Fri 7/22 - AM 80 minutes

CR 3 to Mosquito Pass, or nearby to it. Made it to the ridgeline anyway, just below to be accurate as I caught up to the CH who was hiking the same route with headstart. Immediately felt the effects of the thin air upon heading up the road. As it got higher, the road got steeper, and the footing more problematic, which made for a triple whammy. Kept up the running until reaching the first major switchback crisscrossing the steep sides of the ridge, at which point I had to mix in walking breaks on the steepest pitches or else risk losing consciousness. Topped out somewhere a little below 13,000' which will certainly do. I had plans of trying to tackle one of the local 14ers but in hindsight the views were just as spectacular from the pass and the route smoother and more compelling. The CH and I hiked back down to the point at which the road changes from smooth wide gravel to rocky 4WD, where the car and lunch were waiting for us.