Saturday 2-22 I and Wendy did Hough, aka Hough and Puff.  It lived up to it's name for sure.  This peak is one of the more remote peaks in the Dix range, and really is the worst peak to orphan as there is no quick and easy way to get there.  I orphaned it 2 years ago, and this was my third attempt to get it for winter credit.

Hough (pronounced Huff) and I have a history.  First off, when I did it in the summer of 2020, it was #45 for me on my way to finishing on Dix, and I was riding that hikers high at knowing you're almost done with the big challenge, and also on fumes since I camped out the night before, it rained, and another 2 tents popped up around 1 in the morning.

Friday, I went up to the Upper Elk Lake parking area and found that it was full, and a half dozen cars were already parked on the shoulder....

This is it, I'm down to the final 5 peaks of the 46'ers.  I started May 15, and I will be finishing up, if all goes to plan, September 5.... so just over 3.5 months, 255 miles, and 84.8K feet of elevation gain and loss.... if all goes to plan.

So, I planned to do the Great Range this weekend.  As of this moment the Gardens parking lot is marked as full, so I may not be able to.  If that is the case, I'll come home tonight and go right to bed when I get home to get up early and try again Friday morning.  I suspect there are just a bunch of day hikers out today and when I get there I'll find a parking spot.