Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Cockscomb Peak - 8/14/12

                                Cockscomb Peak from Cockscomb Ridge

 There were nine hikers who dared to attempt Cockscomb Peak today. We started early and the air temperature at the Trail Canyon trailhead was deliciously cool. As it turned out, there were many hikers on Trail Canyon Trail enjoying the cool and clear weather. We scampered up the trail trying to decrease our personal ascent time then sat for a break at the saddle.
 The half mile of Cockscomb Ridge went by quickly but it is difficult to ignore the beauty of the curving limestone cliffs and outcroppings. At the end of the ridge trail, we decided to leave our hiking sticks, keep our packs and drop down to the left side of the big rock in front of us. After dropping down on slippery surfaces, a rock face with a few ledges and chutes rose up to our right and a very steep slope covered in limestone gravel, boulders and a few trees dropped a couple of hundred feet to our left.

                                Hiking Cockscomb Ridge

                   Plunging down to circle and climb Cockscomb Peak.

 During the 3rd class scramble up the peak, two hikers were channeled by their absent spouses and decided to heed their pleas to stop the nonsense. Seven hikers went on to summit the rock as seen in the photo below. All descended at a more leisurely pace back to the cars. A tough hike. Short and sweet at 6 miles and 1900 elevation feet gained and lost.

                                The Summit Photo!




1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Nice job. Cockscomb Ridge is beautiful, my wife and I hiked out as far as the drop off point on the ridge. I'd like to return one day and finish it but we are both wary of exposure.