On Thick Ice

I began the day by climbing straight up Mount Baden-Powell, and was on the 9300-foot peak by 9:30. It was subfreezing up there, with two inches of solid ice on the windward side of all surfaces; the last half mile before the summit led over continuous frozen snowdrifts; and my tennis shoes didn’t give much traction on the ice, so I was happy enough to safely descend the west ridge after a chilly ten minutes on top.

The rest of the day was spent leapfrogging across highway two in dramatic mountain terrain. I was forced to take a five-mile detour around one section of trail closed to protect endangered Mountain Yellow-legged Frogs (what, do they think hikers are going to boot them into extinction?). Overall 24 miles, and some fantastic scenery today!