Thursday, August 4, 2016

Skyline Divide very late

Our first view of Baker
Boy, what a day! We had 22 Senior Trailblazers wanting to make a trip up to Skyline Divide, with a limit of 12 in the wilderness area. What to do? We decided to break up into two groups, a slow group and a fast group. After a long trip on a very bad gravel road with potholes, we finally got to the trailhead, all of us. I was in the slow group, which happened to be all women.
Dewdrops on the lupine leaves
As we climbed, we realized that it had rained here recently, and all the plants were covered with dew. It was lovely, and we knew it wasn't going to be around for long, so I captured this lupine leaf.
Having a quick lunch at the top
By the time we reached the top, after struggling up 1,500 of elevation in two miles, we stopped to have a quick lunch before taking off after the fast group. It's not the end of the uphill/downhill once we reach this spot, but we now had views that went on forever. I asked a young man, another hiker, to take a picture of us, and he used the panorama feature, which I don't use but just love!
What a view! And great company, too.
We followed the Skyline Ridge towards the faster group, but we knew that we would see them when they were ready to return, and we would join them too. It was just lovely walking along the trail, and finally we saw the other group ahead of us. The views were incredible, and we enjoyed the light breeze and full sun for the entire day.
A scary crossing
We had a couple of places that I remember from previous trips, when it was important just to put one foot in front of the other and not look down. This was one of those spots.
Return
And then we ran into the fast group and decided to break up into groups by respective cars, and return to the beginning. The number of cars in the parking  lot and all the people we saw on a Thursday were simply unbelievable. As we piled into our cars and headed back down the long road, we couldn't believe it when we ran into roadworks that kept us immobile for more than an hour.

So, finally, I got home and it's now after 8:00pm and my post is almost done. I am really tired and hope I did a half-way decent job in writing this post. Now it's time for a shower and getting horizontal! I already finished my wine.
:-)

17 comments:

  1. I love that panoramic view! Road work for an hour, yuk and no detour either I suppose. So glad you had another good day in the mountains:)

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  2. I actually like that the women were in the slow group the observant group! -and did just fine!

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  3. Beautiful pics! The "scary crossing" does look very scary! Sounds like another wonderful day with your hiking friends :-)

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  4. 22 is a large bunch! sounds like a wonderful hike and day until you hit the roadwork. blech...

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  5. Ugh!!! Road work. 'nough said.

    That panoramic photo is the very best!! I'm lovin' that one especially.

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  6. Wow, that's like climbing 150 flights of stairs! But it's beautiful ... worth the trip.

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  7. I'm afraid of heights so it's highly unlikely I'd make it across the scary parts. Only if my life depended on it, you know? Nothing I'd do voluntarily--LOL! You are also brave. :)

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  8. Oh I just love this time of year when the high country trails are accessible. Another beautiful hike with your friends!

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  9. Wow! The narrow part of the trail! I'd forget to breathe there!

    The panoramic shot is gorgeous. The scenery incredible. It must be inspiring to arrive and return.

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  10. I like the trail that shows exposure. One misstep and you roll a long way down before you stop.

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  11. That narrow part might be where I would have to turn around. I like that you have slow and fast groups. For the fast, the importance probably is getting there quickly while I think the for the slow, the trip itself is more important. I would pick the slow group even if I were fit enough for the fast.

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  12. Sublime. So very beautiful. Thank you.

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  13. Sounds like a long day, but another wonderful hike!

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  14. A long day, but such a beautiful experience.

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  15. We here in Hawaii are used to this type of traffic jam. But what a glorious day!

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  16. Nature and lots of fun because of such a diverse group. It must be great.

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