Cartago Peak / Muah Mountain
Ascents of Cartago Peak (from the PCT, class 3) and Muah Mountain (Northwest Slope, class 2), with Claire Wacziarg, May 14-16, 2021.
Timeline:
May 14, 2021. Claire and I left the trailhead at Horseshoe Meadow at 17:37 and encountered very dry conditions on the way over Mulkey Pass. We found water in Diaz Creek, so set up camp there, not far from the PCT. We were in camp at 19:49, had dinner as the sun was setting, and went to bed shortly thereafter. (A 2:12 hour day, 5.6 miles, 770 feet of elevation gain).
May 15, 2021. The alarm went off at 6:15. The plan for the day was to hike toward Cartago Peak, some 12 miles away, so that I could climb it. We left camp at 7:27 and hiked at a good pace southbound along the PCT. After 8.2 miles, we stopped for a lunch of salami and crackers. Claire decided to head back to camp and at 10:55 I took off cross-country across Death Canyon toward the summit area of Cartago Peak. Thanks to a photo I had printed and to my GPS wristwatch, I easily located the correct summit pinnacle. I hiked up the class 2 ramp leading to the summit ridge, and then traversed over exposed class 3 blocks along the very crest (on the way down I found an easier way that leads straight to the summit proper). I reached the summit at 12:23 and spent about 20 minutes taking in the awesome views and checking out the summit register (dating back to 1970 - as old as me). I left the summit at 12:42 and re-crossed Death Canyon, though my way back to the PCT was not as efficient on the return. I settled at a steady 3 mph pace on the trail and was back in camp at 17:20, finding Claire comfortably settled in the tent. We had a nice evening in camp and went to bed early. The weather forecast for the next day was not good, so I would have to get an early start for Muah Mountain. (A 9:53 hour day, 23.2 miles, 4,280 feet of elevation gain).
May 16, 2021. I woke up at 6:00. The clouds were already gathering, but the sun poked through and the worst of the weather was in the distance. I set out from camp at 6:40 after a quick breakfast. I reached the summit of Muah Mountain at 7:53, and stayed on the summit for about 15 minutes. The return was fast - I was back in camp at 9:00. Claire was having breakfast. We packed up camp and left at 9:52, making our way up slowly to Mulkey Pass. There, we decided to take the short traverse to Trail Pass, from which we dropped down to Horseshoe Meadow. Shortly before we reached the trailhead, it started to snow lightly. We were back at the car at 12:16. We went for lunch in Lone Pine and drove back to LA. (A 5:36 hour day, 9.1 miles, 2,560 feet of elevation gain).
Trip totals: 17:41 hours, 37.9 miles, 7,610 feet of elevation gain.