Cameron's Cone!

Made a solo attempt at Cameron's Cone last Saturday. Wasn't sure what to expect, it was my first attempt at a trail-less climb where I'd hafta navigate instead of just follow the beaten path.

Thanks to the internet, I had a decent idea of where to go, and more importantly, where not to go. The hike went very well. Had some troubles right off the bat after crossing the cog railway. Couldn't find the path and I ended up doing some serious bushwacking. But I kept at it, and slowly made my way up the mountain.

The bushwacking took forever, but eventually I found myself on Magog Ridge and I was able to pick up the pace a bit. Beautiful rock formations, and incredible views of Pikes from the ridge. Continued up the ridge, then circled around to the southeast face as to avoid the more serious climbs. Eventually I decided to attack and before I knew it I was at the peak.

Figured going down would be fast and easy, but I actually got into a little trouble. Ended up going too far east before descending, and I got stuck in a deep ravine. I crawled over and around a bunch of house sized boulders, and knew that there was no way I could retreat if I had to. Not the kind of position I wanted to get myself into on my first real peak attempt, but oh well.

Ended up pushing ahead and eventually ended up at the Cog Railway, where my jeep was parked. Though it took me a lot longer than I thought it would, and physically I was wiped out by the time it was all finished, overall it was a successful outing.

start: 11AM
10,000 feet: 2:20PM
peak: 2:45PM (10,707 feet)
finish: 6:15PM
total distance: approx 8 miles