With plans for later in the year looming large I felt a little out of shape and generally deficient in the finer points of extreme adventuring. Although it would have been best to do some serious steep slope work on snow I had only until 1pm to play... er... train. Rich and Scott, my partners for the summer, were up for an early morning trip as long as we planned it so my early departure didn't mean they had to cut their day short. Understandable, but a bit more difficult. We settled on a return to Putrid Pete's Peak, a ridge run to Web Mountain, and then if time allowed, we could always hit Mt. Defiance.
The weather wasn't great, but at least it wasn't hot. We started at eight and made good time up to Putrid Pete's Peak. We've all been there once or twice or even thrice before. Heck it'd have been a quadruple except I wisely turned back when Clara was just a weight in the pack.
Looking to the west Web Mountain didn't see too terribly far away. I should have plenty of time, right? So we scrambled across some bare rock, skirted cornices, and picked our way to the summit of Web. The views weren't any different. The elevation was just a few feet above Putrid Pete's Peak so none of this should be any surprise. Looking at my watch I realized I needed to head home with no delay. After a bit of hilarity trying to take summit pictures (note: too many exposures brings out the inner children of hikers) we headed back. Just before resummitting Putrid I headed down while Rich and Scott continued along the ridge.
From Web I had all of 90 minutes to get down. Needless to say, my descent was rapid. Still, I stopped to talk with the old guy looking for Mason Lake ("Uh... no, not here.") and slowed when I had to go over or under a log across the trail (you only make that mistake once). I got to the car spot on time, threw my gear in the trunk, and sped home arriving a full 15 minutes before my deadline.
A good morning workout even if it was short. Only 4.5 miles and 3,000 feet of gain.
