My first time! Rattlesnake Peak 4/11/09
Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 7:48 pm
Another new hike for me! Yay! It was a tough lil’ climb, but nothing compared to Big Iron last week. Today it was Rattlesnake Peak. Once again, I was on the trail with buddies Jeff & G. I’m pretty lucky to have met these guys, as I’m having a lot of fun hiking with them.
First of all, if you’re not watching for it, the trail we took is hard to find. We started from where Shumaker Road ends. We walked the road for about 1.5 miles, then hooked up with an elusive, intimidating trail. Well, the initial several yards were intimidating. Not wanting to be the whining girl, I tentatively asked Jeff, “Um…is it going to be like this the whole way? “ I was referring to the steepness and lousy footing. He assured me that it would not remain that way. Don’t get me wrong; sections of the hike were quite steep, but not as bad as the start!
Anyway, we climbed and climbed. I believe we gained about 4,000 feet in 3 miles. It made for a great leg workout. We couldn’t see much, since the clouds were so low and thick. In some ways I was grateful for the cloud cover, as I was unable to see the several steep climbs we had to make, and then of course go right back down as we followed the ridgeline. I’m always up for a butt-kicking workout, but sometimes it’s just best not to know what’s coming.
It was pretty damp today, so whoever led the way got soaked by the moisture on the manzanita and other brush. And, if we were not leading, we were still plenty wet. We made the summit in about 3 hours. There, we sat, snacked, and waited in vain for the sun to come out. I did some Yoga stretches (very typical for me) and we just hung out. Finally, we decided to head back down. We had thought about heading for South Hawkins, but now that our clothes were finally drying out, we decided against it, knowing we’d be in for a lot more, wet bushwhacking.
On the way down, it was time to spruce up the trail a bit. One of the guys used some nice clippers to get rid of some of the overgrown brush. All three of us moved some rocks, strategically, in spots where it’s easy to lose the trail. With some nice TLC today, there was a marked improvement on the trail! So, even though we couldn’t see much today, we had fun, did some cleanup and enjoyed the day.
Thanks again, Jeff, for getting me onto another new trail! Maybe one day I’ll be part mountain goat, like you two guys!
Pics, gray as they are, can be found here: www.flickr.com/photos/33777171@N06/sets ... 555768107/
First of all, if you’re not watching for it, the trail we took is hard to find. We started from where Shumaker Road ends. We walked the road for about 1.5 miles, then hooked up with an elusive, intimidating trail. Well, the initial several yards were intimidating. Not wanting to be the whining girl, I tentatively asked Jeff, “Um…is it going to be like this the whole way? “ I was referring to the steepness and lousy footing. He assured me that it would not remain that way. Don’t get me wrong; sections of the hike were quite steep, but not as bad as the start!
Anyway, we climbed and climbed. I believe we gained about 4,000 feet in 3 miles. It made for a great leg workout. We couldn’t see much, since the clouds were so low and thick. In some ways I was grateful for the cloud cover, as I was unable to see the several steep climbs we had to make, and then of course go right back down as we followed the ridgeline. I’m always up for a butt-kicking workout, but sometimes it’s just best not to know what’s coming.
It was pretty damp today, so whoever led the way got soaked by the moisture on the manzanita and other brush. And, if we were not leading, we were still plenty wet. We made the summit in about 3 hours. There, we sat, snacked, and waited in vain for the sun to come out. I did some Yoga stretches (very typical for me) and we just hung out. Finally, we decided to head back down. We had thought about heading for South Hawkins, but now that our clothes were finally drying out, we decided against it, knowing we’d be in for a lot more, wet bushwhacking.
On the way down, it was time to spruce up the trail a bit. One of the guys used some nice clippers to get rid of some of the overgrown brush. All three of us moved some rocks, strategically, in spots where it’s easy to lose the trail. With some nice TLC today, there was a marked improvement on the trail! So, even though we couldn’t see much today, we had fun, did some cleanup and enjoyed the day.
Thanks again, Jeff, for getting me onto another new trail! Maybe one day I’ll be part mountain goat, like you two guys!
Pics, gray as they are, can be found here: www.flickr.com/photos/33777171@N06/sets ... 555768107/
and explained what he had just been through.
