Mt. Electric one day solo

Mt. Electric one day solo

I did not have a climbing partner, and opted to do a solo hike one day round trip. I hit Glen Creek TH @ 0800 and started the hike. The first 7-8 miles are fairly flat with easily sloping terrain, I was able to keep a 3-4MPH pace going with 30lb pack. I stopped to filter water from the Gardner River in the area of N44° 58.923' W110° 49.139' where Class 2 scrambling was involved. After that the trial gets steep for another mile, then gets REALLY steep. You can choose larger scree fields on the West side of the ridgeline or more like loose dirt/rock trails on the East side of the ridge line to get up. There is a point where the hike obviously turns into a scramble- this took me about an hour to include looking for routes (trail not marked clearly at that point). I would rate it Class 3 at worst, Class 2 at best, if you take the West route. I found no route on the East side I was willing to take without a partner and protection (class 4). The box on the summit for a summit log was empty. After enjoying the summit and fantastic views. I descended and made it back to the trailhead at 9 hours exactly. 

I'd highly recommend a partner if you can convince one, just because the scramble could be difficult if you don't know the routes and with the winds. I kept my PLB on my person but dropped my pack for the final ascent. Snow was present on the mountain, but nowhere on the route. I saw no other people the entire hike. Bugs in the lower 5 miles were HORRIBLE, even with bug spray. 

I'd recommend this as a serious physical challenge to those that enjoy distance and some semi-technical challenges at the top.