I recently became a victim of our failing economy and was laid off. The first week I spent reaching out to contacts and applying for jobs that fit my skill set. After an intense hustle and putting the word out I decided I needed to take a break and get centered. My solution was to head to the hills on a solo hike. I chose my destination Strawberry Peak. If you’ve read other entries here you know my brother and I love this place and I’ve covered most of the area but I never made a run for the peak and this past Friday I loaded up the pack and headed towards the top.

The trail up starts on the popular Colby Canyon trail which is scenic and mellow. When you reach the top of Colby Canyon, which is Josephine’s Saddle, the real trip begins. The trail that leads to the top from here is off the developed trail but gets some good use so it’s easy to find. It’s off to the right once you begin the general Strawberry Peak trail. The off-trail follows the ridge line to a big rock face which is probably around 75-100 ft. This rock wall you have to climb up. At first I started a difficult line on the right and after some rethinking and few slips I realized I should be on the left. You have to use your hands and feet to make the top and once there you look past the point rock and take in the view.

From this point you continue on the ridge and eventually hit a forest of pine and fir trees. As you leave the tunnel-like shade of the trees you come to a clearing of huge rocks and downed trees. There in front of you is your destination, the top of the peak.

As I made my way from stone to stone I stopped and took in the sites from the shade of a tree.

As I left this rock garden I came to the bottom of the peak and to the left was a 6,000 ft drop along a huge granite wall. The climb up would be almost vertical but nothing that needed equipment. There were plenty of foot and hand holds but caution had to be exercised.

There are plenty of arrows that help you reach the top and these arrows are life savers on the way down (more on that later). The climb up was exhausting not to mention I did it under 2 hours. Even though I was tired, the view made up for it and the sense of accomplishment was the great reward.

I imagined this is what it might feel like for the true mountaineers who set out to conquer the worlds largest peaks. Grant it, this peak is only 6,400 ft high but it’s nice to day dream. After a Cliff Bar and some deep thoughts I headed back down and this is where the real fun began. The climb down was scary and I even got lost a few times. Once I realized I was heading in the wrong direction I’d take a bearing with my compass, pick an object and head towards it. I didn’t panic at any point but I definitely was humbled on many occasions. The main thing that helped me was carrying a compass and picking landmarks for goals. When navigating the rock trails and walls, some one was nice enough to mark the routes so I began to look for these little white arrows or purple dots. After a few wrong turns and a corrected direction I made it back to the Colby Canyon trail to head back to the car. It was an amazing adventure and probably my favorite hike so far in the area. It has a little bit of everything from hiking to basic climbing. If you want more details on how to get there and more info check the following links:

Modern Hiker
Adventure Hikes