Electric Peak is a 20.3 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail. Elevation gain isĀ 5,282 feet. This was the hardest thing physically I believe I have done in my life.
I started on the trail just as the sun was coming up.
Looks like the bear had a head start on me.
Amazingly the NPS is not trying to get you lost on this trail.
Beautiful seeing the sun rise over me.
Our shadows tall as fishing poles.
My artistic shot.
The trail turns to the more serious hike.
The largest mushroom I have ever seen. This one really does qualify as a toad stool.
Starting to get above the tree line.
The trail is starting to go straight uphill. My pace has really slowed down.
Looking back from where I have been.
Looking forward to where I am going.
More straight up hill.
Well the NPS has no trail markings on the mountain. Took the wrong path and ended out on the rock side. Had to traverse this section hugging the rock.
Looking back.
Very odd trees. They were very bendy and had a pink color to them.
Backwards view.
The views are becoming more amazing. Minus me of course.
You can see the Tetons off in the distance.
Over in the valley is Gardiner.
All rock now.
This was a really cool view.
Well I walked a little more, but basically this was the end of the line for me. I couldn’t see a way onto the summit without free climbing with 1000+ feet drops. I spoke to nine other hikers that day and no one figured it out. One guy was really upset he didn’t make it to the official summit.
Either way the views were unreal.
Well a storm is coming so time to get off the mountain. They don’t call it Electric Peak for nothing. It gets struck by lighting about every day in the summer.
Well now to get back down.
Not so easy finding the right path.
I ended up on some animal paths where I had to get belly to earth and do some sliding. I don’t know if it was the elevation or the materials in the mountain but all of my location tools on my phone failed me. I could send texts and make calls, but it could’t get a read on where I was so I couldn’t use it for back tracking.
Adding a couple of videos for the “being there” feel.
Finally off the mountain and an 8 mile hike left to go. I had to do the last 1.5 miles in the dark.
It was a full moon and I had a light but it was still one of the scariest things I have done knowing I was in an area where bears are. The Salvation Army would have been proud of my bell ringing ability.
The next morning looking up at the mountain from my house in Gardiner knowing I was standing up there yesterday was a feeling of accomplishment.