Wanted to go for a quick day-hike on the summer solstice and figured that the Balcony would be a good option. The trail to the balcony is in good condition, but was muddy in places from recent rain. I made good time up to the balcony and was not as impressed with the view as I had hoped (I am always bummed when I can see the highway). I decided to start hiking up to the peak, knowing that I could turn around if I started to run out of time. The trail up to the peak is also in good condition, but steep at times. One mile from the top I debated turning around because I was starting to feel tired, but I decided to push on regardless. I ran into three other people who were hiking up and agreed that the trail was steep, which made me feel better. I often check my Gaia map when I am hiking to see where I am on the trail, but I always seem to run into people who have no idea how much distance is left or have lost the trail in the snow. I find it incredibly helpful to have a GPS/Map for this reason. Plus, people are always asking "am I close?" and I feel like responding, "close to what?". It's so easy to download a map on Alltrails or other apps now a days that I don't know why most people don't have one when they are out on the trail.
I agree with the previous trip report from 6/19/22 about snow conditions. I did not use gaiters or microspikes when going up to the peak and I did punch through a couple times. The weather was beautiful and I was happy to have taken the trip up in spite of the intense elevation gain on the trail. Maybe I am just a little out of shape still? I did wear my microspikes on the way down to avoid any slips.
Comments