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| Wilson & Indecision Peaks from Hidden Peak |
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| Descending Hidden Peak |
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| Summiting Mountain Springs Peak |
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| Hidden Peak from Escarpment Rim Trail |
To end the week of my visiting brother, the Six with Sticks welcomed him on a hike to Hidden Peak on top of the Red Rock escarpment, Sandstone Bluffs. Hidden Peak is located tucked behind Monument Peak which is found between Sandstone Peak and Black Velvet Peak. Our hike began at the Mountain Springs Trailhead and up Heartbreak Hill. We climbed strongly up to Mountain Springs Peak with few stops. After signing in the log book, we continued down and around the Escarpment Rim Trail. At around 3 miles, we turned around and took in the view of the limestone arch. Next, we proceeded to lose a lot of the elevation that we had gained as we descended to the sandstone below. A trail led us through the limestone scree and cairns sort of led us across the sandstone.
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| The Limestone Arch |
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| Ascending Hidden Peak |
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| Wilson & Indecision Peaks and Calico Hills from Hidden Peak |
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| Fab Five Summit Photo |
At the far corner, before Black Velvet Canyon dropped precipitously, we dropped down to an exposed bridge that led across to the Hidden Peak climb. There is a less exposed trail that some of us took below the bridge. Next, we climbed the right (south) side of the peak and found ourselves on a wide expanse of sandstone. It was my first summit of the impressive Hidden Peak. Our descent was made on the northwest side of the peak and continued down an easy ramp. The climb back to the Escarpment Rim Trail was the most taxing part of the day. Then we finished the hike by looping down along the Mountain Springs Trail. The temperatures were in the sixties with cloud cover. Perfect!
Stats: 8.7 miles; 2375' gain; 5.5 hours
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| Descending Hidden Peak |
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| Ascending from Bridge |
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| Hidden Peak in Background as Rita and Ralyn climb the Sandstone |
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