Motivation Monday: The Best Views And The Challenging Climb.
In the post I shared yesterday, we hiked Shirley Canyon… on the opposite side of that canyon is a place called the Granite Chief Trail… both trails are gorgeous. Both trails are a butt-kicker. Both trails offer amazing views.
When we hiked the Granite Chief trail a few years ago, there were some sketchy ice and snow patches on the trail, so we ended up navigating around and making our way to the aerial tram and it was incredibly challenging (a lot of off-trail).
When we hiked Shirley Canyon, I remember thinking to myself that this “felt” easier than doing the Granite Chief version of getting to the same location.
Was it easier? Hardly. I was cussing every so often climbing over granite boulders the size of small cars… I felt like a hobbit climbing up up up… haha
The side-by-side stats:
Granite Chief Trial: ~ 3.2 miles one way, 1,965 feet of elevation gain
Shirley Canyon: ~ 3 miles one way, 1,955 feet of elevation gain.
Damn near the same.
In any event, the result is the same – celebrating the amazing views after the challenging climbs.