Steve, thank you for this! Good info on the GPS. Not having known I might not have packed the trail book. The book also offers very detailed descriptions of junctures with landmarks, so that should be helpful. But I agree, the route finding, for me, is really the critical thing here. Your videos of the final 400 were great. They actually made me feel much more confident in my thinking that it’s not as bad(steep) as is fabled.
Ultimately I will probably be out-voted, so it will all be moot. But I’ve climbed very similar terrain with very similar grades. That part isn’t an issue for me at all. Its hard. But it’s very manageable for cautious, fit folks. It’s the altitude variable(which is present regardless of route), and it’s the route finding, which I fully acknowledge is critically important, but I feel confident we could manage with preparation and care.
