Well, sort of…

On the way out of my complex, I spotted a doe carefully *ahem* cleaning herself. Then I saw these guys. Bambi x 2!

Sweetheart, after all that work, you may clean yourself to your heart’s content.

Here’s the topo map for today’s trail:

The trail starts out at 9700 feet above sea level at the highway, and ends at about 11000 feet. Click here for more info.

Western view from the highway.

Maya’s ready to get moving.

As innocuous as this first section of trail *looks*, it’s STEEP!

The east-heading first section of trail planes out as we approach Horsethief Park. Those meadows look like a perfect spot to camp!

The meadows continue with magnificent rock formations off in the background (which my camera didn’t do justice…time to learn the manual settings). The mountain behind this view amuses me — it looks as if an oversized two-year-old created his own rock pile.

Finally, we reach the turnoff for Pancake rocks — this is the point on the topo where the trail heads south.

I stop for a breather on the southbound switchbacks — they’re murderous — and take in the view.

You can see that the sky was clouding up. By the time we reached the top of the switchbacks, the wind was howling. There wasn’t any rain, but it could happen at any minute, and I still haven’t purchased the rain canopy for Maya’s pack. My gut — the mommy in me — said to turn around. My ego insisted that it was nothing and we could keep going! Ego lost, and we headed back down, after reaching the very top of the switchbacks. Pretty much, we did all the vertical work, but didn’t get to enjoy the views…SIGH.

Chagrinned Allison.

Katie and Clay, aka Thing1 and Thing2.

Back at Horsetheif Park, we come across a mom and her 2-year-old son, and they allow us to join them for the picnic I’d *planned* for at the end of the trail. Maya immediately dumped her Cheerios out and found the container much more entertaining than mere food.

Mom and son, Conrad. Conrad showed off for Maya, and Maya sang for him — making him giggle at the silly baby.

Heading back westward on the trail, Maya and I fall into step with Makayla and Terri, another mother and daughter pair off for a hike.

As it turned out, the threatening rain never happened, and the skies returned to blue. We could have done the full hike. Just the same, we made some acquaintances we might not have otherwise, and it was a great day.

We’ll return to do this hike again another time — likely in September, when the fall color makes the switchbacks worth all the work!