S.O.B. Hill
We met and aired down at the base of Swan River, and it was crowded. It seemed like everyone was out and about. We were anxious to get to the trail and away from all of the people, but first we had to make it to the trailhead. We started up Swan River to work our way to S.O.B. Hill.
We all agreed that we'd never seen so many people camping on Swan River. Every possible space was taken. We worked our way around passenger cars trying to back out after getting in over their heads, and weaved our way around vehicles with open doors and people walking along the trail. It was a bit crazy, but the farther in we got the fewer vehicles we saw.
By the time we got to S.O.B. Hill we had it to ourselves. We parked at the cabin and got out to put on bug spray as the mosquitoes were out. The trail was dry, though, so we were hopeful we'd make it up the obstacle this time. Last time, we weren't so lucky.
After checking out the cabin we went back to the turn and successfully headed up to the hill. It seemed like we were always getting turned around here and going off in the wrong direction, so it was nice to look like we weren't lost.
Monica got to S.O.B. Hill first, and it was dry and super rocky. The first section of the obstacle still had a big shelf to climb, and it was fun working on it. She got up that bit and made it to the second part of the hill where there was a rock in the middle of the trail. That rock gave her some trouble and she had to give it some momentum to get over it.
Some people on ATVs were at the top, and they got out to watch and chat. They watched all of us go up and then went on ahead of us. It didn't seem like something you could successfully go down on an ATV.
Monica moved the rock that gave her trouble so it wouldn't force anyone else to have to give it some gas or get stuck. Julie came up next after having some fun at the first half on the ledge. Her long wheelbase helped, and with careful tire placement she cruised right up.
Bryan had his usual eventful time at the ledge, popping his Jeep up on only his back tires for a tense second. He still managed to make it up the obstacle, though, and the rest was a piece of cake with his smaller Jeep.
Holly brought up the rear, walking over everything like it was easy. She drove right up to park with the rest of the group, where we took a little break and chatted about how fun the trail is.
After the hill, the trail is just amazing scenery. We weaved in between trees and dipped into little valleys. We even saw a marmot at the old house, and had fun between the skinny trees.
The scenery kept getting better, and when we got to the wide open scenic spot we stopped for lunch. It couldn't have been a better spot, with perfect temperatures, no wind, and amazing views. We watched a couple of vehicles go up the braided hill on Swan River and enjoyed our lunches for a bit.
When we finally left, our perfect trip on S.O.B. Hill got a bit less perfect. There were two stock trucks coming our way and the trail had been too skinny for passing for a while. We got out to chat with them, and it turned out they had the same issue behind them. We found a wider spot where they could get out of our way that was behind us, so we backed up.
The trucks did their best but didn't have the flex to be able to get up onto the hill next to the trail. They tried to rip a bumper off on a tree, but luckily they weren't successful. We figured it would be best if we backed up more, so we went all the way back to where we had lunch. It was a long delay, but we're all a lot better at backing up along narrow trails, now.
We were finally heading to Georgia Pass again, and Monica went far ahead to make sure we didn't come across anyone else. There was another Jeep coming our way, so Monica found a wide spot with them so they could move to the side. The trail is so narrow for such a long distance, and it definitely makes things challenging, especially with so many people enjoying the mountain.
We pulled off to the side for a bit at the fence where Glacier Ridge used to be. It was such a good trail, and it's always a bummer to see it fenced off. Then we kept going and kept seeing more and more people. At the pass, we found the crowd again.
We need to do S.O.B. Hill more often -- it's a blast, and it's gorgeous. The perfect trail!
Reports from Other Days: 3
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