Once you’ve soaked up the spectacular summit view, take off your crampons (this is imperative), don your waterproof pants and get ready for the stunning glissade down 3500 feet. In the summer months you will find well-groomed glissade shoots, gouged into the mountain’s snow by many a hiker’s weary bottom. The glissade from Piker’s Peak to Lunch Counter rewards hikers with a 10 minute descent down 2,700 vertical feet in twisting, turning and exhilarating chute.
The mountain lies in the cusp of Twin Falls State Park and offers hikers a versatile adventure that includes scrambling up steep trails, testing out bouldering skills, strolling between mountaintops on level plateaus and—of course—enjoying stunning, uninterrupted summit views.
The old road-turned-trail only gains a small amount of elevation as it winds through flowering meadows, offering glimpses of Pikers Peak and Mt St Helens through the trees.
In my navigation classes I’ll use features (roads, trail segments) that I know are laid out in true north to stay dialed in. Faulty compasses jump right out with their inaccuracies when you trek along a route that you know runs true north.
The first switchback teases hikers with a brief glimpse of Bandera Mountain’s steep slopes before turning to climb upward along the mountain. The trail opens up to switchback along a talus slope, offering spectacular views of the surrounding mountains.
The starting elevation at this trailhead is 6,760′ and over the course of two miles you will climb to the top of Mount Waterman at 8,038′. There are some cool rock formations on and near the summit so bring your scrambling shoes!
Enjoy the progression from dark thickets of evergreen trees to flowering alpine meadows to granite cliffs as you climb up to the mountain’s highest peaks. A rickety fire lookout stands aloft at the very top of Granite Mountain, offering spectacular 360 degree views on a clear day.
If you’re looking for an exciting family-friendly hike right off of Highway 2, look no further than the Heybrook Lookout Trail. The trail is rigorous and steep, but rewards hikers for every step with a stunning view at the very end.
You only need to take a few photos in the snow to see it. There are all sorts of problems with shooting photos with all that[Read More…]
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