Fast Facts:
Base Elevation: 9,717
Summit Elevation: 10,720
Elevation Gain: 1,003
Round Trip: 3 miles
Date: October 16, 2016
This was my first summit hike as a Park City resident and I was able to persuade my oldest son, Sebastian (13 at the time), and his 3 buddies (Cutter, Mitch & Gavin) plus one of my friends, Tom, to join. It was a chilly fall day in mid-October and we had already received our first snowfall but very little snow remained. We drove from PC over Empire Pass to Guardsman Pass and parked in the parking lot at the top of the pass. From the parking lot, there are two trail options: 1) east to Bloods Lake and 2) south up the steep ridge to 10420. Since the goal was to summit, we headed south which immediately goes perpendicular. The first few hundred yards feel like a vertical wall which inspired some grumbling from the kids but they marched on (nothing like a little friendly competition among the boys). The good news is that the 10420 summit is only 1 mile from the trail head so we were at the top before you know it. I wasn’t sure if the boys would be up for continuing on to summit Clayton’s but Cutter encouraged the others go for the two for one. So we walked down the south side of 10420 to the saddle between the two peaks and then made our way up to the summit of Clayton’s. The top of Clayton’s gets a little technical with some required scrambling over the big mounds of boulders. There are no cliffs or sharp ledges so you just have to take your time and be mindful. Despite the boy’s limited experience with scrambling, they scurried over the rocks and made it to the summit before I did (it is good to be young). The views from the summit were spectacular with Lackawaxen Lake right below us, Heber/Midway off in the southeast distance, the backside of Deer Valley towards the east and to our west you could peer directly into the Brighton Ski area. In fact, Brighton’s Great Western chairlift is just a stone’s throw away. The wind started to pick up and a few snow flurries began to fall so we didn’t spend much time on the summit but I could tell the boys really appreciated the accomplishment. When they ask you to take their photo, it is confirmation that they think it is “cool”.
Yorumlar