Exotic Creatures of the mountain

After the switchbacks ended, a nice, flat trail hugged the side of the valley and extended a short distance above and to the left of the river.

Left: Strange beasts encountered along the trail

About 90 minutes into the hike, the trail ended and the difficult part began. The Wilderness trail disappeared and the rest of the trip was mostly navigating across rocks of all shapes and sizes, following ancient deer trails, and climbing, hopping, and walking upwards. It is impossible to climb the enormous fields of talus over the same route as a time previous - or even retrace your steps on the way back down.

Left: Sign, though difficult to see, read: "Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here"

Pretty soon we got to the top of the part of the trail that was a trail no more, to the incomparable dreamy meadow, which had a beautiful pond, and after that it was boulders and nothing but boulders. Jack Kerouac, Dharma Bums

After bushwhacking our way through the dense shrubbery (Left), the surroundings open up (Right)

After the trail ended, the long haul to the "plateau" in the distance was right in front of us, and stayed right in front of us for the next couple of hours. The route we took roughly followed the green on the picture to the right up to the top of the hill.

View Progress/Dharma Bums Excerpt

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