I did a real hike today, 8.22 miles, 3,800 feet of elevation gain. Granite Mountain is a tough one but worth it. Incredible workout and the views at the top (such as above) are awesome.
It has one of those summits that hikers love to have to themselves. Granite gets busy and while the summit is not tiny, it is not capacious. Basically, you are sitting underneath a lookout tower:
I started up the trail about 5:45 am. I saw not a single person on the way up. On the way down I started to run into people going up, and a few of them asked me how many people were ahead of them – so they would know what to expect on top.
The way to get the summit to yourself is to get up early and head up the trail early. And, not coincidentally, before it gets hot. I soaked one sweatband but that’s not bad for a hike like this. It is rocky and steep, with many, many 2.5 to 3 feet step-ups.
The summit is 5,600 feet. At about 4,800 feet there is a really nice meadow:
A nice feature of this hike is that along the trail, there are opportunities to see your goal. And yikes! You can see how much higher you have to go:
Anyway, it was a great hike. Not sure what I’ll do next but whatever it is, it will be fun.
Here is the track:
