Tom Rankin
Well-known member
Saturday we hiked Friday and Balsam Cap. I lead the way for a group of 11 hikers. I hope no one posts the track log, because it might be a little wiggly! 
We made it to the good herd path that slowly gains elevation up into the bowl between the 2 peaks and from then on it was pretty easy navigating. We hit Friday first and then strolled over to Balsam Cap. No troubles finding the Cans, and the view point was fantastic.
We actually met 2 guys camping and another person doing the '9'!
The pace was slow for this trip, 7 miles in 9 hours, but after all, it was 'off trail' and it was hot. Everyone seemed happy with the results. I jumped in the stream at the bottom to cool off, but everyone else declined. Their loss!
Afterwards, a trip to Hop Heads was great! We even found 2 new IPAs from Breckenridge, one of which (471) was awesome!
Sunday it was just the 2 of us, and we did Peekamoose and Table. The pace was about 2x the previous day. We were up to the flat view point by 10:15 (a little hazy but nice), and the summit before 11. (The view from Reconnoiter Rock is almost completely obscured by trees, even from the top of the rock). We had to be done by 2:00, but we figured we could scoot over to Table and be down before then, so off we went. The Peek and Table view points were even better than the first one, and I finally discovered where the Lone herd path starts on Table.
The walk back was quick, and at the parking lot, I jumped into Blue Hole to cool off. It was very blue, and very cold! I felt like I was going to go hypothermic after about 15 seconds!
A nice weekend at 'home'!
We made it to the good herd path that slowly gains elevation up into the bowl between the 2 peaks and from then on it was pretty easy navigating. We hit Friday first and then strolled over to Balsam Cap. No troubles finding the Cans, and the view point was fantastic.
We actually met 2 guys camping and another person doing the '9'!
The pace was slow for this trip, 7 miles in 9 hours, but after all, it was 'off trail' and it was hot. Everyone seemed happy with the results. I jumped in the stream at the bottom to cool off, but everyone else declined. Their loss!
Afterwards, a trip to Hop Heads was great! We even found 2 new IPAs from Breckenridge, one of which (471) was awesome!
Sunday it was just the 2 of us, and we did Peekamoose and Table. The pace was about 2x the previous day. We were up to the flat view point by 10:15 (a little hazy but nice), and the summit before 11. (The view from Reconnoiter Rock is almost completely obscured by trees, even from the top of the rock). We had to be done by 2:00, but we figured we could scoot over to Table and be down before then, so off we went. The Peek and Table view points were even better than the first one, and I finally discovered where the Lone herd path starts on Table.
The walk back was quick, and at the parking lot, I jumped into Blue Hole to cool off. It was very blue, and very cold!
I felt like I was going to go hypothermic after about 15 seconds! A nice weekend at 'home'!
