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HIKE

Granite Mountain

ROUTE

Follow the trail :)

DATE

06/22/2006

ATTENDEES

Dan, Sherry, Darlene, Ray, Don, Lynda, Joan, Loren, Larry, Jason, Chris M, Chris S, Tom, John, and Mark

NOTES

You wanted pics? You've got 'em!

  

PHOTOS

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Photo credits: Dan S.

 

TRAIL1EPORT

Hello, TNAB'ers:

Summer Solstice 2006 - time to visit Granite Mountain once again, only one day off from the real solstice (6/21). For the first time in weeks, we actually had decent weather - partly cloudy, around 70ºF. Good timing!

A little about Granite Mountain: It stands at 5629 ft el, capped off by a well-kept fire lookout. The trailhead starts at 1800 ft el. Total length of the trail: 4.3 miles to the summit. Among the TNAB hikes, it has probably the best balance of trail length to elevation gain.

The main body of revelers arrived shortly before 6 PM and were quickly distributed along the trail. This year's attendees included Dan, Sherry, Darlene, Ray (with Darlene), Don, Lynda, Joan, Loren (with Joan), Larry, Jason, Chris M, Chris S, Tom, John, and Mark. If your counting at home, that's 12 hikers (wink). Digger and Tokul were on hand to represent the canine contingent.

The trail is in great shape - dry and snow free until the final summit push. Once we broke out of the forest, we could drink in the views from all around. The talus ridge to the summit was only partially covered in snow, serving to slow travel down a bit.

Around 8 PM, the party began in earnest. Party favors included a bottle of Patrón (Dan&Sherry), champagne (Don&Lynda), Alaskan Amber (Loren), etc. We feasted on strawberry shortcake (Larry&Jason), brownies (Joan), and Darlene's sinfully good cinnamon rolls. For ambience, Loren brought Sally and Henrietta, the peak-bagging pink flamingos, while I lit up several tiki torches. Also, Matt called in from CO, where they were coming down off a freezing 14k peak.

Good times!

Just as the party was starting to wain, it was time for some entertainment. I have often wondered what it would be like to shave my head, and the solstice hike seemed an appropriate event worthy of the stunt. I pulled out my electric razor, and Darlene was only too happy to give me an alpine mohawk haircut. Perfect! Chris S advises that I should use SPF 100 when venturing outdoors...

After that, it was time to pack up and head out. The hike out was uneventful, and we were back to cars by 11:00 PM. Great hike, great solstice, great bunch of folks. Wooo hooo!

Next Hike: Abiel Peak - a TNAB first (I hope - stay tuned)

Cheers, -Mark