| Peak | Mt Wilson |
|---|---|
| Group | N/A |
| Trailhead | Chantry Flats |
This hike was beautiful, until it wasn’t. My friend and I thought 14 miles would be tough, but we weren’t expecting it to be brutal. The first portion of the hike went well, got us breathing heavy and had us enjoying the scenery. We took the detour to the falls as we felt it was something we needed to see, especially with all of the recent rain. We stopped in Spruce for lunch before making the final push to the top. This is when things started not turning out the way we had initially thought and this mountain showed up just who was boss. After many hours, 7 to be exact with the detour and lunch, we finally made it to the top. After a short rest and nice views we headed down. This is when things turned ugly. Half way down we realized we most likely were not making it back before dark, and the pain had set in. In short, we finally reached our car at 6:45pm. We left our car at 6:30am. Although proud that we did this, and didn’t die, needless to say we were miserable by the end. So I pose this question to all of you out there who, compared to us, do this loop in record time. What did we do wrong? Did we stop for lunch too long (an hour)? Was it the detour to the falls (an hour)? We our packs weighing us down? Or was our pace simply slow like a snail? Although we were up for the challenge, I at least am questioning whether or not I will be able to cut it for the rest with higher altitudes and more elevation gain. Any insights that could be offered would be greatly appreciated.
