Chriss and I decided to try the hike to Purple Valley. If you've thought about hiking in, well it's not that bad. It's five miles each way . All told it takes between 1 3/4 to 2 hours from car to cliff. The hiking is easy, I couldn't believe how flat the road is all the way out there.
You can also minimize your pack weight by traveling with minimal water. The road follows the stream the whole way. We filled up right before we went up to the cliff.
So, if you want a peaceful hike, some good scenery and some adventurous/sketchy sport climbing take a trip to Purple Valley. I hear they also have some trad routes. . .
The hike in is not to bad. Hiking in with a trad rack may slow you down a little with the extra weight. Purple valley is a really nice climbing location, its to bad the road is closed.
ive wondered what a hike from the backside in would be like. If the cliffline et al terrain would allow it shouldn't be too hard of a route to figure a shorter way in. the topos show old fire/logging roads coming in from hwy 77(?) to almost purple valley.
