Macks Peak

This was to be our last Denali training hike before our trip. I wouldn't say it was a particularly good candidate for Denali training, as it didn't allow us to bring heavy packs and really pound out the miles. What it did allow us to do, though, was bag another unique peak. Which is always great. The drive out to Macks is actually kind of long, since you need to drive all the way out to Lee Canyon and then spend another 30 minutes or so on a dirt road to get into Macks Canyon. The payoff, though, is experiencing a rarely visited canyon. We found Macks Canyon surprisingly beautiful. I wasn't concerned about any part of the hike, except for the "chute". All the descriptions I found referenced a chute at the end that was steep and loose. I figured, "eh, no big deal, it's probably just a longer version of the Mummy chute". As it turns out, the chute in question isn't really a huge deal, unless you enlarge your definition of "chute" and include the ledge that leads to the steep chute. Without a doubt, the hairiest part of the route is the narrow ledge that traverses across a 20-ish foot drop. The ledge is littered with loose bits of limestone (go figure, it's typical of this area) and is just awkward and creepy. Once past this ledge, the chute itself is steep but is mostly covered in a thick layer of dirt. It even has some helpful trees for handholds. Grey clouds loomed ominously much of the day, so we decided not to linger on the small summit. We quickly descended the chute, carefully inched across the ledge (worse going down than up), and then made quick work of the rest of the short route. Stats: roughly 2000 vertical, 4 miles, 4.5 hours

 

Mummy's Toe

Mummy's Toe was a no-brainer for me. Awesome-looking, seen by many, climbed by few. It pretty much ticks all the boxes. 

In addition, we needed a peak that would have a far amount of plodding on a trail with a heavy pack, as opposed to scrambling and climbing. We were training for our Denali backpacking trip and wanted to get our bodies accustomed to carrying heavier loads over potentially long distances. The first 3 or so miles are on the NLT, which is perfect for long, plodding miles.

The route up from Mummy Springs is very steep and there are a couple 3rd-class climbs necessary to bypass small cliff bands. We were prepared for a long slog from the saddle to the peak, but I challenged Karen to beat the "15 minutes" we were quoted by our route description. We made it in 12 ;)

The views from the Toe are actually one-of-a-kind, so we soaked them in for awhile. It's one of those small, private summits that are great to luxuriate in. We felt as though we were perched above everything else.

The way down is steep but it goes quickly. Our trekking poles helped immensely, especially since we were carrying heavy loads and inertia was pulling us ever-downward.

We even jogged a bit on the NLT back to our car. We commented on the way down that this would be a good introductory "Phil and Karen hike". Tougher than the typical official trails, with an awesome payoff, and just enough spiciness to keep things interesting but not dangerous.

Stats: roughly 3500 elevation, 8 miles, 6.5 hours.

Charleston Solo

Ever since Karen and I completed our previous summit of Charleston a year ago (http://adventuresofpandk.blogspot.com/2013/10/charleston-peak-we-did-it.html), I'd been bothered by the fact that I felt we could've done better. We were pretty depleted by the end of that hike, and I'd always wanted to come back and give it a better effort.

Karen occasionally picks up extra shifts at the hospital, and we try and save new summits for our together hikes, so I figured this would be a good chance to give Charleston another effort. I decided to get up very early, like before, and just try and get up and down as quickly as possible. Because I was supposed to be training for our Alaska backpacking trip (www.flickr.com/photos/philskaren/collections/721576481954...), I decided to bring a heavier pack (about 35 lbs. with my camera on the front) than I would normally need for this hike.

I ended up making very good time. Karen and I had often talked about how we feel we went too slowly on our first attempt, and that's why we felt so drained. This successful attempt proved that theory correct, as I summitted in under 5 hours, and was back to my car in 9 hours total, including 45 minutes at the top.

Finishing such a long hike (16.5 miles, ~4700 vertical) with plenty of daylight left felt great, and it led to the planning of a multi-peak day for my next solo endeavor...