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Today's Route Stats:

     Distance:  1.2 miles

     Elevation Gain:  1750 ft

     Elevation Loss:  0 ft

It rained almost all night.  I was very comfortable in my tent, but a few hours before dawn I noticed some water had been leaking into the tent floor.  Not enough to soak thru my bag, but glad we wouldn't be out for another night.  It was cold, wet and cloudy in the morning.  Some of my gear that was stashed under the overhang got wet, but nothing that mattered.  I hung out under the overhang and made breakfast.  By the time I finished breakfast, the clouds had thinned out a little, and it wasn't nearly as threatening.  I took down my tent and spread it out on some bushes to dry. 

I was still packing up when Jorge and Ben came by asking if I was ready to go.  I wasn't expecting them to get such an early start.  They were worried, rightly so, about rain during the steep hike out.  I scrambled to get packed up, which took about 10 minutes. 

After about 15 minutes of hiking, I realized that in my haste to get going, I had left my iPhone at camp.  So I dropped my pack and headed back.  The others waited for me.  It took me about 20 minutes to make the round trip. 

The route starts out with a gradual climb up the talus.  The talus gets steeper the higher up you go. 

Eventually we reached a point where we had to contour over to the exit chute.  It was quite a long contour, longer than I expected.  This was fairly easy as the slope was not overly steep.  After contouring, we entered a very steep chute, with lots of loose scree and talus.  To my amazement, we encountered definite signs of trail construction.  I cannot imagine a horse or cow making it down this route, but I suppose sheep could make it.

The chute was steep and loose, but what made it even more uncomfortable was a light rain mixed with snow.  It was getting very cold.  But we soon popped out on the top, and after a short 10 minute walk, we reached the road and our cars.  My first thought was I'll never do that route again.  But I have been slowing down dramatically as I get older.  But I can still do the easy stuff.  I never thought I would still be backpacking at 70.  So I guess I can't complain.