Many people have summited this 4000-footer. Or, rather, many thought to have summited it. We see the photos on social media. They take us along on their adventure. We see photos of the trailhead, the road, the crossing, the hike up, the people, the breaks, the junctions, the ridge, the pristine boreal zone, the old fire warden’s cabin, the old tower clearing (the lower summit as described in the guide), then they reverse their direction without a summit photo. The thought-to-be summit photos are present, but not the actual summit. The trail goes downhill after the clearing for a bit so the assumption made by some at this point is wrong. Technically it’s a far enough miss that the hike needs to be repeated. This, of course, can be preempted by thoroughly reading the guide book…
Or avoided by hiring a guide. That’s what some of our guests do. This returning guest, for example, bagging her fifteenth peak, was led by Redline Guide Mike Maciel and he assured they got the real summit, meaning even sending her in the direction of the high bump 30 feet from the summit sign. This one counts, he saw to that! Mike took a few photos, which of course we compiled in a short video.
Good job, Mike, and congratulations to our guest. Thanks for again choosing Redline Guiding.