Shirley and I meet for a great hike. We meet at the top of Lake Ave, then headed up to Echo Mountain. We both felt really great that far, so we continued on up Crystal Canyon to Inspiration Point. It is nice to get away from the crowds once you start up Crystal Canyon. I can't believe how much easier it was for me this time. Unfortunately it was a little overcast up there, but still beautiful. Before we headed down the mountain, we decided to check out the trail to Mt Lowe. Since we had no idea how far it went, we set a time limit. We got pretty far up before we turned around. I am still trying to see how close we were to making it to the half way point of the Mt. Lowe loop, though I have a sneaking suspicion that we still had a long way to go.
Either way, it was a good idea to turn back. We were both pretty tired on the way down. In fact, my left knee was pretty sore by the time we got within a mile of the bottom. I was SO glad we hadn't put any extra miles in. I will need to see if I can get a little support for my knee for the downhill. I was really glad to have my hiking poles too. It was really a great hike. I look forward to seeing some pictures from Shirley. And hope we get to hike again soon. Of course, you will note the super fast last mile or so - I forgot to turn my watch off when I got back to the car. Oh well.
The amazing part of this hike was the altitude and the altitude gain: we reach 5148 feet,, which was an elevation gain of 3,396 feet. Not a bad way to spend the day.
Summary
| Distance: | 13.03 mi |
| Time: | 6:40:49 |
| Avg Pace: | 30:00 min/mi |
| Elevation Gain: | 3,396 ft |
Elevation
| Elevation Gain: | 3,396 ft |
| Elevation Loss: | 3,734 ft |
| Min Elevation: | 1,504 ft |
| Max Elevation: | 5,148 ft |
Laps14
