Photos from this trip can be found here.
Word has it that construction of a new trail to Dirty Harrys Balcony had been underway. Unsure of the new trail’s whereabouts, we entered via the old roadbed. On the way to Dirty Harrys Peak last January, a good chunk of time was spent on scrambling through countless down trees. This time we made better time with the aid of orange ribbons on a rocky boot path.
Upon re-entering the forest to the left of the road and ultimately losing sight of the ribbons, we cut the switchback at 1,800 and again at 2,000′ to avoid more down trees up the road. At 2,100′ we climbed straight up the slopes north-northwestward and came out onto the road at 2,800′.
Photos from this trip can be found here.
Seeing heavy snow on the road, I decided I wasn’t in the mood to break trail and forewent the original plan to Web Mountain. And since we hadn’t been to the balcony, I figured we’d enjoy an easy day and get some much-needed sunshine. Up until now we had been in the shade with sub-freezing temperatures.
After snowshoeing down the road to the 2,500′ switchback, the trail by the temporary trail closure sign took us around west of the balcony’s high point to its south buttress. Finally, sunrays for days!
Photos from this trip can be found here.
Top of Web Mountain covered in clouds and pretty much stayed that way during our stay. Not sure if we’d see anything from up there had we stuck to the original plan. I was happy to just chill down here with the pup and the views while watching the cars on I-90 go by. Weather got quite warm by early afternoon with light breeze.
Despite low moving clouds, every high points along the freeway corridor was visible at one time or another–McClellan Butte, Bandera Mountain, Humpback Mountain, among others. After a long break, we scrambled down through forest and the downtree-infested roadbed to hike out.
Photos from this trip can be found here.
Access: Dirty Harrys Balcony Trailhead
Gear: snowshoes