We had hoped to escape the rain that was plaguing the Rockies for days by going south but it didn't work. After hiking 20 minutes on a good trail we headed up a cutline that was overgrown and wet with recent rain. After fighting our way through wet brush for 45 minutes we were thoroughly soaked from the waist down.

When we broke free of the brush onto a larch-covered crest above Cameron Lake, it started raining. It would continue to rain or sleet off and on until well into our descent hours later.

Leaving the ridge, we had to find a break in the rock band to get to the next ridge. Not only could we not see a break, we couldn't even see the rock band! A heavy mist obscured our views. We followed a trail for a bit and when it began to clear, we started trying to scramble up to the ridge. We came close to finding places to climb up but wet rock and muddy boots prevented us from scrambling up. When we encountered a ptarmigan and her brood of chicks, the hen began to squawk in alarm. Eventually, since I hadn't moved, it calmed down and simply walked around me, so close I could have reached down and touched it.

After over an hour of trying to gain the ridge, we headed back close to the crest. Now that the mist had cleared, we found an easy way up. From there we plodded along a broad ridge to the summit, taking in a few ups and downs along the way. The first high point had a summit register but the true high point (at GR116323) was further on. Much of the views were obscured by clouds throughout our trip, but on the upside were the rainbows. From the summit it was a long plod back on good trails to Wall Lake and then to the parking lot.

For some reason -- because of the ups and downs? -- Alan Kane says the height gain is 1300 m. In reality it's less than 1000 m.

MOVIE (1:45)
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