Topo and route for today. 28-30 miles depending on who you ask and 8000+ ft elevation gain. Bottchers Gap trailhead in the upper left, VDC in the lower right.
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Hit the trail by headlamp a little before 4am. (2nd trip in a row that Larry the camp host was not up to greet me :)) Bright half moon tonight, but the early trail was forested and very dark. Spent much of the first hour trying to guess if the things buzzing past my head were bats, birds, or bugs.
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Over the first minor ridge and down to the junction with the Apple Tree camp trail. Just starting to get light and a nice cool 55 degrees out.
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Up atop Devils Peak a little before sunrise looking back at Pico Blanco. Pico Blanco would be the dominant landmark on the horizen all day, as the route made a wide half circle around the peak.
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A first view of the silhouette of Uncle Sam, Double Cone, the Window and Kandlbinder from Devils Peak.
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Flat top of Devils Peak with a trailsign marking the path back down. Mt Carmel is in the background and a short distance away, but it was not on my days itinerary.
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Just past the unsigned trail junction with the Mt Carmel trail, beginning the decent down from Devils Peak. This side of the ridge was a bit damp (the original side had been bone dry)
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Another shot of the window as the trail winded its way down toward Big Pines. Lots of wildflowers today, but most were past their peak and beginning to dry out.
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Pico Blanco framed by a ridgetop tree. The decent from Devils Peak was fairly steep and I was sure I wouldn't be enjoying the ascent on the return trip.
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