July 3, 2009 Hike #1
I had some trouble deciding what to hike today as our string of rainy days continued. The weather report for the afternoon was calling for thunderstorms so I didn't want to be caught above treeline. We've had a ton of rain recently and the streams were very high so that also limited my choices. I decided on the Wildcats for a morning hike. Seeing I just did the Wildcats a little less than a month ago on a much nicer day, I decided to leave my camera behind. My canine pal Madison is with me since she needs these peaks.
We headed up the Pole Cat Trail (one of the ski trails). There were no views today, but I did catch a glimpse of Washington. We are into July, and there are still a couple patches of snow up there. As I neared the top of the Polecat Trail, I was just below the summit of Wildcat D. The trail heads up to the gondola and the Wildcat Ridge Trail goes up to Wildcat D and then back down in this direction forming a horseshoe shape. I was planning a shortcut for the way back so I marked the spot on my GPS.
Madison and I then went and bagged Wildcat D. This was #33 for Madison. As I began my descent of Wildcat D. I came down for a few minutes and figured I must be fairly close to the spot I marked earlier. I checked my GPS. Yep, a short 220 foot bushwhack would save me time on the way back. Normally, I don't try to cut off mileage from a hike. The exception is when it will help me get done early enough to go do another hike!!
Maddie and I went over and bagged Wildcat A (#34 for her). On the way back I took the bushwhack that I had planned out. It took about 3 minutes so it saved me quite a bit of time.
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Down the Polecat Trail we headed, finishing in more than enough time for another hike.
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