Moriah Trip Report

There’s no question that Moriah is a rock. I’ve never walked over so much slabbing. It was extensive. Wow, there was so much of it.

Stony Brook Tr. was like any other stream-side ascent over old logging roads. Once on the ridge the action began. Almost immediately the trail hit open ledges and I climbed the bare rock. Up, up, up, rock, rock, rock. The views south were numerous, but the day was very humid and hot and the haze built so quickly that the views were limited. Too bad.

After a short (and fun), steep scramble, I was at the summit. I was soon crowded by a group  of backpackers. I would have been upset, but the day was so hazy, I couldn’t see much. I was on the summit early so I stayed for a while, even tried to take a nap. The chatter on the summit put a stop to that.

The walk down was miserable. It was hot and damp, and there was enough mud to make me filthy. The worst part was the steep slabbing. It went on for about 2 mi. and was simply fatiguing. This was a much better route to ascend. The bad stuff ended on Mt. Surprise. It’s interesting that the end of the slabbing was exactly the boundary of the hardwood and spruce-fir forests. You see fir, you see slabbing. The walk from Mt. Surprise to the trailhead was pleasant.