Mt. McLoughlin

.: Yesterday I got a chance to return to something I used to more regularly, go climb a mountain. :) I had been looking at Mt McLoughlin since Ally and I drove into Ashland for the first time and I saw it's pretty snow covered peak sitting all alone in the distance. I thought it was going to be a multi-day trip so I kind of put it off till I ran across an actual trail report. Apparently it is only a 11 mile trail (round trip) with 4000ft vertical. That isn't very much longer then Mount Si or Mailbox Peak... So game on! Granted I didn't have anyone to hike with as Ally was on duty but I was motivated...


.: I started out at 7am to get to the trailhead by 8am... At an average of 2mph I was hoping that I'd make it to the peak by 11ish. Sadly however, I parked at the wrong trailhead. Well it wasn't the "wrong" one, it just want the easy one. Soooo I ended up hiking an extra 2 miles in and 2 miles out and an extra 600 vertical feet (give or take). Ended up being a 14 miles and 5400ft vertical..... Suuuucckkk... I was really hurting by time I was at the summit (at 12:30...) The sad/funny part is that I was actually going to give up and not summit less then 300 ft from the actual top. I told myself that I'd just go around the giant rock and head back down. I went around the rock and BOOM, fire lookout base and the summit.


.: Started back down the mountain after failing to eat lunch cuz I couldn't actually chew it.. Not good... Got down off the seemingly endless ridge (seriously, it went on forever... I thought it was long on the way up.. it seemed twice as long on the way down) Got into the forest and thought I missed a trail branch so I got out my phone to GPS it up... that plus my compass had me on the right track... I was just worrying... Kept my spirits up by singing random songs to myself. Man it sucks hiking alone.

.: I got to my car and couldn't be happier to drive away from the trailhead... I was beaten, bruised, and happy I made it. The mountain didn't beat me. It tried.. It tried really hard.. But I made it..