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...
No comments:
Post a Comment