Until someone gets hurt. And that applies to our most recent guest, as well as explaining why we were hired to lead this hiking trip in the first place. You see, earlier this year this guest was trail running, solo, and suffered an accidental fall. She tripped on a root and the resulting fall was fairly significant by way of her physical injuries sustained. We won’t get into details here — it’s unimportant — but we will say the accident inspired some changes. Particularly as it concerns hitting the trails solo. A concern also shared by her husband.
The objective for this hike was Mt Garfield. If our math is correct, this was her 7th 4000-footer (though she has added experience from all over and was recently living and hiking in the Lake Tahoe area). Garfield was chosen because winter access is extended by way of a closed forest service road so our guest figured that was a good one to get checked off before the road closes to vehicular traffic. Leading this hike was Redline Guide Rhonda Willette. What follows is her short summary and a handful of photos.
Our guest kept a good, steady pace and we didn’t slow for much. Pictures were minimal (see below). Rain started at the junction of Garfield Ridge Trail and we were in the clouds at the summit. The rain let up on the descent and by the time we reached the trailhead the sun was out again. —Rhonda
