This was a very enjoyable hike! After a short, but steep ascent, most of the
hiking is across a gently sloping plateau of open meadows that takes you to the
base of Heliotrope Ridge. While devoid
of much vegetation, there are some neat rock formations on the southern side of
the ridge, and expansive views are abundant along the ridge while hiking to the
summit. We especially liked the 1919
benchmark and had fun locating a reference/azimuth marker half a mile away on
our return trip. It was on a rock we had earlier used for a wind shelter, not knowing it was there – ah, you got to love
the ironies of hiking!
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| We woke up early to this beautiful sunrise! |
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| Looking at this windblown Limber Pine should have prepared us for the day ahead |
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| The high meadows were quite a surprise |
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| Ezy was ready to go . . . Tom needed to rest a bit |
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Notice Kent's' attire . . . gloves, hat & down jacket . . . it was cold & windy!
(It was in the low 40's, but wind chill made it seem like it was much colder) |
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| Tom located the Benchmark from 1919 |
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We found several bricks scattered about near the BM . . .
Surveyors used the bricks to build small piers on which to mount their instruments |
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Tom & Kent are searching for the azimuth marker . . .
Nearly a half mile away from the benchmark . . . good thing Tom had done his homework! |
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| These rock formations on top seemed out of place, but made for a nice windbreak |
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| Nuttall's Sandwort was growing among the rocks |
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Allison is taking a picture of the azimuth marker
(This is the rock we had earlier used as a windbreak not knowing the azimuth was right above us) |
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| The azimuth points True North toward the triangulation station that once was on top of Heliotrope |
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| It's amazing to see where flowers grow |
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| Working our way back along the ridge and battling the wind |
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| Ah . . . the meadow reappears . . . that means we are headed back to the trailhead! |
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| Jacob's Ladder |
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| On the way back, we took a short detour to check out this neat formation |
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| We're not sure what it's called . . . nonetheless, a fun perk at the end of a great hike! |
This hike was about six-miles round trip and had 1,300 feet of elevation gain. For specifics you can click
here for a link to Tom's Peakbagger.com post. He's provided a topo map with GPS tracks if you're interested in using our route - which seems to be the standard route for climbing this mountain.
