Basin and Saddleback were the peaks that made me most nervous, and with good reason. Together they are the most technical climbs in the park (assuming standard routes) and they are netorious for their intense and nonstop scrambles. I am very happy that I was joined by my friend Matt on this hike, I truly could not have done it without him.

The day started at 5:00 AM and we enjoyed the leisurely start up to JBL. We continued along the brook for some time and eventually turned on to the Shorey Shortcut. I had read mostly negative comments about this segment of trail but it ended up being one of my favorite parts of the hike! It was technical enough to keep things interesting but not so technical that it was intimidating... that would come later. We also got our first great view of the day looking up at Haystack before descending into the col before Basin.

We were very pleased with our pace up to this point but things slowed down significantly after that, the next 1.5 miles would take us about 7 hours to traverse. We continued up Basin as the climbing got increasingly technical. I always carry a short piece of climbing webbing with me on the trail and we found that to be a crucial piece of gear several times. 

When we finally reached the summit of Basin we were treated to incredible views of Haystack and Marcy. We took some time to take in the view but were eager to have the Saddleback Cliffs behind us so we moved along fairly soon.

I had read a bit about a challenging spot on the way down Basin, but was still surprised when we got there and found a giant, bare slab leading to a narrow ledge before a large dropoff. We took our time here to evaluate. We opted to slide down the slab as controlled as we could rather than try to reach the other side where there was more folliage to assist, but risk slipping before getting there. We made it down and continued on to the cliffs. 

People say that the Saddleback Cliffs are most challenging for those who are short or affraid of hights... I am both. The cliffs were quite a challenge and I relied on Matt's assistance frequently to help me up them, but we eventually made it to the top. I was surprised to be less bothered by the exposure than I thought, but more bothered by the difficulty of the climb than I expected to be. Nevertheless, we made it to the top of Saddleback before dark which was our only real goal for the day. From that point on we were past the difficult climbing and just had to walk back to the car. 

The Orebed Trail was less slick than I was expecting it to be and the stairs were so pleasant to go down. We reached JBL after dark and took a couple minutes to eat some food before hiking the remaining 3.5 miles back to the car.

I had considered splitting up Basin and Saddleback to avoid the cliffs and if I had been alone I think that would have been very wise. Under the circumstances that I did the hike though, a long summer day with great weather and a hiking partner, I am glad I completed the cliffs. It is certainly an experience I will never forget.