Granite Creek Road 6.13.12

Of course I have been up Granite Lakes Road way more times than I can remember and yet here I found myself once again. I had to move my climbing day to a day that I had to work making the need for something close. I have alot of things going on at the moment and I had a very restless night of lack of sleep. I had hoped to get up at 0500 . But at 0400 I decided if I couldn't sleep I might as well get up. Despite getting up an hour early I managed to leave the house at the same time as I  had planned. The weather was sprinkling and it struck me how light it was at 0400 when I got up.


    I parked just a couple hundred yards before the MFS Bridge on a pullout that can fit at least 3 cars. I suited up eagerly shouldering my new pack. I haven't been able to use it as much recently as I would like. I left the snowshoes at home and I switched to a lighter pair of boots. After leaving the car I walked a few feet and found the good trail that leads to the Granite Creek Road at the big bend. The trail is in great shape and I was happy to not have a lot of encroaching brush to get rained on by. The trail is great except for one short portion that is steep and very slippery. I kicked steps into the hillside for my ascent. I did find a separate route climbers right on the ascent that bypasses this short area. I used this on my descent and it was easier but some of the footing is dubious. I was thrilled with my legs, despite not having much rest I felt strong.  I was able to reach the road in under 40 minutes saving much time over staying on the road from the start. In 10 minutes I was already at the bridge crossing Granite Creek.

  I stopped and snapped a video and some pictures. Despite the cooler weather the creek was impressive. Wanting to continue my tidy pace I was again under way. The rain started building and I switched back into rain gear. It wasn't so much that it was needed but I knew I needed to go through and area of the road that has quite bit of encroaching leafy trees. Once in this area the rain showed some purpose. I hesitated for some time before decided that continuing on was going to be more uncomfortable than it would be worth. After backtracking for a ways I began to reconsider. I stopped at a nice view spots off a impressive water fall draining Dirty Box's upper slopes. The wind abrubty picked up and the temperature dropped. This to me was a sure sign that descending was the prudent choice for this day. The way out went equally quickly and soon I found myself at the car with much improved weather conditions.