Wildcats!

Lots of views of the Presidents off Polecat ski trail. Polecat seems to double a service road and is the required way to the top if you choose the slopes.

Hiked On May 21, 2023

I am an anxious hiker.  Each big trip gets me worried about all the things that can go wrong.  The list ranges from the practical and semi-preventable (like running out of water) to the possible (like an injury that requires immediate attention) to the statistically possible (bears).  I worry about getting to the trailhead, getting actually lost (as opposed to just confused for a while), forgetting some item, or maybe a meeting back home.

Anyway, these concerns are compounded when the hike is long or complicated.  They are also compounded when the people "in the know" are also worried. Enter the Wildcats.  Wildcat "A" and "D" are both 4,000 footers.  They are connected by an undulating ridge with two more "named" peaks and a number of unnamed prominences.

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​We worked our way up to this after the winter and...at least some worries were justified.  Even though we took the smoother route up a ski trail, it was rough.  There was a large, rapidly melting monorail of snow covering much of the ridge.  There were patches of ice and water. Near the end--as we summitted "D" on our return--my surgically repaired back started to give out. I was not a happy camper.  

That said, it was beautiful up there.  The trees did their "tunnel effect" I have written about on Cube.  The views--when we had them--were top notch.  Stretches and food got me back from the brink in the end.  It was a hike to remember...but not in detail.

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If you watch the video you will note that I go on about the boring letter-based names and speculate as to why that might be.  Later, it occurred to me that Wildcat Mountain isn't on Wildcat A, which is officially just named "Wildcat."  Maybe that is why?  Does the whole thing need to have the same name for marketing purposes?  Anyway, just a final thought...