A Rattler, the Climbs & a Peak

Three of us begin our hike to Picketpost Mountain but a guy walking our way warned us of a rattlesnake and sure enough.  There it is, coiled and to be avoided.

The route to the peak is a wonderful mix of an easy to follow trail then a series of walls and route finding challenges.

And then there are other things like a Barrel Cactus growing into the route, it too to be avoided.  The parking and camping area had a "site host" who had stayed there all winter.  She stated the weekend (we hiked on Monday) had been a zoo with swarms of people behaving badly and to not be surprised if access to the area would be denied in the future.  In fact, the next day the area was closed.  The same with other popular trailheads in the vicinity.  

More walls met and climbed and after one particularly nasty section.....

….Amy had to celebrate both the successful climb and the view.

The end is not near as the above gives false hope that the hike is finished.  It's not but....

….it's not but the hiking does become much easier as we approach the peak.

The end of 2.5 miles and 2000' of climbing.  Another of those short but hard hikes with awesome views.  So many dirt roads going off into the distance and now with a gravel bike, I can explore them.  For a long time, a mailbox had been present at the peak but someone store or pitched it over the side.  An organization....

….installed a new one.  Yes, that's me with my OSU hat.  The hat causes many fellow Buckeyes to acknowledge they too are fans.  A lot of them out here.