Pyramid Peak via Rocky Canyon

The general setup was more or less the same as last week, not too much time for an extended hike so something with little ramp-up time was needed. Since I also didn't have time to prepare any new hikes I just decided to go back to Pyramid Peak once again. In order to make sure I would reach my goal on this day, I didn't only start earlier, but also chose the easier and more direct route up to Pyramid Peak via Rocky Canyon.

For the Rocky Canyon approach the starting point is the Turnout 0.9 miles west of the Horsetail Falls / Pyramid Creek Trailhead. The path up to Pyramid Creek starts right on 50, about about 400 ft east of the turnout.

It is not hard to find and follow this trail, not only because it's quite obvious and frequently used by hikers, but also because there are numerous cairns all the way up to the top these days. It follows the little river in the Rocky Canyon all the way to it's source, first on the east side of the creek crossing at around 7400 ft and continuing on the west side. From there it continues to the south side of the peak and lastly follows the ridge to the top. For the last 250 yards, some easy scrambling is required to make it all the way to the top. Today it's extremely windy up here and not too pleasant to stay on the ridge. Nevertheless, I take a rather long break on top on the lee side of the mountain, before going back down the same way I came up.