I had the opportunity to play hooky from work today and the call of the mud was ringing in my ears like a siren's song. Not having a partner, I decided to give this tour a go. I'd never done any of the objectives and hadn't even ventured onto the trails past the reservoir, into the neglected valley, or up to Crowley Towers, so this looked to me like a great way to get exposed to new areas of the park while testing my abilities. I was not successful in finishing the complete tour today, but thoroughly enjoyed the day out in the park and got some much needed conditioning! Disappointed? Yes, but not discouraged. I will be back for another attempt before the season is through (I've got a lime tainted lager sitting in my fridge now, awaiting the day). Wanted to share my recap as reading the other trip reports here fueled the stoke.
I completed 7 of the 13 objectives then decided to bail before committing to the Westside, taking the high peaks trail to condor gulch to return back to bear gulch parking. My spirit was willing to continue, but my body was betraying me, poor hydration management had my legs cramping up once I made it into the high peaks, which made downclimbing Kermit quite engaging. Car to car time was 6 hours (started at 8:00AM, returned at 2:00PM). Doing just half of the tour still makes for a great day of hiking and bushwhacking, with some nice climbs along the way, would recommend.
Just some notes from the day as I don't think a deep dive is needed:
I brought a 30m rope with me and used it to rappel off of Gertie's and Little Flatiron. The rope didn't quite reach the ground from the Gertie's anchor, maybe I was off course or my rope is shorter than I think, but I just down climbed the last ~10 feet. I thought in the moment I could have down climbed Gertie's without too much stress (probably wrong about that), but I was surely glad I had the rope to get off of Little Flatiron. The hardware at the top of these pinnacles is in great shape, very confidence inspiring, and thank you to the kind folks that outfitted them.
I didn't summit The Frog, I made it up the South Side Shuffle but did not go up the 5.4 summit block.
Navigating the Neglected Valley, I got off course a few times when I veered away from the creek bed, but having that landmark was super helpful to course correct. Still swam through a lot of bushes. Passed some deer bones in the creek just as I started feeling paranoid maybe something was following me.
Getting from Little Flatiron to Scout Peak was not obvious for me, I swam through more brush before finding a trail. After this the navigating was much easier.
This opened my eyes to how close things are at Pins, and what other tours might be possible when I figure out how to navigate the unfamiliar trails.
I removed some loose rocks, but nothing broke on me, which was a surprise!
Whatever I thought 4th class meant before, I surely have an new understanding of it now.
