Couch, Santanoni, & Panther

Success on climbing Couch, Santanoni, and Panther on Monday, 8/4, but what a long, wet, mud-swallowing-boot experience it was. We camped at Santanoni leanto Sunday night to be ready for the long day. What an experience it is just to get to leanto as the trail is very, very wet and muddy. We started at 8AM from the leanto and followed the classic route from the beaver dam on the blue trail (wet, wet, wet) and reached Times Square (TS) by 10AM. We decided on Couch first and reached the summit by noon. Temps were good with only intermittent showers, but the sun shone briefly as we reached the summit. Stay to the right when crossing the swamp after the long descent from TS. We were back to TS by 1:45 PM and headed to Santanoni reaching it at 3PM. The trail was also wet and muddy but manageable. Skies began clearing to afford views of surrounding peaks. Back to TS for the final quick ascent of Panther which afforded the best views all day. We were back to the leanto by 7PM and enjoyed a great night's sleep. All in all a great day for mud-bathing and climbing. I think the trail from the parking lot to the beaver dam is best climbed in rubber boots, then switch to hiking boots for the mountain treks. Bugs were no problem at all. If going for the day only, start early and climb Santanoni first up the newly re-opened trail. This avoids the mess around the dam going up. You'll still have to deal with it coming back. In any case, enjoy a long day of hiking. Bring along all the usual summer equipment.