They were calling for rain and so plans change. I had wanted to do the Dix Range, all 5 peaks. Instead I just did Colvin and Blake and it was perfect.
If you want to do what I did:
We got up at 4am and had our reservation at the AMR parking lot at 5:15am. It’s a long walk down a stupid road before the real hiking starts. Colvin was beautiful, no bugs, not much mud. We got to the top of Colvin just as the clouds started rolling in.
I did Blake alone and it was awful. Straight down, straight up, mud and more mud. It started thundering while I was in the col between the two. The thunder followed me the whole way down but it never really rained. It was perfect.
I met back with my friends on the road and was able to walk out with them. Perfect.
The sun came out and we ate pizza at Paradox brewery until we couldn’t eat anymore.
The next day our legs hurt and we hiked up to the Hadley Fire Tower anyway. The wind was so violent at the top, it ripped my hat away and blew it into a blueberry bush. It was perfect.
