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| Charleston Peak from South Loop 3rd Overlook |
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| Mummy's Toe from South Loop below Echo Cliffs |
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| South Loop just above 1st Overlook |
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| New Fence above Trailhead |
With a Red Flag Warning out, the Fearsome Foursome decided to try the South Loop Trail. The wind was coming from the southwest and we hoped that Charleston Peak and the South Loop Ridge would block most of it. It was an experiment of sorts and, as it turned out, there were several other hikers doing the same thing! We were only going up to the 3rd Overlook still protected by the mountainous terrain. So, we set off from the Cathedral Rock Trailhead at a crisp 7:30am. We circumvented the new steel fence that the wild horse didn't like so much and started up the first set of steps. Our altitude training was going well and the steps were not a problem. The morning light was golden on the new aspen leaves. We climbed and climbed with very little in the way of "pausing."
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| First set of Steps |
Our first real break came at the one mile mark. This is the Rainbow Junction. Even though we no longer are able to go into Rainbow, this is the junction we used for many years to close the Rainbow Loop.
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| Climbing first section of South Loop |
On our way up, we saw two deer in a small field near the Fletcher Canyon Trailhead. However, we have yet to see any of the Kyle Canyon deer in the lower South Loop Trail area where they were previously seen on almost every hike.
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| Some of the Carpenter One 2013 burn Area |
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| Circling the bottom of the Echo Cliffs |
Next came the dreaded "Steps." We started up with determination! To my surprise, they seemed a bit easier to me. (Hmm, must be a little stronger!) Keeping a steady pace that I could maintain without getting out of breath, the Fearsome Foursome climbed the steps and tackled the first set of 15 switchbacks. Slow and steady, we climbed with maybe one pause for a photo or two. We arrived at the 1st Overlook (aka Echo Overlook) without much fanfare. This was our second break of any length. At this time, we had felt a few gusts of wind but nothing that lasted. For the most part, the wind was calm and cool. The next stretch would be more exposed so we braced for the cold but, as soon as we passed a couple of switchbacks, we were back within the protection of the mountain.
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| Climbing the Second set of Steps |
The only snow we saw was in patches along the big gullys. So when we reached the gully crossing above Echo Cliffs, we took a photo and headed up to Switchback #20.
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| Kyle Canyon from First set of Switchbacks |
From Switchback #19 through #26, the switchbacks are long as they route through the large pines. There was only one tree down in this section back at switchback #17.
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| Switchback #13 |
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| Arriving at the 1st Overlook |
Slow and steady, we hiked the long switchbacks taking a short breather at #23. The views on the even number switchbacks were of Kyle Canyon. On the odd numbers, we came to the edge of the large wash ravine that we had crossed below. The snow patches were very pretty but we didn't go off trail to get a photo. Finally, at switchback #26, we reached the 2nd Overlook. Since we were so close to our destination, we didn't stop except for a quick photo that didn't make the grade. There was only one more shorter switchback before we waltzed onto the 3rd Overlook. It was a little breezy but still not-blowing-us-off-the-mountain breezy. We sat for our break and took a lot of photos. The beautiful day would later turn dusty from wind but, at this time, 👍!
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| Snow Patches at a Wash Crossing |
While we took our break, a large group of hikers (including Xiang Li) passed us on their way up toward the saddle. From experience, we knew that as soon as they crested the saddle, the wind would be "blowing them off the mountain!"
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| A couple of Switchbacks before 2nd Overlook |
After we took our group photo, we started back down. This is when we began seeing other hikers on their way up. We also saw Susan M. with her dog!
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| Mike on 3rd Overlook |
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| Harris Peak from 3rd Overlook |
Our trip down was somewhat uneventful except for spying a large downed tree on the precipice of the Echo Cliff above. We didn't stop except for the 1st Overlook and Rainbow Junction. Still no deer nor crazed wild horse! There were a lot more cars at the trailhead. Because of the Red Flag Warning, there were many power company trucks up and down Kyle Canyon. We could only assume they were there to turn off the power if need be because of the coming wind speeds of 40+ mph. Good to know they were ready! We had a great morning on the mountain today!
Stats: 6 miles; 2100' gain; 4 hours
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