We took the tanaman, pct, and did the top loop counterclock wise with heartbreak uphill. The first 3 miles or so are lush with POISON OAK. You can dodge most by clinging to the center of the trail, but certainly not all. Be sure to look up as well, as some of the poison oak is freaking huge.
Generally, this trail lulled us into a false sense of moderate difficulty. The flowers are blooming. It is well shaded, full of life, lots of water, beauty everywhere, not too steep, and then, when you're already tired, you hit heartbreak. You think “oh great, only one more mile to payday.” Then the thoughts turn more to “Oh My God,..am I walking up a 60° slope? Are you sure this is only a mile??? My Achilles tendons are killing me. How far up this talas field do we have to climb? Yes, the gorge view is amazing, but Ugh! this CAN'T be just a mile.” You get to the top. Brain stops. Make sure to walk to the end. Views are stunning. Formations are incredible. We immediately declared it a hike of awesome and celebrated the person who recommended it. And that was just the east side. We stuffed our faces. I huddled under a sun umbrella for a short nap of exhaustion bliss. We knew we'd be walking back in the dark but should be able to go downhill faster. The other side of the loop, the westway trail will be easier. Famous last words.
Nevermind,.. after scampering through some woods, things opened back up and yellow trout lilies everywhere were scattered dollops of sunshine. The views over the ridge were breathtaking. Over and over and over again. There's nothing fast about our descent regardless of the loose scree trying to speed us along. Oh hello big black 25%chance of rain clouds coming our way. So dramatic. So much wind. Such slow descending. Yay! more time to oggle. Okay, okay, we got past the really steep stuff before it got dark. Flashlight time. What's this,..sparkling spider season? And scorpions?!?! Anyhow,... this hike took us 15 hours. Might have been faster without 36 lbs of gear. Wish me luck on the poison oak.
Comments