Sun hides behind Wallface
The way down on the south side of Indian Pass was more rugged than I expected, with lots of steep and tricky bits of trail. Down at this lower altitude the snow was intermittent but still more than present enough to cause problems, including one section where a vertical bit of ladder was completely encased in snow and ice, forcing us to climb around in an awkward manner.
Highest cliff in the east
Stairclimbing in Snowshoes
Finally, after a slow descent from Indian Pass, we reached moderate and relatively flat ground. There was only patchy snow here, so we took off our snowshoes. Our problems had just changed, however, because the combination of mostly melted-out trail and a warm spring day had made almost everything either soft mud or a huge puddle. Going was awkward and slow, even though the terrain was mostly nice and flat. Yuck!
Going was slow, and it was well beyond dark before we reached the trailhead. Haven't had a hike finish after dark in a long time! Still, Jenn, Brian and Roland managed a new 46er peak, and we'd had a beautiful day out.
Indian Pass now behind us
Interactive map with photo points - click map to expand
Start Time:
7:43a.m.
End Time:
8:46p.m.
Duration:
13h2m
Distance:
23.14 km
(14.38 mi)
Average Speed:
1.8 km/hr
(1.1 mph)
Start Elevation:
1805ft
(550m)
*
Max Elevation:
4408ft
(1344m)
*
Min Elevation:
1794ft
(547m)
*
End Elevation:
1795ft
(547m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
3033ft
(924m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
3057ft
(932m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
