Mt Jumbo Hike 7-30-2013

Trail was mostly dry. Just a little mud.
No snow that we had to cross.
The flies were annoying when you stopped. At the top there was a breeze.
No bear sign except for one little pile of poo that was way old.

Well, after Sheep, this trail didn’t seem too terribly bad. But compared to Juneau, it was way more of a scramble. I brought my trekking poles, but it was just so steep, that it wasn’t really practical to use them. Going up, there were some big steps, but there are a lot of trees and roots that you can grab a hold of and use to pull yourself up. Coming down I sat or squatted to get closer to the ground for most of it. Plus, I really didn’t want to fall. The way down is a total knee killer. If it wasn’t so hot out, I would have tapped. But when it’s this hot out, the tape just sweats off. In the future, know that if you have knee issues, you may want to pop some Advil at the top.

We started at around 2.30pm, and that was perfect. It was nice and cool in the shade, but when we got to the top with it’s lack of trees it was pretty toasty. The saddle was clear of snow for us, but I guess this time last year it was still covered. There are quite a few little ‘photo trails’ that can be confused for the trail, but they dead end pretty quick, and usually at a nice view – so it’s not all bad to take them.

When we got towards the top, we passed a group who had a Bischon. I was impressed to see a ‘little’ dog up there, but I guess the little guy summits peaks regularly. At the legit top there was a group of women leaving with three Aussies, and they said their bigger dogs didn’t have a problem getting up the scramble. I wonder if they had to carry or help the little dog at all. Either way, way to go dogs!

Now that I have done both Jumbo and Juneau, I think Jumbo has the better views. Totally worth the scramble up.