Later this week, I'll be having surgery on a bunion on my right foot. It has been bothering me for about three years now, and it is slowly getting worse, so I decided to get it fixed, and take my recovery time over the winter months. The doctor tells me that I will be in a flat shoe for a month, and then two more months after that before I can resume rigorous activities.
Knowing this, I decided to get one more hike in yesterday to the summit of Grandeur Peak. It was a cold day, but the hike up was nice, as the sun was shining for the most part. Once on top, while eating my lunch, a cloud formed between Mount Olympus and Grandeur and blocked the sun. It didn't take long before I was freezing, so I packed up and headed down. I was about 1/3 of the way down before I got feeling back in my fingers.
View of Grandeur Peak from the northwest at valley level on my way to the trailhead
Tollbooth in Millcreek Canyon
Entering the National Forest
The Subaru
Millcreek
Church Fork
Three miles that way
Typical of trail conditions
Grandeur above
First good view to the north
Clouds on Church Fork Peak to the east
The summit of Grandeur above
The trail is curving around to the west side of Grandeur, with the first wide views of the valley below
Salt lake Valley below
These were waiting to be photographed just before the summit
Summit shot
Lunch time
Two little pieces of Tony's Chocolonely that I had to quickly eat once the sun went
Behind the forming cloud.
View down into Church Fork on my way down, with the cloud that blocked the sun on the summit in the upper right of the image
This guy was yacking at me on my way down
Falls on Church Fork
Back at the Sube.
Another shot of Grandeur at valley level, this time from the southwest on my way home.
And I stopped by Epic Brewery and bought some of their latest Big Bad Baptist line to help me make it through the next 3 months.
Surely these will help me heal faster? Right?