2023-05-05, 08:53 PM
It's getting pretty hot around here for a tramp like me, so I'm marking the end of the winter/spring season. I thought I'd summarize what I've been up to with some awards and statistics.
Easiest Hike
Mars hill
459 feet, 1m 26s car to car. I could have wandered around a bit, but I had places to be and this one needed to be checked off my list.
Most Strenuous Hike
Sugarloaf n'Friends
4 summits, 20.3 miles, 6100 feet of elevation gain, 10h 28m. This one also gets the runner-up award for most remote spot reached, with peak 4465 being 7.1 miles from the nearest drivable road.
Most Remote Hike
Owlhead benchmark. 7.7 miles from the nearest drivable road and according to this page, 1.5 miles from the most remote point in the park.
Least Enjoyable Hike
Mesquite high dune. Everything that is wonderful about big dune hiking is missing here due to the high foot traffic. Though I did see some adorable kit fox tracks, so that's something at least.
Most Enjoyable Hike
Motley canyon (unofficial name). Loads of stuff to look at. Several fun dryfalls and boulder jams to conquer, but none that are too difficult or dangerous. It's only real drawback is being somewhat difficult to reach. The mouth is 4 miles from the nearest road. Beardilocks has photos of this one over in his thread.
Best view
Borax Benchmark. This photo only shows half of the amazing view, and the colors in the photo aren't as vibrant as they are in person.
![[Image: pzxnCQb.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/pzxnCQb.jpg)
The numbers...
Miles hiked: 699
Hours: 352
Pairs of shoes utterly trashed: 2
High points reached: 115
Summits remaining on NPS 200 list: 89
Canyon hikes without summiting anything: 38
Bighorn seen: 0
It's been fun!
Easiest Hike
Mars hill
459 feet, 1m 26s car to car. I could have wandered around a bit, but I had places to be and this one needed to be checked off my list.
Most Strenuous Hike
Sugarloaf n'Friends
4 summits, 20.3 miles, 6100 feet of elevation gain, 10h 28m. This one also gets the runner-up award for most remote spot reached, with peak 4465 being 7.1 miles from the nearest drivable road.
Most Remote Hike
Owlhead benchmark. 7.7 miles from the nearest drivable road and according to this page, 1.5 miles from the most remote point in the park.
Least Enjoyable Hike
Mesquite high dune. Everything that is wonderful about big dune hiking is missing here due to the high foot traffic. Though I did see some adorable kit fox tracks, so that's something at least.
Most Enjoyable Hike
Motley canyon (unofficial name). Loads of stuff to look at. Several fun dryfalls and boulder jams to conquer, but none that are too difficult or dangerous. It's only real drawback is being somewhat difficult to reach. The mouth is 4 miles from the nearest road. Beardilocks has photos of this one over in his thread.
Best view
Borax Benchmark. This photo only shows half of the amazing view, and the colors in the photo aren't as vibrant as they are in person.
The numbers...
Miles hiked: 699
Hours: 352
Pairs of shoes utterly trashed: 2
High points reached: 115
Summits remaining on NPS 200 list: 89
Canyon hikes without summiting anything: 38
Bighorn seen: 0
It's been fun!