Jennings Peak and Sandwich

I tried Jennings Peak and Sandwich Dome last October and wound up only doing Jennings Peak, and then hiking down. I decided to give it another go today, and I'm glad I did!

I left a little late, around 7:15 and got to the mountain at about 9:30. It's a loop hike, best hiked counter clockwise. So, of course, I set off in the wrong direction - to do it clockwise. Thankfully I looked at my phone at the 1/4 mile point, for no particular reason, and then decided that I should go back and try again (the hike so far had been pretty flat and easy). 

The hike starts with a huge amount of elevation gain in the first mile and a half, which in some ways is pretty killer, and in others is great because you get the hardest part done right out of the gate. The hike actually hits three peaks, with Noon Peak being the first one, and the sign that you've finished the most difficult part. At Noon Peak I stopped and ate an orange. Of course there were two people there, and a dog - always people at a lookout. 

Except, when I got to Jennings Peak there was no one there, and no one came the entire half hour that I sat there! Crazy! I ate a cheese sandwich on sour dough bread and a delicious dark chocolate covered stroopwafel and tried to decide if I should call it a day with the amazing view at Jennings again, or if I should add 2.2 miles and go to Sandwich. I decided I'd done most of the elevation gain already, it was still early enough, and I should go for it! And I'm glad that I did. The first .5 mile to Sandwich was a delightful ridgeline. And then there was some elevation gain, yes, but not too killer - 500 feet. The view from the top was actually quite nice - if you sit on the cairn. Which I was able to do because I was the only one up there (it was a low cairn that suffered no damage from me sitting on it). I ate some really salty almonds and then stood on top of the rock next to the cairn and reached up to touch 4000 feet (since Sandwich is only 3993).

The hike down was really nice! There was a brook (where I filtered some water) and it was overall a gradual descent. For some reason I thought that I had found the descent difficult last time (I hadn't, according to the blog post). It was actually quite nice. There were switchbacks on the steepest part, and a few big descents, but mostly it was just a nice, gradual, hike down. I practiced my parkour feet and was down before I knew it!

The mountain wasn't at all crowded - I saw about a dozen people the whole time I was there. There was a family of three when I started - dad really wanted to get to the top, but mom and teenage daughter didn't look like they were going to make it. I appreciated the view a little for dad. And then a few solo hikers and a few couples. Once again, nice hike, definitely would do again!