I "climbed" the "Mountaineer's Route", and there was a lady up top giving out certificates.
For about the fifth time (about the third time solo) I did the "Mountaineer's Route" from Colby Canyon to Strawberry Peak. That appellation is exaggerated: there are two sections of straightforward Class 2 and Class 3 rock scrambling. It would only become something akin to mountaineering if those grades were higher, or there was a lot of snow and ice around.
However, it's still fairly strenuous and a nice scramble. You can either return the way you came, or descend on the other side back to Red Box. That side is only a little minor Class 2. While some people mention exposure, I had to work to get some by walking onto an outcropping. That feature isn't right on the route.
I made it a little more interesting than it had to be. A few minutes in I had to go back because I'd forgot my sun gloves. Then, at the first scramble I still had my trekking poles out and, when I went to put them on a rock above me, one slid down a steep Class 3 chute. I started to downclimb the chute but then remembered I was doing this solo so went down to it a less precarious way. I should have just put the poles in my pack's side pocket before starting that scramble.
Then, oops, I did it again: on the second scramble, I had the poles in my side pocket but they slipped out so I had to go fetch them again.
It didn't help that these are new poles I got to replace the old trekking poles. And, the new ones - "GPTCAMP Nordic Walking Stick, TPZ-1" - are horrid. They're heavy, bulky, and whoever designed them isn't a hiker.
If you aren't familiar with the route, for both scrambles I (generally) start from the right side and work my way to the left. The first scramble unfortunately is a bit crumbly, but the second is more solid. For both I saw lots of footprints in the dirt. Some of those showed that I was tracking Tonga to the Agra Treasure.
Once back at Red Box, I could have just stuck my thumb out, but I made the foolish decision to walk back along the Angeles Crest Highway. I was serenaded by ricers recreating Fast and Furious for a couple miles until I got tired of it and got a lift from a nice couple in a minivan.
However, on the Highway, I found to my great surprise a debit card. I don't know how it got there, but thanks, I'll write when I get to Brasil.
