I went for a very pleasant hike today with my husband, Gary and my friend, G. We decided to take advantage of Highway 2’s recent re-opening, and do a point-to-point hike involving 2 cars. We started at Vincent Gap and hiked 12 miles to Islip Saddle.
Unlike the weekends, the parking lot at Vincent was very quiet. I think there was only 1 other car when we started, around 7:30. The morning was comfortably warm, so we all started the day in short sleeves. We only saw a couple other hikers on the trail, and made the climb up Baden-Powell in pretty good time. We were not out on any mission- not a training hike, simply a nice, relaxed hike. So, we stopped to take pictures and to enjoy the views. My hubby and I had not been on that trail for a while.
After signing the register, taking some pics and having a little snack on the B-P summit, we continued on our way. Gary and I had never ventured any farther, so we were happy to see what was ahead. We traveled the 1.1 miles, and moderate climb to the top of Mt. Burnham. It’s not a thrilling peak, but hey, we were happy to bag it. We continued, and after another mile or so, we made the fairly steep (but short) climb up to Throop Peak. Throop has a marker, so you know you’ve found the correct peak. Great views from there! We kept on trekkin’! After a gradual descent we eventually hit Mt. Hawkins. It’s a small summit, but there is a register, so why not sign it? Great views from Hawkins!
Now it was time to descend. We were soon walking amid trees that had burned during the Crystal Lake area fire years ago. The burned forest was eerily beautiful, especially as it contrasted with the bright blue sky and surrounding mountains. We followed the trail to Windy Gap (today I’d say “ Slightly Breezy Gap.) Our last stop, a welcome one for sure, was Little Jimmy Spring. Oh, that water was refreshingly cool, and felt great cascading down, over my head. That gave us all a little extra spring in our step for the rest of the hike.
I was so happy to be out on the trail on this fine day. I was even happier to cover some new miles, and bag 4 peaks, 3 of which were new to me and my hubby. Well, here’s looking forward to a grand summer, filled with wonderful days in the wilderness!
Pics are here: www.flickr.com/photos/33777171@N06/sets ... 764943097/