Echo Dome from Sunset Pool via Charon's Garden Trail and Crab Eyes Trail(edit)

Fern Grotta. My phone died about half way through. Lucky 13 of us enjoyed a 5.5 miler (Cheryl had 6.2 miles on her Fitbit) in some great sunny weather (55-70 degrees) & new surroundings for most of us. We met at Sunset at 9am & returned by 1pm. We hiked out west to the area of Ship Rock.... then headed back east thru some rocks, brush & cacti, but totally doable. At the Overhang, we found the Fern Grotto & most of us climbed up to get a better look at an abundance of fern. As per the past request of Helen, we tried not to trod on the fern. :) From there, we hiked on, following a boulder-paved passageway & climbed up & over rocks & in one spot we relied on a tree to boast ourselves upward. We lunched around 11, amid the amazing boulder display. Some of the gals attempted to climb under a giant boulder & then tried to get on top of a huge boulder that reminded us of "Diving Board." After lunch, we continued on thru some sumac trees & a little green briar until we reached "Red Cliffs." It is a climbing wall & I'm sure it has a name like "lost dome," or something. We got to stand & admire a fellow climbing the wall. His belayer was below ..,. just in case. We then went to Clam Shell (which was named to keep up the "nautical" theme...like Crab Eyes... & took a few pics of Jay & Ed with their harem. At the appropriate spot, we took "Teddy's Shortcut," which only adds 20 minutes to the hike. :) As we entered back on a "established" trail, I asked everyone how they felt...on a scale of 0-10 (10 being they felt SUPER). Most were 8-10. One person was an 11 & one was a 5. Peggy told us a story about her first hike with Joe & how she felt after it (I believe she said 3 or 4). We took the Bypass back & observed the deep mine that is west of Sunset. We arrived at Sunset around 1 & were glad to see our cars...but we felt "accomplished." We welcomed 2 new (to me) hikers: Samantha & Kendall, who fit right in & were great hikers. Those fun-ones today Cheryl Ator, Peggy Avants, Peggy Wood, Judy Neale, Kim Gregory, Sun Beaudieu, Kendall Miller, Samantha Jones, Marki & Jay Payne, Eddie & Teddy Worthington. Thanks for coming!!!

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/21126963380