Horsetail Falls Trail
Hike Review:
We followed the unused railroad tracks up the mountain until turning left to get to North Gully.
Because the snow was more than a month old, there were lots of tracks to follow and the snow was nice and crunchy. However, there was a 30ft portion where we had to walk on gravel.
I forgot how tiring it could be hiking straight up hill.
There was no trash, although there was plenty of dog poop next to the parking area.
There was almost no shade on most of the hike.
What I Learned:
Hiking in old snow with crampons on is really fun. You never slip and you can almost just waltz on down.
Hiking with mountaineering boots on, however, was a drag. The rental Scarpa Invernos were almost 3 lbs, and I definitely felt it going up hill.
My Scarpa Invernos (11.5) were maybe a bit small and when I was walking downhill, I noticed that my toes were hurting. Maybe I’ll try boots that are a half size bigger next time.
What Happened?
~3 miles, 4 hrs 33 mins, 1200 ft of ascent
The plan for this day was to walk to North Gully, and to climb it. Then we would walk down the backside. We parked where the road was closed for the winter on 158 and just followed the railway tracks until we were about the same elevation of the bottom of North Gully. Alba and I both were crampons, while Connor—the badass he is—just wore his boots.
The hike up to North Gully was tiring as it’s just a straight uphill climb. I think the elevation and the heavy boots got to me. I also think maybe I should have consumed more calories the day before... anyways, I got pretty tired hiking up to North Gully.
After the climb, we came down the backside and the hike was decently fun. The views were beautiful and the crampons made the boots as sticky as it could be to the snow.
When I got back to my car—after saying farewells—I changed into my normal running shoes, and my toes felt so good! I enjoyed my lunch and started the 7 hr drive back home.