| 751 | Surprise Adventure of the Year |
2012-12-31 |
It's December 31st! Wow! We want to take a moment to thank everyone who read Metro to Mountain and cloudhiking in 2012. Whether you shared with us through reading the on line sites or by using a map and guide, we hope that you enjoyed yourself as much as we enjoyed sharing with you. Thank you for your support and helping to spread the Metro to Mountain and cloudhiking site links to others. We appreciate you. As 2013 approaches we are excited about the New Year. we hope that everyone has a safe and prosperous year - full of outdoor adventures.
Once again, for the final Journal of the year, we want to share our biggest 'adventure surprise' of 2012. In other words, a greenway, trail, or mountain that far exceeded its expectations.
Compiling a list of adventures was hard enough, because each destination brought back memories of the trip, leaving us distracted.
The List (partial)
Shelby Bottoms Greenway - Nashville
Edwin Warner Park - Nashville
Stones River Greenway - Murfreesboro, TN
Stone Mountain - Georgia
Trillium Gap Trail - Mount LeConte - Great Smoky Mountains
Virgin Falls - TN
Collins Gulf - Savage Gulf - TN State Park
Cummins Falls - TN State Park
Chinquapin Ridge Trail - Fall Creek Falls
Radnor Lake - TN State Park
Rim Trail - Grand Canyon
Bright Angel - Grand Canyon
Angels Landing - Zion NP
Bryce Canyon Day Hikes
Capitol Reef Day Hikes
Delicate Arch - Arches National Park
Syncline Loop - Canyonland NP
Bills Canyon - Moab
Devils Garden - Arches NP
Percy Warner Park - Nashville
Cedars of Lebanon - TN State Park
Mount Bierstadt - Colorado 14er
La Luz - Sandia Mtns
Lookout and Horsetooth Mountains - Rocky Mountain NP
Finch and Pear Lakes - RMNP
Chapin, Chiquitta, and Ypsilon Mtn - RMNP
Blue Bird Lake - RMNP
Mummy Mountain - RMNP
Mount Ida - RMNP
Mount Alice - RMNP
Mount Meeker - RMNP
Jenny Lake Trail - Tetons
Amphitheater Lake - Tetons
Paintbrush Canyon Loop - Tetons
And the winner is ...
Our most surprising destination of the year was Mount Alice in Rocky Mountain National Park. The route on Mount Alice was better than expected, in spite of it being a very long day hike/climb.
The Wild Basin Area is located in the south east section of Rocky Mountain National Park, CO. Mount Alice is located in the northern part of the Wild Basin - southwest of Longs Peak. Alice is not close to any trailhead. We hiked for 20 miles (round trip) and climbed over 5,000 feet. The route included maintained trails, faint climber's trails, cross country travel, a loose traverse of a ridge, third class rock scrambling, a long traverse of the Divide, descending a nasty scree slope, finally returning to faint trails, and many more miles of maintained trails before returning to the trailhead. Highlights of the trip included: posted bear warnings (and we had just had a bear break into our vehicle), few other hikers (except on the last miles before returning to the trailhead), pristine views of lakes and peaks, flowers, wildlife, and more. Many of our wilderness travel skills were tested on the climb and traverse of Mount Alice.
Mount Alice was a big day. It would be a great adventure for anyone with the skills and physical training to match the challenges. Mount Alice was an adventure that was truly better than expected. Note: the route may be split into an overnight trip, but then you wouldn't have a 20 plus mile day ... :-)
Happy Mount Alice is an Adventure trails