Sat, Sep 13 2014 - SimpsonPass MonarchRamparts HealyPass Circuit (View Original Event Details)
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Take a chance, have faith and go for it hoping for the best. Our drive west was under low cloud, fog, and drizzle all the way until half way up the road to Sunshine. Then Sunshine lived up to its name. We drove through that cloud & fog coming out on the other side to blue sky & sunshine and scenery galore for the balance of the day.
We quickly covered the Healy Creek Trail, which was clear and dry to start. We crossed over the bridge leading us to Simpson Pass. Others had been days prior so we had a trail to follow. As we aimed for Eohippus Lake, we broke trail here and there in lower than to ankle deep snow. We each claimed a large rock on the Lakeshore for our lunch spot. A few route-finding skills were necessary to get up onto The Monarch Ramparts. The further up we went, the bigger the beauty. Romping along on The Ramparts took forever. The conditions were ideal and the scenery was spectacular. We lost lots of time here. A short break at Healy Pass was called for to refuel and to enjoy the views one last time before venturing back into the forest. A few forest choirs broke out as we briskly made our way along the last seven-kilometer stretch. Ten hours later and just shy of a 28 km day, I sensed everyone was as depleted as I was, hopefully pleasantly so though.
We would never get to experience days like today if it wasn’t for the drivers and once again thank you to Darlene for bringing us there and back. Thank you all for joining me today and contributing to making our adventure ideal.
Andra