Three peaks on Columbus Day

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User: terlanmat68 - 10/8/2012

Location: Enchanted Rock

Rating: 4point5stars
Difficulty: 3stars  Solitude: 3stars
Miles Hiked: 6.00 Miles  Elapsed Time: 4 hours, 39 minutes

Comments: Took the kids to Enchanted Rock since they were out of school. Weather was perfect... arrived around 9:30am, temperature was around 50F and there weren't many folks around. We started our hike on the Loop Trail to the left of the parking lot. We turned off the main trail to the right and followed a "jeep" trail toward the unnamed westernmost peak simply labeled "1705" on the park map. After some water and a few pictures, we continued to the east, descending slightly and then climbed up Little Rock to that peak. More water and pictures and then we made our way down into and across Echo Canyon and hiked up Enchanted Rock from the west, finding our own path. It was a bit steep in places, but we made it easily. Found the USGS marker on the top of Enchanted Rock. We found a nice spot to sit along the northern edge and had lunch. After enjoying the view for a while, we explored the nearby cave entrance area but decided not to follow the arrow that pointed straight down. Maybe next time. We descended and circled to the north through Echo Canyon and then east behind Enchanted Rock. We were planning to head over to Buzzard's Roost, but the kids were starting to get tired and we decided to abort the mission before it stopped being fun. We back tracked slightly and followed Turkey Pass back to the parking lot. We'll be back another day to try to bag Buzzard's Roost, Freshman Mountain and maybe even Turkey Peak (if it can be reached without climbing skills).