Stayed in Littleton as i was feeling less than motivated. Heading up & staying in the area the night before is a sure way to make sure i fulfill my goal sometimes. It also shaves a great deal of time off of my hike day, is safer driving wise, etc. Started the hike just before 6am. It was known to me that rain would stop & cloud cover would give way at 0800 based on radar data i use. At the parking lot i started anyway.
Going up the cog i was on my way to Jefferson by 0700. It was cold, windy, & i got soaked even with rain layer lol. This would result in me being cold most of the day. Fortunately i had body warmers, extra dry layers, & the will to keep moving at a warm pace. I opted out of going over clay to get to Jefferson with the rain and wind on the out & hit it on the back when it was clear & great. Clay blue berries are always abundant. Didnt see anyone until i was up and over clay.
Not a ton to say about going up to washington via cog / crag trail. It is always pretty packed for my tastes, but expected. I stopped and had lunch in the cafeteria, which is not something i usually ever do but due to being still fairly soaked i wanted the shelter out of the light wind.
Went down to lake of the clouds (about the lowest point of the descent), and turned back to head up. Not sure but over time it seems crawford path has had work done in the last twoish years. It is really pretty decent as far as whites hiking goes.
Ended up being a great day, only thing of note was coming from a trip out to the eastern sierras where i did a ton of hiking every other day & at high altitude, that hiking here has always been exceptionally more rough in terms of how much pain it can inflict the next day (i am in pain right now lol & my sleep was interrupted every hour) if you dont monitor your pace before you are actually hurting.
Clouds moving out on the way to Jefferson
Looking out from coming off Jefferson somewhere
7th hike boots coming apart
probably one of my favorite views / duplicate pictures over the years
gains minus the last 3 miles down (stopped and restarted to test altimeter accuracy which is still questionable)
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