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Rocky Mountain Ramblers Association

Trip Report
Trip Date:
28-May-2020
Activity:
Trail hike
Trip name:
Wasootch Ridge to 2nd cairn
Coordinator:
Ron
Report:

It was clear blue sky for the start of the hike and a little cool, which was great because that is a steep grunt from the get-go for the first stretch out of the parking lot. We were rewarded with excellent views of the surrounding snow-topped peaks in all directions:




Rosanne & John under clear blue skies

The ridge was mostly bare and dry, with a few snow patches further up that were no problem. Just before noon we arrived at the 2nd cairn and decided to go a bit further for a higher dining location:



Just past 2nd cairn, our lunch spot was the peaklet on the left




partial group photo: Brian, Gary, Tatyana & John with Rosanne behind

Once on the small subpeak there were lots of flattish rocks to maintain some physical distance and still admire the view:



Lunch with high point of Wasootch Ridge on left

We spotted a couple of groups who had continued on and binoculars revealed they made it to the ridge summit; it looked like relatively good conditions for the ascent. One nice aspect was the lack of any wind, unusual in your scribe's experience of this hike. After a leisurely lunch we retraced our steps:



Starting the descent




traipsing along the ridge with Mt Rundle in the distance

It did cloud over as we descended and was completely overcast by the end, but maintained warm temperature to the end. We were back at the cars around 4. The parking lot must have been full earlier because a few cars were parked along the access road. On the drive back there were lots of cars at the Mount Baldy trailhead, while Barrier Lake was packed and about thirty cars along the highway despite signs saying not to park along the side of the road. Memo to self: avoid this spot on the weekend.

Participants: Rosanne, Philip, Ron C/S/P, Dean, Nancy, Jeannette, Gary, Brian, Tatyana (1st hike with the Ramblers- Welcome!) & John.