First off, a big thanks to 4Xsummit, Ken+5, and Peter. (I apologize if I missed anyone.)
Concerning the road to the trailhead: The dirt road leading to the trailhead wasn’t quite as bad as I had feared. I *probably* could have made it in my Intrepid, but the suspension would have never been the same again. Taking a friend’s Jeep was a much better idea. So thanks very much for the warning.
Concerning the heat: It certainly got warm pretty quickly on the east side of the trail, so very good advice on getting an early start.
About the trail: Everyone warned that this trail is one steep puppy … and they weren’t kidding; absolutely relentless elevation gain over 6 miles (first mile was pretty easy). I never thought I’d ever say this, but the makers of this trail could easily have thrown in another hundred-or-so set of switchbacks.
Nonetheless, we successfully made it over the pass, intersected the JMT, and scouted out a good place (just south of the Bench Lake trail junction) to make a food drop next season.
One last big thanks to Doug for having this board where I could get good information about this particular trial. I most likely wouldn’t have succeeded without it.
