The Training Is Over

I can't blame my 27-year-old knees for feeling double their age. Almost every hike I've done since the beginning of spring has been with a 40-pound pack, or heavier. The repeated strain, understandably, resulted in a touch of bursitis. This week will consist of nothing more than me sitting on my ass and resting. I did want to get some altitude one more time before Liberty Ridge, however, so last weekend Darrin and I chose a route that would keep us above 13,000' for a few hours without much strain: the Decalibron. Kate, Tyler and Kate's pup Remy decided to come along, and John was planning to join before getting back too late from a business trip Friday night.

Ecstatic to be carrying stupid-light packs loaded with only water, food and an extra layer or two, we more-or-less skipped up the trail beginning at 7:45 a.m. Saturday. The road was impassable about 1-1.5 miles from the summer trailhead at Kite Lake because of a snow drift. It was dry and 2WD-accessible to that point.

We encountered lots of the white stuff down low, but the cold weather of the night before and a stiff breeze resulted in a firm walking surface. No snowshoes were necessary, which was awesome, because we were lazy and didn't bring them.

Kate at Kite Lake.

The elevation gain passed rather quickly. We shared the majority of the ascent up Mt. Democrat with a guy visiting from London and what I assume was his daughter, a Los Angeles resident. We stopped often to chat and enjoy the splendid weather. The summit of Democrat was occupied by a pair of skiers, one of whom was 14ers.com member BAUMGARA.

Getting up Democrat and later Mt. Cameron was, as expected, the route's crux. It's the most strenuous part of the loop and held a lot of snow. Once on the summit of Cameron the ridge was mostly blown dry, and the subsequent climbs up Mt. Lincoln and Mt. Bross were lofty summer-trail jaunts with only a combined elevation gain of 600' or so. We made it from the top of Cameron to the top of Lincoln in a mere 14 minutes.

On the summit of Mt. Cameron, Remy keeps an eye out for Kate.

The S-Gully on Bross was one of the most fun 14er descents I've had the pleasure of experiencing. We glissaded nearly the whole thing, which has enough twists and turns to make it feel like a waterslide. We dropped nearly 1,500' in 10 minutes. The resulting walk out was equally pleasurable, plunge-stepping on perfect snow all the way back to the road.

My knees were thankful.

Mt. Lincoln.

The Decalibron was exactly what the doctor ordered. The round-trip was approximately eight hours at a leisurely pace. We spent half a day above 13,000', and my knees actually felt better on Sunday, the day after the hike. I'm not sure how that's possible, but I'll take it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have lots of being lazy to do. Only five days until we're hitting the trail at White River! Speaking of which, the long-range forecast suggests we might get the weather window we've been anxiously hoping for:

.SUNDAY...SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 14500 FEET.
.SUNDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 14000 FEET.
.MONDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL NEAR 13000 FEET.

If that's accurate and the forecast holds into Tuesday, we couldn't ask for much better for June in the Pacific Northwest.