. It's like Sound of Music! Two liters of water is a heavy load to carry. You are amazing!

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  6. What an incredible hike, DJan! I love your colorful photos. You are much stronger than I am, that's for sure. I don't seem to have much stamina anymore.

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  7. Those are breathtaking views. It's no wonder you were lightheaded at the peak. It looks like a very steep climb.

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  8. ha,ha I was thinking the same as Jackie - I expected to hear a verse of "The hills are alive, with the sound of music", from that last photo. I think you must do that once to send us all into fits of jealousy or laughter. Even though you are on the top of the mountain, you must play, right. Great post DJan and I know the water goes fast when you expel all that energy. How I devour your posts and look forward to your hikes, etc. Have a wonderful day.

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  9. Like Kay, I am impressed with the extra weight you had to carry with the water. The few times I tried mountain climbing, even a few cans of beans in a back pack made a big difference in energy expended.
    You are amazing.

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  10. Wow, another breath-taking adventure in the mountains! Spectacular views.

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  11. i can only imagine how good it must feel to push yourself so hard and accomplish something this rewarding. what gorgeous scenery! i love that 'summit' shot. :)

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  12. It looks stunning up there. And I can't believe that the bugs fly at that altitude!

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  13. There's something about a peak that says you just have to get there and there's something about a peak that says I want to stay here as long as I can. The peak is a very peaceful location.

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  14. nice...looks like fun...pretty cool that you all are comfortable enough with each other to drop away as you need too...cool summit pics...

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  15. Great pictures! I really like the one of the 8 of you at the summit... looks like you are all having fun!

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  16. You made it to the summit..you go girl! I would never make it past all the wildflowers:)

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  17. Gorgeous sites to view while working your way to the top. I know the air was filled with good scents too.

    Surely a very happy group. Everyone smiling big.

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  18. Every time I see your gorgeous mountain top views with the big green fields I start humming "the hills are alive with the sound of music". I'm glad you made it to the summit DJan so we could see the views from up top. It sounds like you and the group had a great day.

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  19. Interesting that there is a limit on how many hikers can be in one group. Good for you for making it all the way again this year. You are so healthy!

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  20. OMGosh! Spectacular! You were just lightheaded--I would have been waiting many hours for you all to come back--LOL! What a beautiful hike. :)

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  21. What a beautiful hike high in the mountains! such views. I can see Why it is compelling to keep going.

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  22. I bet that ice cream tasted gorgeous! I remember that hike from your previous posts (yes I'm getting a little familiar). Not surprising you got light headed a bit, there at the top. Wonderful pics D-Jan. So glad you made it back safely.

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