Sunday, January 21
Summits: Garfield
Start/Finish: Gale River Rd winter parking
Miles: 11.9
Elevation gain/loss: 3691′
I left from the full parking lot at 2:40pm, and quickly crossed paths with the large group that was returning from their hike. I carried my snowshoes just in case, but figured I likely wouldn’t need them. The walk in on the road was smooth and quick, and the trail was well-packed out. I put on my headlamp when I was a bit shy of the Garfield Ridge trail intersection, but the cloudless sky and the 3/4 moon was so bright, I only needed a bit of light for the shadowed parts of the trail.
I was able to get some pictures of the last bits of sunset color, and a moonlit summit photo, but didn’t dawdle since it was -1 actual and -25 windchill. I then joyfully headed back down the way I’d come, only needing my redlight to navigate since the moon was such a strong presence. I made it back to my car very quickly, finishing by ~7:30pm. Back at the car, I quickly changed into dry clothes in the 0-degree cold and then started driving back home, having gridded out January!
