Tue 2/19 - AM 4.5 hours

Tanque Verde Ridge trail, from the visitor center to the summit and back. Having learned from last year's ordeal, I took a pass on the mega-loop and did the out and back instead. The descent wasn't exactly fun and took longer than expected thanks to the steepness of the trail and the fact that my quads are destroyed from the past two days of up and down. Still overall a much more positive experience than the last time I was here. While I remembered the numerous false summits on the way to the top I had forgotten that their existence meant some up and down traversing the saddles between the trailhead and Juniper Basin. Also underestimated how long it would take to cover the final 2.1 miles between Juniper Basin and the summit. Wind picked up as the day progressed, with a winter storm bearing down. What that means in this climate I don't entirely know.

 snow at 6,000'

 snag at Juniper Basin

 summit view #1

 summit view #2

 summit view #3

summit view #4