Mini reports

[Brice]

I saw a huge herd of elk from up there.  A couple of years ago I tried to get up the northern Bald but the smoke was bad so I lost motivation.

I'm sure you're no longer in the area, but if you are, the Sphinx is a great little peak.  Also Ramshorn, but access might be limited as I heard about some closures on the west side of the Paradise Valley, up in Tom Miner Basin, due to bear activity.

I didn't see any elk up by the butte but there were lots of hunters in the area so that might explain it.  I have had ridiculously few wildlife sightings (larger than a squirrel) while hiking this year.  I think I've seen two deer and one bear and that's it.  It's been weird.

I climbed Sphinx mountain the day before.  It was really nice.  Unfortunately the wind was blasting the summit so I could only stay up there for a few seconds but the rest of the hike was enjoyable.  I thought about climbing The Helmet on the way down (pictured below so others can know what we're talking about), but I didn't want to ruin the day's trail hiking with bushwhacking and loose steep garbage which I expected to find.  Also I wasn't sure if I'd have to walk all the way around to the backside to find a way up.