Junction Hill via south ridge out & back Off-Trail hike on 5-Apr-2025

The coordinator made a day-altering mistake in the morning: the promise of warm spring weather had me put on sandals for the drive to the trailhead, rather than the running shoes that housed my left orthotic. So my left hiking boot didn’t even have an insole - and therefore walking would be impossible without a lot of pain. However, we managed to cobble together a substitute for my size 11.5 boot using a size 7.5 insole that had a heel cup, a size 8.5 flat insole on top for extra length, and a metatarsal pad that I fortuitously carry in my pack!
Our original destination would have been 13 km with a lot of road walking, so the precarious nature of my foot health suggested that a shorter excursion would be advisable. Junction Hill was right there and I had never done it, so up we went clockwise, routefinding because none of us knew the way and there were no tracks for us to follow in the deepening but mostly supportive snow. Other than a brief section of thigh-deep postholing, we found a good way up with increasingly good views. The final section to the summit had good snow mostly covering the slabs, and we were able to carefully reach the summit in brilliant sunshine but strong wind. Rather than risk the horseshoe with untracked snow covering rock, we descended the way we came before the sun softened the snow, stopping for lunch in sun and out of the wind. Overall it was a brilliant day!
We saw 3 rams at the summit, a mourning cloak butterfly, and many hawks.

Great views all day

Almost there

Rams just below the summit

View of Holy Cross from summit

Back on safer terrain after the snow-covered slab and boulders

Out of winter and back into spring

My foot next to the bottom-layer size 7.5 insole, top layer size 8.5 insole with metatarsal pad, and size 11 right orthotic