percious
Well-known member
Follow up
Ok, we survived. Our plan was to hit the Eagle slide on giant. I think we missed it, but had an enjoyable time climbing anyway. Our plan was to hit the shelter in the valley between Giant and Green, which we did. From there, we continued Magnetic South until we could see a slide. I believe the slide we emerged on is in the background of this picture:
http://www.summitpost.org/mountains...5&type=mountain&mountain_id=435&route_id=1805
So this is NOT the eagle slide, by my estimates. It is however, a very long, and enjoyable slide, and I would do it again. Bushwhacking to the base proved challenging due to blowdown, but non-the-less fun. I have learned that it is best to skirt the blowdown. What is great about this whack is that you can see the slide for about 1/2 of it, so it is easy to find your way there.
Once on the slide, we donned our rock shoes, which was probably a mistake. 50 yards up the slide there was a trap of trees, which caused us to switch back to boots. It's not too steep below the tree trap, so, hiking boots would suffice. Further up the slide however, rock shoes are advisable. After a long climb with magnificent views, we reached the top. From there it was a fight through a wall of pine trees, skirting blowdown where possible to get to the summit trail. This slide puts you about 1/10th of a mile from the summit of Giant.
From there, we continued on towards RPR, after a wet lunch. We ate in a cloud, glad to be off the slide before anything more then a drizzle came. Rocky Peak Ridge is spectacular. As we descended from the (2nd) summit, we could view Mary Loiuse Pond, behind that Bald Peak, and finally a rainbow. It was interesting to look down on a rainbow. To bad we forgot our cameras. RPR->MLP is awesome. Wild flowers, endless Alpine Zone, and interesting cairnes. I think RPR is my favorite high peak, out of the 22 I have completed. The views are also great, but would have been even better if the weather had been nice. I look forward to visiting again.
After leaving the alpine zone, and making it over the blueberried path over Bald hill, the trail was difficult. We were tired from our slide climb, and there was no water to be seen, after that alpine pond. We were thirsty. On the last 100 yards or so we passed a group of fresh hikers heading in, inquiring jokingly "are we there yet?" No. But I hope they made it there, and enjoyed the journey along the way.
RPR is definately a trail that expresses the idea that the journey is often better then the destination.
-percious
Ok, we survived. Our plan was to hit the Eagle slide on giant. I think we missed it, but had an enjoyable time climbing anyway. Our plan was to hit the shelter in the valley between Giant and Green, which we did. From there, we continued Magnetic South until we could see a slide. I believe the slide we emerged on is in the background of this picture:
http://www.summitpost.org/mountains...5&type=mountain&mountain_id=435&route_id=1805
So this is NOT the eagle slide, by my estimates. It is however, a very long, and enjoyable slide, and I would do it again. Bushwhacking to the base proved challenging due to blowdown, but non-the-less fun. I have learned that it is best to skirt the blowdown. What is great about this whack is that you can see the slide for about 1/2 of it, so it is easy to find your way there.
Once on the slide, we donned our rock shoes, which was probably a mistake. 50 yards up the slide there was a trap of trees, which caused us to switch back to boots. It's not too steep below the tree trap, so, hiking boots would suffice. Further up the slide however, rock shoes are advisable. After a long climb with magnificent views, we reached the top. From there it was a fight through a wall of pine trees, skirting blowdown where possible to get to the summit trail. This slide puts you about 1/10th of a mile from the summit of Giant.
From there, we continued on towards RPR, after a wet lunch. We ate in a cloud, glad to be off the slide before anything more then a drizzle came. Rocky Peak Ridge is spectacular. As we descended from the (2nd) summit, we could view Mary Loiuse Pond, behind that Bald Peak, and finally a rainbow. It was interesting to look down on a rainbow. To bad we forgot our cameras. RPR->MLP is awesome. Wild flowers, endless Alpine Zone, and interesting cairnes. I think RPR is my favorite high peak, out of the 22 I have completed. The views are also great, but would have been even better if the weather had been nice. I look forward to visiting again.
After leaving the alpine zone, and making it over the blueberried path over Bald hill, the trail was difficult. We were tired from our slide climb, and there was no water to be seen, after that alpine pond. We were thirsty. On the last 100 yards or so we passed a group of fresh hikers heading in, inquiring jokingly "are we there yet?" No. But I hope they made it there, and enjoyed the journey along the way.
RPR is definately a trail that expresses the idea that the journey is often better then the destination.
-percious
