Waterman Mountain:
On October 21, 2012 I hiked up the Waterman Mountain trail and it is a wonderful hike. The majority of the hike is very easy and only the last 1/10 of a mile is strenuous. I recommend this hike to everyone that can find the time to go out. The trail is about 2.5 miles up to the peak and takes about 2.5-3 hours to complete.
In order to get to the trail head, take the 210 to the 2 and drive north for 34 miles. You will pass the Waterman Mountain ski lift on the right and drive about a half a mile to the 58.02 mile marker. Park on the open area on your left and cross the highway.
Here is where I got confused and almost ended my hiking day. The trail begins at a pretty steep incline and then immediately forks. I did not see the trail going left and instead went right. The path up towards the right leads to nothing. It is an interesting little clearing but has no trail in sight. I walked around this area for about 20 minutes looking for a trail. I had started late in the day and if I was going to beat nightfall I had to hurry. I made my way back to the car, drove back to the ski lift , looked for a trail there, and decided to try one more time. I had done plenty of research on the trail and all my research had given similar instructions to what I posted above. All of my sources said that the trail begins very gently. This incline is about as gentle as a porcupine and surely this couldn't be it. I looked at the trail head again and this time I noticed the gentle trail shooting off to the left along the highway.
The trail ascends very easily and the first .75 of a mile is nearly flat. After about a .2 of a mile I crossed an intersection. The trail keeps straight but if I had turn left I would walk right to the highway. After a few minutes I ran into some hikers returning back to their car. They warned me that there was no way I could make it back before nightfall and should turn back. I decided that I would continue for awhile and then turn around. I told myself that I would turn back when the trail started to get steep.
This trail is climbing through the woods and most of the views are blocked by pine trees. It seemed like a more stereotypical hike than the two previous trails that I have taken. However, about 1.5 miles into the hike I reached a point where the trees subside just enough to where I caught a breathtaking view of the National Forest Wilderness.
After this view the trail begins to get a little steeper as it switchbacks up the mountain.Though it was a little more steep than the first half of the trail, it was still very easy even for an inexperienced hiker like me. After some time I came to a sign that points the trail going to the left and the summit is only 3/4 of a mile away. Hikers have the option of continuing to Twin Peaks but I was running out of time and I was so close to the summit now.
I had abandoned any idea of turning back before reaching the summit. I wanted to cross this peak off my lift and I had come so far. So I continued up the last 3/4 of the trail over a nearly flat trail. It seemed like that final part of the trail was going to be very easy. And then I came to the very last part of the trail. I could see the peak but in order to reach it I had to travel up a very strenuous incline. I had to revert back to my run up 15 yards and then take a break for air and then repeat strategy. This incline was quite difficult but I eventually made it up.
The summit is not spectacular because it is covered in pine trees which block most of the view. I walked down a few more feet to get a better look and take some pictures. It was then that I noticed that the sun was beginning to set and I still had to hike back 2.5 miles to my car. I caught my breath, snapped some pictures, and took a swig of water then started back.
I checked my watch and it was about 6 p.m. I figured I had maybe 40 minutes left of sunlight and that was somewhat optimistic. I took comfort in that the trail would be solely decline and I would not lose any time being slowed down by having to take breaks. I had to pick up the pace as much as I could. I considered skipping some of the switchbacks by sliding down but thought better not to risk an injury which would have been much worse.
The woods were getting darker and I was trying not to freak out. At one point I thought I saw an animal run past in front of me but I couldn't make out what it was. I just kept walking, making a lot of noise to scare off any wild beasts.The sun did set after 40 minutes and I had to finish the trail by moonlight. This, once again, was dangerous and stupid. I didn't bring a flashlight nor matches. I did tell a friend where I would be and to call the rangers if they had not heard from me by 9 p.m. I could barely make out the trail by moonlight and in the shaded areas I could only see a few feet ahead of me. I eventually made it back to the intersection. I choose to take the direct road to the highway instead of walking the trail back to the trail head. Once on the highway I could see cars coming and just walked the .2 mile back to the parking area. It was relieving to get in my car without having encountered any bears, wolves, or Slenderman.
Despite having to finish this hike in the dark, I really enjoyed this trail. It is very easy to do and is just a lot of fun to be walking in the woods. The peak elevation is over 8000 feet and it doesn't take a lot to get there. I am confident anyone can do this trail and I think I may do it again some day.
I took more pictures for those who are interested. http://imgur.com/a/FfIBQ
P.S. If anyone has any suggestions for how I can improve this blog then please feel free to let me know. Any comments would help as I'm still trying to figure out what this blog is turning into.
I had abandoned any idea of turning back before reaching the summit. I wanted to cross this peak off my lift and I had come so far. So I continued up the last 3/4 of the trail over a nearly flat trail. It seemed like that final part of the trail was going to be very easy. And then I came to the very last part of the trail. I could see the peak but in order to reach it I had to travel up a very strenuous incline. I had to revert back to my run up 15 yards and then take a break for air and then repeat strategy. This incline was quite difficult but I eventually made it up.
The summit is not spectacular because it is covered in pine trees which block most of the view. I walked down a few more feet to get a better look and take some pictures. It was then that I noticed that the sun was beginning to set and I still had to hike back 2.5 miles to my car. I caught my breath, snapped some pictures, and took a swig of water then started back.
The woods were getting darker and I was trying not to freak out. At one point I thought I saw an animal run past in front of me but I couldn't make out what it was. I just kept walking, making a lot of noise to scare off any wild beasts.The sun did set after 40 minutes and I had to finish the trail by moonlight. This, once again, was dangerous and stupid. I didn't bring a flashlight nor matches. I did tell a friend where I would be and to call the rangers if they had not heard from me by 9 p.m. I could barely make out the trail by moonlight and in the shaded areas I could only see a few feet ahead of me. I eventually made it back to the intersection. I choose to take the direct road to the highway instead of walking the trail back to the trail head. Once on the highway I could see cars coming and just walked the .2 mile back to the parking area. It was relieving to get in my car without having encountered any bears, wolves, or Slenderman.
Despite having to finish this hike in the dark, I really enjoyed this trail. It is very easy to do and is just a lot of fun to be walking in the woods. The peak elevation is over 8000 feet and it doesn't take a lot to get there. I am confident anyone can do this trail and I think I may do it again some day.
I took more pictures for those who are interested. http://imgur.com/a/FfIBQ
P.S. If anyone has any suggestions for how I can improve this blog then please feel free to let me know. Any comments would help as I'm still trying to figure out what this blog is turning into.
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