Notes by Ed W
Photos by Gunda, John, and Ed
October 11,2010
Lynn, Cindy and Gunda-EW
Hi Monday Hikers and friends,
Monday was a cold, bright morning. As we drove to the deer Park trailhead, it appeared that we would have abundant sunshine. The recently resurfaced dirt road to Deer Park was pothole free and smoothly graded, with new gravel in many places. The temperature fell as we gained altitude until reaching a few degrees below freezing at 5200 feet as we exited the cars and donned our packs.
The frost lay lightly on the alpine firs with frozen ground beneath our feet on the trail. We quickly warmed up with the exertion and the increasing temperature from sunshine streaming through the trees of the early part of the trail. Upon exiting the alpine forest above Green Mountain we caught site of the first of the Maiden Peaks well above us. We continued on in a generally southwest direction, around Maiden Peak, through Roaring Winds and onto the south side of the long Elk Mountain.
As we got closer to our objective, the 6773 foot-high peak of Elk Mountain (there is a higher peak, 6779 a half mile further on), the wind velocity on the ridge increased and the cold air blew through our thin layers of clothing. On top, we donned extra clothing and stayed for a moment to look around and take a few pictures before making a hasty retreat for lunch at a more protected location.
Looking to the southwest, we could see dark clouds, with tiny snowflakes blowing by us from what appeared to be a gathering storm. Stopping for a brief lunch, we noticed that the clouds were staying put to the west of Obstruction Point, while the trail back to the trailhead was clear overhead. We left our lunch spot and headed back, shedding clothing in the warming sun. The round-trip hike length was about 11.5 miles, while the total elevation gain (and loss) was about 3300 feet.
Happy Hiking
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- Lynn, Cindy and Gunda-EW
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- Footwear check-JD
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- Frosty needles-GM
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- A frosty morning-EW
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- Amanita-GM
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- Resident-JD
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- Blue Mountain-EW
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- The Straits- JD
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- That’s Baker over there- GM
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- Frank on the rocks-JD
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- Looking down on Grand Valley-JD
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- Our objective Elk Mountain 6773 foot peak-EW
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- Gunda, Cindy, Dick and Lynn-EW
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- View of Mt. Angeles and Klahhane Ridge-EW
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- “Roaring Winds”-EW
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- Mts. Deception, Clark, Walkinshaw and The Needles-JD
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- Dick, Cindy, Lynn, Ed sharing a moment with another hiking couple-GM
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- It’s cold and windy on top-GM
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- Gathering clouds to the southwest-EW
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- View from 6773 toward Elk Mt. 6779 peak and Obstruction Peak-EW
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- Lunchtime out of the wind-JD
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- Boletes-GM
