TR: Mt. Langley Day Hike (OAP & NAP) 6/20/15
Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 8:47 pm
I decided to beat the heat of the desert and take a day hike up Mt. Langley. It's a reasonably quick trip to the trail head from my house and because I've done it several times in past years it gives me a good gauge on my fitness level for the hiking season.
The creeks are all still flowing but the levels seem down a bit from my recollections of past "dry" years. I didn't have to endure dawn or dust, but the bugs seemed to be in the 1-2 range. Maybe 1-2 bites all day. I decided to head for "Old" Army Pass since that's my typical route. There was some snow along the trail that caused some minor diversions, but only the very top 50 yards or so did I decided it was unpassable (with reasonable risk). Others might feel more comfortable. I chose to climb up a class 2ish chute to the top just before the snow field. When I was approaching the pass I saw someone climbing the snow chute just below the pass. They were just about at the top when I got there. I made the summit around 12:30 and hung out with the small group there. It was the busiest day I've ever seen on Mt. Langley and everyone seemed to be having a good time - especially once they made the summit. The trail crews have built large cairns to guide hikers up what seems to be the easiest route to the top. I think they are even better for going down than up as I know I've gotten way off trail before (one time ending up on the ridge with the Major General and having to back climb). Those of you who hate cairns will really dislike these. I chose to go down New Army Pass. It was completely clear of snow and in pretty good shape. On the way out I got to see several of the lakes along the south fork. I've always liked these lakes and even though there were a lot of people on the trails I didn't get the sense that the campsites were on top of each other. I made it back to the trail head by about 5:30 and was home in time for dinner. A great way to spend the day!
The creeks are all still flowing but the levels seem down a bit from my recollections of past "dry" years. I didn't have to endure dawn or dust, but the bugs seemed to be in the 1-2 range. Maybe 1-2 bites all day. I decided to head for "Old" Army Pass since that's my typical route. There was some snow along the trail that caused some minor diversions, but only the very top 50 yards or so did I decided it was unpassable (with reasonable risk). Others might feel more comfortable. I chose to climb up a class 2ish chute to the top just before the snow field. When I was approaching the pass I saw someone climbing the snow chute just below the pass. They were just about at the top when I got there. I made the summit around 12:30 and hung out with the small group there. It was the busiest day I've ever seen on Mt. Langley and everyone seemed to be having a good time - especially once they made the summit. The trail crews have built large cairns to guide hikers up what seems to be the easiest route to the top. I think they are even better for going down than up as I know I've gotten way off trail before (one time ending up on the ridge with the Major General and having to back climb). Those of you who hate cairns will really dislike these. I chose to go down New Army Pass. It was completely clear of snow and in pretty good shape. On the way out I got to see several of the lakes along the south fork. I've always liked these lakes and even though there were a lot of people on the trails I didn't get the sense that the campsites were on top of each other. I made it back to the trail head by about 5:30 and was home in time for dinner. A great way to spend the day!