07/27/06 Lynx Peak 6536' ~11mi +4000'

I had been wanting to climb Lynx Peak since I saw it above Upper Reed Lake a couple years ago. I finally got around to it on a rare sunny day off I had. I didn't get driving from Anchorage until noon. I got to the trailhead, and began hiking the Reed Lakes trail at 1:45pm. I got to the upper lake at 4:30, and I met a friendly guy who pointed out the route which he had been up before. I then scoped out the snow for a few minutes. I headed towards the peak at 4:45pm, and made my way up scree and talus to the upper basin. As I headed up toward the main gully the scree and talus got steeper and less stable. Everything smaller than a sedan seemed to move. I ascended the gully a couple hundred feet and ran into some snow. I skirted the snow on the left, and climbed out of the gully. I was chose the path with the least snow I still ended crossing 30ft of steep soft snow. I arrived at the summit at 7:00pm, and the views were amazing. The B-29 Bomber on the Bomber Glacier was easily visible. I took pictures and hung out on the summit for 2 hours. The weather was 70degrees and calm, which made it hard to pull myself off the mountain. I finally headed down at 9:30pm, and reached the upper lake at 11:00pm. As light faded I hustled back to my car and arrived back at 12:45am. It was a magnificent day.