Rik
08-12-2006, 08:59 PM
Charlene and I climbed Redfield and Cliff on Friday from Upper Works. We didn't get a real early start and it was such nice day for lounging that we would end up coming out just before dark. The day was cool, with a few clouds, and no bugs. Perfect lounging weather. Only saw a couple people until we reached the dam at Lake Colden then we would see some people on and off for the rest of the day. Not a lot of people set up to camp on the way in but more on the way out. The path up Redfield is fantastic. I hadn't been on Redfield in non-winter conditions in almost twelve years so was like a new hike. On top there were two young guys on the rock getting ready to head down. We gladly replaced them on the rock for lunch while gazing over at Allen having been there less then a week ago. Views were fantastic. Many birds around the summit. Nearly an hour later we tore ourselves away from the rock and headed down. A few more people were coming up as we went down. Before reaching the trail we cut over to the Cliff path. This path is certainly not the Redfield path but it didn't seem as bad as many make it out to be. Even Charlene said so and she wouldn't hesitate to tell me what a crummy route something is. There is some blowdown and a little mud but not terrible at all. It had been nine years since I had climbed Cliff outside of winter. There are many little false paths around the false summit where it looks like others have been trying to find the top. The actual summit is still marked by the broken sign as well as a yellow disk. Same as Redfield only the sign isn't broken. We snacked and watched the birds on top for a while before finally heading back. Saw two others that we had passed on Redfield coming across the false peak. When we got back to the Redfield path we asked someone what time it was for the first time and found out it was already 5:30pm. We both had headlamps but I had worn prescription sunglasses and left my regular glasses in the car. I was picturing myself with headlamp and sunglasses on for the last mile or so of the hike. Charlene still had some fuel left in her tank because we were able to make good time and got back to the car at 8:10pm with a little light to spare. Beers were waiting in the car.