Getting the Finger (part 2 of 4)

Attempt #2 - "Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me"

Okay, the Finger may have bested me once, but I wasn't about to let it happen again.  I wanted another shot at that rocky digit and this time I would be prepared with more food, more water, and what I thought was a reliable set of directions.  The thing is, those directions told me to look for a junction in the trail right about when we were directly across the canyon from the finger and that is rather difficult to judge when clouds roll in and obliterate your visibility.

I'm pretty sure this is where we should have turned

"No worries guys! The last time I hiked this trail, I remember there being a junction up ahead that turned West, and the directions online said we'd be approaching the Finger from the North anyway, so maybe we can take that junction and make our way to the Finger from atop the ridge."  Yeah, I was an idiot.

Not the Finger

The thing about ascending in altitude when you're already in the clouds is that visibility tends not to get any better.  We spent a couple of hours bushwhacking around an area that we later learned was nowhere near the Finger because we saw tons of vertical rock formations that we thought could have been the Finger from an odd angle.  Also, it snowed.

While the quickly melting snow made it fun to see otherwise dry streams and waterfalls start to flow, the drop in temperature also revealed that some of us desert dwellers were better able to cope with the cold than others.  I suppose that's what we get for hiking in January.

Surprise Waterfall

Cold

Not Cold

As we headed back down towards hot chocolate and hamburgers, the clouds began to lift just in time for us to notice where we missed our turn, and for us to catch a view of the jeering stone.  That's when the sight of it began to sting.

Yep.  This is definitely where we should have turned.

"Suckers"

To read the rest of this saga, check out the links below:
Part 1
Part 3
Part 4