Celo Knob cont..

Soon the summit of Celo Knob popped into view and I stashed my backpack in some bushes and scampered up the remaining few hundred feet to tag the summit.

The lightning rod tree at the summit of Celo Knob. 

"Tenzing...I can take you no higher!"

From the summit of Celo Knob the views were spectacular.  I was impressed at how much snow was showing on the eastern side of the mountain (the side I ascended) since from the road below in the valley there is scant evidence of it to the eye.

A panorama from the summit of Celo Knob showing the spine I hiked up from the valley floor.

With afternoon fading I quickly retreated back to the Crest Trail, retrieved my backpack from the bushes and headed back to the saddle to make camp.  The area consisted of beautiful plush grass that would make excellent padding.  I was also fortunate to discover a small spring bubbling up from beneath a rock from which I was able to filter water.

I had decided to travel light on this hike and was excited to try out my new Outdoor Research bivy sack.  A bare-bones approach to sleeping; it did a great job and was very comfortable!

Dinty Moore beef stew was on the menu and I ate the entire huge can of it and sat back and watched the sunset over the valley to the west.

The temperature dropped quickly and the full moon was rising in the east.

I turned in early and slept well throughout the night, although I found myself a bit chilled after a midnight bathroom call and had to don some extra clothes to rewarm myself.  I awoke at 7:30 AM to a light breeze and cloudy skies that would eventually turn clear.  It was pretty darn cold out and I quickly heated up some oatmeal and hot cocoa which kept me warm while I broke camp and packed everything away.

Heading back down the trail was a bit more sketchy than coming up.  The snow and water had frozen overnight making the route very slippery; coupled with downward momentum and I had a recipe for disaster.  I took it easy and kept the sliding to a minimum, fearing a twisted ankle.

The trip down to the trailhead was quick, probably only an hour and 45 minutes or so.  Then I had to make the dreaded uphill climb and contour back to my parking area, cursing my stupidity the whole way.  Re-climbing 500 vertical feet that you've already put behind you twice before is aggravating.  Reaching the contour trail was great though since it looked to be an old rail bed or road and was graded very gently.

Eventually the trail joined the downhill slope to my car and I was already thinking about what I was going to have as a "reward meal"!

As I drove off for home I took this panorama shot that shows the correct route (red line) leading up to my campsite (green dot) and the summit of Celo Knob (red dot).  The ignorant contour hike was the yellow dashed line, almost doubling the total distance of the hike!

A great hike though with spectacular views and leg burning climbs and descents. 

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