September 5, 2020

By Tim Briese

4.9 miles, 900’ elevation gain, 4:30 roundtrip time

My daughter Nicole and son-in-law Rod wanted to take their 2 year old daughter, Eliyanah (actually 2 years, 4 months old) on her first mountain climb, and asked me for a suggestion, preferably an easy higher peak. I suggested South Peak, which Teresa and I had climbed a couple of months before, which offers nice access, an easy climb, and great views.

We all drove together to Weston Pass on this beautiful September day and embarked on a track up the hill to the southwest.

teresa, ellie, and rod at the pass, with south peak above at left center

Ellie hiked about the first half mile and 200 feet of elevation gain on her own, and then rode in a pack on Rod’s back the rest of the way to the summit.

hiking up the first part of the route

It was a beautiful day to be on the summit, especially with our new little mountaineer!

rod, nicole, and ellie on the summit

it was an outstanding day to be up here

grandpa showing ellie the distant peaks and other features

After lunch and relaxing for a while we headed back down. A little drama was added to our hike when Teresa lost her phone at a stop in an expanse of willows somewhere on the way up, and it seemed hopelessly lost since there was no trail to retrace. However, our tech hero Rod had set a high resolution track on his GPS on the way up, and following that track meticulously on the way down led to the finding of the phone. Ellie walked the first mile or so of the descent from the summit too, giving her about a mile and a half of hiking on her first mountain climb. Yay, Ellie!

hiking across the tundra after leaving the summit