Sematary
New member
So, I am basically pulling this from my last hike on Monday to introduce you to me, I guess. 
I plan on hiking Carrigain next weekend and doing the Wildcats and "maybe Carter Dome" next month.
I'm not sure what I'll be doing in between, but with only 11 4000 footers to go, I'm getting an itchy trigger finger and want to finish them up.
This is a video from on top of Garfield on Monday (only just over a minute long)
The summit of Garfield
So, I started out at 5:30 a.m. on Monday (Dec 28), parking my car at the gate at Gale Loop Rd and hoofing the 1.3 miles to the trailhead of Garfield Trail. There was some snow, but very light, as I began. It didn't take me long to reach the Garfield Trail. To my surprise, this was an easy hike - I was expecting something at least difficult near the peak but really, it was only the ice that made that last .2 difficult and that's what they make Crampons for. The trip over to Galehead was far more difficult (and treacherous) as it was very steep and icy coming down from Garfield between the peaks. I was VERY glad that I brought my Crampons because I'm certain that I wouldn't have made this portion of the hike without them. It slowed me down considerably but the outlook just shy of Galehead Mountain offered some stunning views of the valley. Galehead itself is a snooze - wooded (completely) with only a Cairn to show you that you have reached the summit. Regardless, it was a GLORIOUS 16+ mile hike with some absolutely phenomenal views on a REALLY clear day. The early light snow gave way to clear skies and windy/cold that made for a perfect day for a hike.
I plan on hiking Carrigain next weekend and doing the Wildcats and "maybe Carter Dome" next month.
I'm not sure what I'll be doing in between, but with only 11 4000 footers to go, I'm getting an itchy trigger finger and want to finish them up.
This is a video from on top of Garfield on Monday (only just over a minute long)
The summit of Garfield
So, I started out at 5:30 a.m. on Monday (Dec 28), parking my car at the gate at Gale Loop Rd and hoofing the 1.3 miles to the trailhead of Garfield Trail. There was some snow, but very light, as I began. It didn't take me long to reach the Garfield Trail. To my surprise, this was an easy hike - I was expecting something at least difficult near the peak but really, it was only the ice that made that last .2 difficult and that's what they make Crampons for.
The trip over to Galehead was far more difficult (and treacherous) as it was very steep and icy coming down from Garfield between the peaks. I was VERY glad that I brought my Crampons because I'm certain that I wouldn't have made this portion of the hike without them. It slowed me down considerably but the outlook just shy of Galehead Mountain offered some stunning views of the valley. Galehead itself is a snooze - wooded (completely) with only a Cairn to show you that you have reached the summit. Regardless, it was a GLORIOUS 16+ mile hike with some absolutely phenomenal views on a REALLY clear day. The early light snow gave way to clear skies and windy/cold that made for a perfect day for a hike.
