14.5 miles of hiking • 4750' elevation gain •
A mostly off trail trip up Barrett Spur via the Vista Ridge Trail. Hiked several miles through burned forest to the Timberline trail. A side trip to Elk Cove for some views of the mountain, then back, and a trek up to tiny Dollar Lake led to views of Barrett Spur. We started trekking directly up from there and didn't stop for a long time. At the top we listened to thundering cracks as glaciers moved. We descended directly down the loose shale and scree onto the Ladd Glacier. A little glissading led us further into the Ladd Creek valley where we had to bushwhack, boulder scramble, slide, climb and hop down, down, down to the Timberline Trail and Cairn Basin. Took a short break, then hiked down Eden park for flowers. Continued walking through the burned forest and back to the car. Long day ends with Pizza and Beer at Double Mountain.
