SPS (132/247) ⛰️
CA 13.5er (37/524) 🏔️

This was the first SPS peak I’ve done where I didn’t wear a jacket or thermal for the entirety of the outing. Many strange things happened throughout the long day. First I observed a star suddenly increase in brightness and then disappear. Later in the day I saw a person who was never there. Sean K witnessed lights reflecting off the bushes during our hike out, which weren’t really there. Sean and I observed a light emanating from the summit of Kid Mountain, and a few moments later it disappeared. Time in general seemed to fly by; this kind of hike shouldn’t have taken us so long, and I still don’t really have a strong justification for why it took us 17 hours and 40 minutes, and Chris/Dylan over 18.

This hike is unique because I don’t think there is a single pine tree along the way. You start in the desert and then at Birch Lake you suddenly find yourself in an alpine zone surrounded by talus and snow. There is not subalpine transition zone.