Ascent of The Mound on 2017-04-09| Others in Party: | Katrina
----Only Party on Mountain | | Date: | Sunday, April 9, 2017 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Motorized Transport to Trailhead: | Car | | Peak: | The Mound | | Location: | USA-Minnesota | | Elevation: | 1700 ft / 518 m |
Ascent Trip ReportAfter packing up our tent in site #1 of the walk-in campground, we drove to the trailhead at the end of the road and started hiking south. The morning air was cool and the sun had just risen but was behind some clouds. We hiked the Mound Trail/Hiking Club Route for the most part. Bison were roaming around the middle of their prairie area and pheasants, ducks, geese, and meadowlarks sang and flew around us. We reached the top where a boulder stuck out of the dirt like an iceberg at a sign that said "Prairie Panaorama"or something like that. It was a good view in all directions and appeared to be the true summit. We continued on the biggest boulder around which turned out to be named Eagle Rock. We scrambled up that and found that it was lower than the panorama spot. Next we discovered the aligned rocks and then hooked back on the Upper Cliff Trail. We took this past the deeper than expected red quarry where "420"was written in rocks at the bottom, and continued until we found a trail foing down through the cliffs. This trail was steep and rocky; an almost unique trail in this part of the country. At the bottom we stayed along the cliff bases instead of going on the paved bike trail. Turkey vultures were hanging out, maybe 7 or 8, on one cliff section before soaring around on a decent breeze. There was also a dead raccoon in the trail which looked pretty fresh. We found a way back up to the cliff top on a game trail through some small trees. It was a short walk back to the car after that. |
| Summary Total Data | | Total Elevation Gain: | 200 ft / 60 m | | Total Elevation Loss: | 10 ft / 3 m | | Grade/Class: | Class 1 | | Quality: | 3 (on a subjective 1-10 scale) | | Route Conditions: | Maintained Trail | | Weather: | Cool, Windy, Overcast | | Ascent Statistics | | Gain on way in: | 200 ft / 60 m | | Gain Breakdown: | Net: 190 ft / 58 m; Extra: 10 ft / 3m | | Loss on way in: | 10 ft / 3 m | | Distance: | 1.5 mi / 2.3 km | | Route: | Mound Trail | | Start Trailhead: | 1510 ft / 460 m | | Time: | 30 Minutes | | Descent Statistics | Ascent Part of Trip: Blue Mounds
Complete Trip Sequence:
Total Trip Gain: 477 ft / 145 m Total Trip Loss: 477 ft / 145 m |
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