Wasson Via Sweetwater 2024

Back in hiking nirvana once again—and I must say, for a much-needed psychic boost. As per my declaration last year, I now have a new tradition of hiking itty-bitty Wasson Peak (elev. 4,809 ft.) as both the first and last hikes of the season. And since there are several approaches to this rather diminutive peak, it doesn't get old for me. 

Joining me today is my pal Jack from Michigan. He also accompanied me on my last hike in February when I finally hiked the Hugh Norris approach up Wasson. 

Saw a few other hikers today, none hiking our rather blistering 2.9 mph pace, which translates into 20.52 minutes per mile; not bad for the rocky 9.2 miles and 2,000+ feet of elevation gain, and roughly the same pace as last year. 

Beautiful weather with temps of 48º at the start, around 8:30, topping out at 74º by hike's end. A bit windy on the ascent, but oddly much less wind at the summit.

Jack. A youngster, really, at 56.

(photo by Jack Byers)

Jack Byers Peak

The view from the top, looking northeast. Picacho is the only one of these I have hiked, and it is usually an annual occurrence. Jack, my hiking partner Misty, and I  hiked it in late January of this year.

Riding My and My Friend’s Birthday (2024)

Riding my birthday has become a tradition, no matter how little I try to make it one, because my dogged (and fit) friend Carl always makes a place on his calendar for it. Our birthdays are separated by 8 years and 8 days. And because Carl increasingly has no one near his age to ride with him, of course he has to dip a year or eight below his now 76 años to find someone who can keep up. And that’s where I come in. Annually, apparently.

This year, a long-awaited stretch of trail was finally completed between the Raccoon River Valley Trail at Perry and the High Trestle Trail which had, for its fifteen years of existence, ended in Woodward, 11 miles to the east. It is now possible to ride from Ankeny to Perry and back on these two trails, and the mileage seemed just about perfect (I had to guess on that because Google still hasn’t included this connector in its maps as it only opened in August).

We decided to ride from Perry to Ankeny to avoid ending the ride with 12 miles of fierce headwinds, instead riding that section from Slater to Ankeny at hour two and mile 23, when our legs were still fresh. The 20 mph south wind never abated but did gust well past 30, and we more than doubled our time on the return from Ankeny to Slater. All-in-all, I must say I felt pretty good after this ride, and the uber-accurate double GPS on my Apple Watch Ultra reflected the relative inaccuracy of our bike odometers. Carl "had to" to ride nearly an additional mile past his age to match his odometer; he needed a photo of his actual odometer for the posting on his council person site. Carl, you just rode next year’s ride.

We hit the trail shortly after seven in the morning, which means I had to rise at 5:30, three hours earlier than usual.

We wouldn’t see another bike rider until after lunch in Ankeny.

The amazing High Trestle Bridge, between Madrid and Woodward. It is a destination all its own, especially at night when it’s all lit up.

(Image borrowed from TrailLink)

(Image borrowed from TrailLink)

I do not recommend riding one-handed over this bridge with a 20-35mph cross wind.

Fortunately, Carl has arms long enough for a selfie.

Too much information.

Hugh Norris to Wasson Peak

After Saturday's epic twenty mile hiking event, I needed something a little shorter to end my season. Having already established a tradition of hiking Wasson as a first and last hike to bookend my annual hiking season, I chose the Hugh Norris Trail to Wasson Peak. This beautiful little hike, which I had never done, accomplishes a similar elevation gain as Saturday's hikes at nearly 2,500 feet, yet it manages to do so in half the distance. My Michigan pal Jack joined me on this last outing.

The trail itself was a real surprise. This out-and-back gets way less use than the King's Canyon Loop or the Sweetwater approach, and the trail was in great shape. What we found really striking is the high level of craftsmanship in the construction of the granite stairs, of which there were many—a whole mile of them to start. 

The weather was overcast and 60º-70º, and the light eerily beautiful. Very little wind until the return, when it picked up a notch. Saw a few other fellow hikers, almost all of whom were from the Upper Midwest, which has freakily been having similar daytime temps.

Curt (Michigan), Jack (Michigan), and Jeff (Wisconsin), photo taken by two young hikers from New Hampshire.

A rare glimpse of sun toward hike's end.

One last task is to clean the boots from any invasive hitchhikers.