17.5 miles of hiking • 4750' elevation gain •
Decided it was time to see how tackling Table from the Bonneville trailhead, now that the Hot Springs has been sold and is off-limits, changed this old favorite. This definitely adds to the challenge, no doubts about it! It's a good 6.5 miles and 1700' of EG just to the point where the PCT meets the old trail up, and you're still no where near half way up given the roller-coaster nature of the 700 year-old landslide the trail crosses getting there.
Went up Heartbreak Ridge, which was probably a strategic mistake. Trail was under snow from the Two Chiefs viewpoint over to the boulder field, and again from the top of the boulder field to, well, the top! I think Westway may have been the better ascent option still, but who knows? Came down the same way, given how late in the day it was and how many unknowns there may have been using another untraveled exit.
My footprints were almost the only ones up top. Saw one other set, that could've been day old. Views were spectacular! The farther trailhead will keep them pretty serene, too, most likely. At least until a closer trailhead gets built.
