Mt Sherman

I got up early for my hike up Mt Sherman, left the hotel before 6am and was parked at 7am. In between I drove 11 miles on the worst dirt road of this trip, it was horrible and scary with so many obstacles sticking up and loose rocks.

The first part of the hike was on the continuation of this same road, and with so many mountains ahead of me I didn't know which was Mt Sherman, and as it turned out none of them were. It was freezing cold and this is the first hike I've done where I wore my fleece right from the start and only took it off half an hour before I finished. The road passed several derelict mining buildings and climbed steadily. I was already above the tree line and there was plenty of patchy snow.

Once I left the road there were two snowfields to cross and then a long section of talus and dirt leading up onto a ridge. It was bitterly cold on the ridge with a strong wind but sometimes the trail went below the ridge and that was great as it was protected. The condition of the ridge deteriorated and became loose talus. The climbing was not too steep and I felt so much better than yesterday, even at the same altitude.

At the top of the ridge were several hundred metres of flattish walking to the summit. There was a nice surprise for me at the summit. On the way up I had noticed a town far off to my left. On the summit some hikers told me it was Leadville. But what was really great about this was that I was looking down on the very trails and road I had been on during the race; I recognised the area easily as it was the section between the 7 mile and 14 mile aid stations. It didn't look as hot as it had been when I was there!

The day was warming up as I descended, but clouds were appearing. I walked slowly back down the valley and was pleased with the scenic parking spot I had chosen for the car.

I think this will be my final hike for this trip, and final dirt road; yay!