Trip Report: Cactus to Clouds – October 24 2015

[63ChevyII]

My 3rd and toughest C2C - lessons learned about choosing hiking partners and following my intuition.
Cactus to Clouds – October 24 2015
Cactus to Clouds, via Lykken and Skyline Trail || Distance: ~23 mi || Duration: ~14 hours || Gain/Loss: +13,400′/-2,300′ (per Backpacker.com) || Net Elevation Gain (at Max Elevation): +10,319′ || Max Elevation: 10,834′ || Difficulty: Strenuous

Some photos:

[Wildhorse]

It is a great trip report, and one that sooner or later, if not already, every hiker can connect with. The quote at the end is also great.

Ironically, getting in trouble is so important to living a full good life.

[bamm321]

Thanks for the Trail report, i'm glad you were able to finish it out! The worry of taking on a couple of unknowns, up such a tough hike, might have been weighing on you also....Stress may have been a factor. It can really do some weird things to people, and most of the time people don't even realize it.

[cynthia23]

A really honest and well written TR, and thank you for it. People need to be reminded that it's not always like some gushing article in Outside Magazine. I've certainly been in that situation of making a mistaken choice, then being sick on the trail and needing others to help me (and they did.) When you think about it, these humbling-yet-heartwarming experiences are really more spiritually valuable than climbing any mountain.