Distance: 4.4 miles round trip on trail and use trail
Summit Elevation: 5313'
Prominence: 433'
Elevation Gain: 1568'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.2
Round trip time: 1 hour 45 mintues
Recommended water: 36 oz.
Parking/Fees: $30 National Parks Fee (1 car good for 7 days)
Difficulty: Easy
Leisa and I drove down Lost Horse Road, a well graded dirt road to the trailhead for Lost Horse Mine. There was a sign at the entrance to the road that said the lot was full. Indeed, it was full when we arrived. I started to turn around when a family waved at us that they were getting ready to leave. It was a lucky start.
The trail rolls gently up and down before climbing steadily to the Lost Horse Mine. The mine is well preserved and surrounded by high fencing. It actually produced over 9,000 oz. of gold in the 1800s and 1900s. Lost Horse Mountain (HPS #250) is not directly above the mine. Instead, it is across the trail. After poking around the mine, we continued on the Lost Horse Loop up to the saddle below Lost Horse Mountain. Leisa waited for me while I climbed the final bit of ridge to the top. There was a fantastic view down to Geology Road and Malapai Hill. I had climbed Malapai several years ago while working on the Lower Peaks List. There were no markers or registers that I could locate. It wasn't until I was on top of Lost Horse Mountain that I realized my GPS was off. I turned it on for the descent, but the track doesn't include the short side trip to the mine. Limited parking is the only thing that kept this trail from being too crowded.
So this is where I insert my Lost Horse/Inspiration Mars Bonfire story.
ReplyDeleteI was on my way up LH, ran into an old man, talked for a minute, probably said something stupid, then we split, and I went to the summit. Got out the register, saw it was Mars Bonfire! Oh my! And this was his 25th time climbing LH. Oh my!
So, I go on to Inspiration that day, and again, he was on his way back, and I ran into him again. He recognized me, we talked for a minute or two, and was on his way. Again, his 25th summit of Inspiration.
He told me his goal was to climb all HPS peaks 25 times then retire and move to Reno. How about that - 270 or so peaks 25 times. Wow.
Nice man - it was cool talking to him. He asked me if I was an HPS-er, I told him yes, but I was early in the list. He complimented me on starting it. That was cool.
One of the fun things about hiking is the stories we can tell later. That's one reason, Keith, that i like your blog - the stories.
Mike Martin
Riverside, CA
Mike,
DeleteThat is a great story itself. I always notice the Mars Bonfire signature and knew about his 25x goal. When I was on Martinez (which was not easy), I saw his 22x signature, but didn't find the ones after. I could easily have missed it, but it is kind of mind blowing that he did these difficult hikes 25x.