Midnight Peak
(2300 m, 7545 ft)
Pops and I decided late last night that we were going to tackle Midnight Peak this morning. The forecast predicted temperatures around 30°C which meant we would need an early start. We opted to set the alarm clocks for 5:30 and try to be out of here by 6. We wended up leaving the house around 5:50. Midnight peak is the lower of two peaks: Midnight Peak and Midday Peak. Although there is a connecting trail between the two routes, once you're on Midnight Peak you soon lose all desire to tackle Midday Peak in the same day, or at least I did. The beginning of the hike starts in the forest and takes you all the way to Baldy Pass. The grade is gradual however I would say that around half the elevation is done in this portion of the hike. Since we were on trail around 6:52, most of our climb was done in the morning shade which I'm sure was much nicer than it would have been in the heat of the day. The forest greeted us with lush green brush and multiple colors of wildflowers. The more and more I hike the more I realize the true beauty of hiking is found from within the journey. I think for lots of new hikers and maybe even hikers that have been doing it for awhile, the mindset is to always focus on the end and the summit. It is often overlooked how insanely beautiful the journey as a whole is. Beauty is not something that is only found on the peaks of massive mountains, but in every part of hiking. Today it would have been easy to comment on how beautiful the views were from the top, or how insane the summit was, but you would be missing the majority of the beauty that led up to that point. It is similar to life, when people become hyper fixated on the result rather than the journey. That sounds cliché but it is extremely true. Life moves so fast sometimes that it seems like the only thing we can do is try to survive and focus on the result. There are so many parallels that can be drawn between life and hiking a mountain. Until you learn to enjoy the journey and the beauty that can be found along the way you won't be able to find the true beauty of hiking. The same holds true in life, until you learn to slow things down a bit and focus on how you get to your result and not what that result is you won't find the true beauty in life.
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| Purple Wildflower |
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| Orange Wildflower |
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