On Saturday, July 3, 2010 I headed out early in the morning for a hike
to the Mount of the Holy Cross - 14,005'. The trailhead starts around 10,000 ft and is a steady climb through the forest to the
Half Moon Pass summit - a 1,000 ft ascent. From there, the trail drops 1,000 ft to the valley below - a trail that is steep and
rather narrow in spots. The stream crossing was not the easiest and I can only imagine what it must be like with greater snowfall
on the mountain.
Once across the stream, the hike up is really steep in spots which took more out of me than I thought it would. I only managed to
get to 13,000 ft when I realized I needed to head back. My energy was depleted and I still had to reclimb the 1,000 ft to the
top of Half Moon Pass. This is a peak that got the better of me on this day. But, it will be there to climb another day.
When I finally reached the base of the valley, I realized I should have done this the night before and camped out here - like several
others had done. That would be such good sleeping with the cool air and the sound of the stream. I had little trouble crossing this
stream even though the rocks were very slippery. My concern was how tired I would be on the return crossing and the resulting climb back
up to Half Moon Pass with wet clothes and hiking boots would be impossible.
|
