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Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020. Randy and I attempted Mt. Powell on Aug. 29, 2020, despite the lousy weather forecast (40% chance of morning showers and 80% chance of afternoon thunderstorms). We thought we could stay ahead of the rain with an early start, but the rain began about 6:30 AM and never let up. We were about 200' below Kneeknocker Pass when we decided to bail out. After all, Randy's bicentennial finisher should be fun, not a miserable slog in the cold and rain.
The Labor Day weekend weather forecast (no chance of rain) was too good to pass up, so we made the long drive to Vail and up Red Sandstone Road toward Piney River Ranch and found a campsite not too far from the trailhead.
Friday, Sept. 4, 2020. We made the short drive to the trailhead and started hiking at 4:40 AM. The moon was quite helpful in lighting the way. Our plan was to reach the intersection with the informal trail to Kneeknocker Pass at first daylight, but it was still dark when we got there. Happily, on Aug. 29 we'd waypointed the intersection for our (and your) convenience:
13S 0383402 and 4399249 (Lat.: 39.737054 and Long:. -106.360700). The elevation is about 9770' at the trail intersection.
There is a cairn on each side of the Kneeknocker Pass turnoff and another cairn on the large rock just past the turnoff. A previous trip report mentioned the turnoff as being near a leaning pine tree, but that tree has since fallen over. (The next four photos were taken on the descent.)
Some of the lower sections of the Kneeknocker Pass trail are somewhat faint but are marked with cairns.
The trail becomes rather steep as it approaches Kneeknocker Pass but isn't too bad, especially considering it's not a constructed trail. We took a food break at the pass to recharge for the final 1200' climb to the summit.
The east side of Kneeknocker Pass is well-known for holding lots of snow until late in the year. Snow was not an issue today, however. We descended about 150' on the east side of the pass and then contoured north toward an obvious steep grassy slope.
We climbed onto the summit of Mt. Powell together and were glad to be here on a day with great weather. Postponing Randy's bicentennial finisher by six days definitely made for a much more enjoyable experience.
We refueled with Girl Scout cookies (thanks, Laura!) while spending 45 or 50 minutes enjoying the views from the summit. The descent went quickly, and we returned to the trailhead just before 2 PM.
We got home in time to have a proper celebration dinner with pizza and root beer. Now Randy gets to decide what future mountain goals he wants to pursue. My favorite comment on Randy's finisher thread was when Mike (Chicago Transplant) said "way to make your dad repeat a bunch of them too."
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
Gotta say I€„¢ve enjoyed reading your reports for many years. Congrats to your entire family. Three Cent finishers and two Bicents in the same climbing posse is something else. Oh, and GO PACKERS.
Bill, Jay, Barnold, Glen, and Jason: Thanks for the kind comments.
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