Conditioning hike to Buck Mt (9.2 miles with 3000 ft elev gain), 4-7-2013.
For the weekend hike, instead of a short hike, I opted to do a moderate hike in limited time since I have not done such a hike for about 5 weeks. Les and I decided to hike the Elbo Creek trail then to the Buck Mt. The weather for the whole week has been lousy with occasional rain. Albeit we got rained on and snowed on, it was an excellent hike. I left home at 0655, came back just passed 1400, relaxed for a while on the hot tub, and was able to plant 3 blueberry shrubs (from COSTCO) on the backyard. In overall, it was a nice Sunday.
Here was my hiking summary:
1. 0730. Picked up Les at the Center Road Junction.
2. 0810. Started hiking with slight sprinkles. It was in high 30s with
almost no wind at the trailhead. The rain got heavier.
3. 0910. At the last switchback (half way (1.5 miles) to the road
junction), we took care of the gears from rain.
4. Trials to the Road Junction were sort of like off-trail but marked
with flags and had occasional cut trees. It was snowing
when we were at near 2600 ft elev.
5. 1040. Arrived at the summit that was covered by snow. We
took 20 minutes break then headed home.
6. 1100. Started descending.
7. 1240. Arrived back at the trailhead. Met several people who
hiked close to the road junction. They did not know where the trail intercepted
the road.
There were also lots of down trees. Needed to take extra cautions
as always.