Camelback Final Writeup

What a hike! I still didn't summit but I sure had a great hike. It took me 75 minutes to get up to a point that was simply beyond my ability. It was a brutal vertical followed by about 30 feet of jagged rocks
and I was wearing tennis shoes more suited to running on a treadmill than they were scrambling up and down rocks. While I might be able to get up and then finish the summit, I wasn't sure I could safely
get back down.

Discretion is the better part of valor they say...

Parts of the trail were wide, smooth, and well maintained. These were the sections were hikers would pass. The only other opportunity to get around a slower hiker came when the slower hiker would sit down to rest.

Just off the sides of the trail were some nasty drop-offs but some amazing views. Here, I'm just to the saddle of the mountain. From here I could see the airport and the hotel as well as points far, far beyond.

End of the road--for me.

There's the summit in the distance. You can see just how tricky this section looks. Getting up could be done but getting back after reaching the summit could have been downright dangerous. Sure, lots of people were doing it but I had already walked off trail once near here and found myself with nowhere to go but back.

Is this really the trail back down?! Did I hike this on the way up?

So, I didn't set the mountain climbing world on fire on either attempt but I got some great exercise, saw some amazing sights, and had a great time. I even met a group from Plymouth, Indiana up on the
saddle. I grew up just north of Plymouth so it was quite a funny coincidence.

It looks like the mountain got the best of me...this time. I'll be back one day and I'll get all the way to the summit.

Thanks for reading,


B