Meanwhile... I did my own sort of big run on the Mesa trail, about 13 miles and around 2200' gain. It was HOT and I got dehydrated with only 1L of water.
Later on we met Donna, Ann, and Sean at the outdoor theater to see Monty Python's Holy Grail.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Long runs
Laurel and Tanya did a big run up most of Mt. Evans on the Chicago Lakes trail. Tanya turned back after the lakes, Laurel continued up to Mt. Warren, doing around 16 miles and 4000' gain.
Meanwhile... I did my own sort of big run on the Mesa trail, about 13 miles and around 2200' gain. It was HOT and I got dehydrated with only 1L of water.
Later on we met Donna, Ann, and Sean at the outdoor theater to see Monty Python's Holy Grail.
Meanwhile... I did my own sort of big run on the Mesa trail, about 13 miles and around 2200' gain. It was HOT and I got dehydrated with only 1L of water.
Later on we met Donna, Ann, and Sean at the outdoor theater to see Monty Python's Holy Grail.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Dowdy Draw / Springbrook trail run
I got up early Wednesday to run with Laurel. We started at the Marshal Mesa trailhead and went SW towards Dowdy Draw. Laurel turned around at a bridge but I kept going, eventually misreading a map and adding miles to my route. I ended up on the Springbrook trail which was new to me and very beautiful. By the end I had run almost 11 miles in 2 hours.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Romeo and Juliet
Donna and JJ moved to Boulder this week! We invited them to see Romeo and Juliet at the Colorado Shakespeare festival. Fun time.
Sourdough Trail
On Saturday Dan and I headed up past Ward to the Brainard Lake winter closure gate parking lot From there we ran north on the Sourdough Trail. We made a nice lollipop by running up to Beaver Reservoir and then eventually back to the Sourdough Trail Total distance was about 10.5 miles on awesome (though at times rocky) single track.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Green Mountain evening hike
I met Laurel at Chautauqua for a slow evening hike up Green Mountain. It was nice to hike for a change instead of running -- we got to take a good look at the backsides of Saddle Rock and the 1st Flatiron, and found a neat side trail leading to an overlook of Flagstaff and Gregory Canyon. We had the summit of Green to ourselves and hiked back to our bikes as it was getting dark. By that point we were pretty hungry for dinner so we stopped at Beau Jo's on the way home for pizza.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
First Flatiron
On Sunday we climbed the Fandango route on the First Flatiron. It was really, really hot on the face. Dan led 4 or 5 pitches until we got to the North Arete. There was a beautiful, gusty wind until the summit. Dan led another 4 or so pitches and then we hung out at the summit. It was difficult to set up the rappel ropes because the wind was blowing so hard. We shared a rope with another climbing party after they were on the ground, but when I rappelled the ropes were still swinging so much that I had to keep pulling them from the side.
Some fun scrambling
Look, you can see our house! (almost)
Some fun scrambling
Look, you can see our house! (almost)
Saturday, August 6, 2011
"Triathlon" day
Today was HOT. Laurel and I went for a short run in the morning on the Bobolink trail. Since it was so hot we thought it would be better to go tubing instead. That certainly cooled us off! Laurel reluctantly got into the cold water and even went over some rapids. Later in the evening I biked out to Munson's farm to get some corn and peaches. If you count tubing as a sport, that's my kind of triathlon.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Queen Anne's Head Climb
So, since we cut our backpacking trip short, we decided to do some climbing on Tuesday since Dan still had the day off. Dan picked out a great route he wanted to try on the First Flatiron. We were psyched to be able to give it a shot on a weekday where there would be fewer people.
On our way out the door, we thought to check the weather. We seem to be in a bit of a wet pattern and the forecasters were predicting rain and thunderstorms at noon and then all afternoon. Great. Dan's plan of 4 pitches plus another 300ft wasn't really going to work. On the way to Chautauqua we discussed alternative climbs and decided on the 4-pitch route up Queen Anne's Head, a pinnacle next to the Third Flatiron.
After quite a bit of bushwhacking off the Royal Arch Trail, we finally found the bottom of the climb. We set off at 10:00 with blue skies. Pitch one was great and even included a tricky traverse move without handholds. Dan found a great, flat(!) belay spot and then went on up. The second pitch was also a lot of fun and ended in yet another flat(!!) belay spot. We were both loving the climb. Then, as Dan was heading up pitch three I asked him if he felt the rain drops. Nope. As he built the anchor and I climbed up, I asked if he heard the thunder. Nope. When I met him at the third belay there was a big crash which he then recognized as an oncoming storm. It started to rain a little more. And the thunder sounded closer.
Well, we were 80 feet from the summit and going down was really not an option. Dan led the pitch very quickly and started to set up the rappel as I was climbing up. The rain was still dropping intermittently and the thunder was getting closer. He was incredibly chivalrous and let me rappel down into the 1911 gully first. I found a safe spot and quickly got off the rope. He rapped down and we were both safe on a few boulders.
However, the adventure did not end there. The book described a few options for the descent. One included rapping down to where we were and then climbing up the last few pitches of the Third Flatiron. Dan went to check it out. It was not going to be easy and the rock was getting wetter and wetter. The other option was to walk and rappel down the gully. Based on the conditions, we decided that was our best option.
Dan slung a boulder for our first rappel which got us into a field of ferns. Well, ferns and gigantic poison ivy plants. They were waist-high and soaking wet. It was also hard to see what we were stepping on--dirt, rock, or oblivion. We made it to a big tree with a rope--evidence that someone else had rappelled from the spot. We backed up the rope and set up another rappel. There was one steep rock, but then the rest of the descent was like going through a jungle of brush. We reached one more big tree with another rope and set up our final rappel. It was about 40 feet and on regular-old-rock. It was nice to be on the ground again. Throughout the entire descent the thunder stopped and the rain really didn't come down hard. We were actually able to follow a climber's trail back to the Royal Arch Trail.
Indeed.
On our way out the door, we thought to check the weather. We seem to be in a bit of a wet pattern and the forecasters were predicting rain and thunderstorms at noon and then all afternoon. Great. Dan's plan of 4 pitches plus another 300ft wasn't really going to work. On the way to Chautauqua we discussed alternative climbs and decided on the 4-pitch route up Queen Anne's Head, a pinnacle next to the Third Flatiron.
After quite a bit of bushwhacking off the Royal Arch Trail, we finally found the bottom of the climb. We set off at 10:00 with blue skies. Pitch one was great and even included a tricky traverse move without handholds. Dan found a great, flat(!) belay spot and then went on up. The second pitch was also a lot of fun and ended in yet another flat(!!) belay spot. We were both loving the climb. Then, as Dan was heading up pitch three I asked him if he felt the rain drops. Nope. As he built the anchor and I climbed up, I asked if he heard the thunder. Nope. When I met him at the third belay there was a big crash which he then recognized as an oncoming storm. It started to rain a little more. And the thunder sounded closer.
Well, we were 80 feet from the summit and going down was really not an option. Dan led the pitch very quickly and started to set up the rappel as I was climbing up. The rain was still dropping intermittently and the thunder was getting closer. He was incredibly chivalrous and let me rappel down into the 1911 gully first. I found a safe spot and quickly got off the rope. He rapped down and we were both safe on a few boulders.
However, the adventure did not end there. The book described a few options for the descent. One included rapping down to where we were and then climbing up the last few pitches of the Third Flatiron. Dan went to check it out. It was not going to be easy and the rock was getting wetter and wetter. The other option was to walk and rappel down the gully. Based on the conditions, we decided that was our best option.
Dan slung a boulder for our first rappel which got us into a field of ferns. Well, ferns and gigantic poison ivy plants. They were waist-high and soaking wet. It was also hard to see what we were stepping on--dirt, rock, or oblivion. We made it to a big tree with a rope--evidence that someone else had rappelled from the spot. We backed up the rope and set up another rappel. There was one steep rock, but then the rest of the descent was like going through a jungle of brush. We reached one more big tree with another rope and set up our final rappel. It was about 40 feet and on regular-old-rock. It was nice to be on the ground again. Throughout the entire descent the thunder stopped and the rain really didn't come down hard. We were actually able to follow a climber's trail back to the Royal Arch Trail.
Indeed.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Mummy Backpacking
Well, we tried to have a nice backpacking trip. Our plan was to hike a bunch of peaks in the Mummy Range in Rocky Mountain National Park and spend two nights along the way.
On Sunday, we hiked up the Lawn Lake trail until shortly after a set of switchbacks. From there we headed off trail, ascended rough terrain to a saddle, and picked a route up Bighorn Mountain.
The Diamond face of Long's Peak
Given the name of the mountain we were hoping for sheep. No sheep. It was a nice summit anyway, but we didn't stay long since the clouds were starting to get pretty dark.
Tileston and its "bump" in the midground; Mummy Mountain on the horizon
Back down to the saddle and then up towards Mount Tileston. There was a bump along the way to Tileston so we hit that first. As much as possible we tried to stay in the trees. From the bump summit we had a good look back at Bighorn; from the Tileston summit we could see Potts Puddle and imagine our campsite not too far beyond it.
Bighorn Mountain
Potts Puddle just above Laurel's head
Heading down Tileston we came across a smaller lake that we had to hike around. We meandered back to the trail and found our campsite. Expecting rain any minute we thought it wise to set up our tent and a tarp lean-to to protect our bags. Just as we had everything set up it started to rain, so in the tent we went.
About an hour later, after a break in the rain, we decided to make dinner -- got the stove lit and dinner cooking and it started to rain again. We had rain jackets on but it was pouring so we sheltered under a tree. Then the thunder and lightning started again, and close by -- 5 seconds between lightning and thunder. Our stove, dinner, and a measuring cup were still out in the rain. The storm stalled directly above us: heavy rain and small hail. There was one enormously loud crack of thunder simultaneous with a flash of lightning. By the time the worst of the storm had passed the measuring cup had an inch of water in it. We ate dinner under the tree in the rain and went to sleep. Our tent was fairly dry but some rain had splashed in under the fly and through the mesh.
The "privy"
We had plenty of excuses to cut our trip short: the same lousy forecast for Monday night, a twisted ankle, a non-functioning water filter (at least we brought it this time!) So we dried out and packed up Monday morning and had an easy hike on the trail back to the car.
View Bighorn-Tileston in a larger map
On Sunday, we hiked up the Lawn Lake trail until shortly after a set of switchbacks. From there we headed off trail, ascended rough terrain to a saddle, and picked a route up Bighorn Mountain.
The Diamond face of Long's Peak
Given the name of the mountain we were hoping for sheep. No sheep. It was a nice summit anyway, but we didn't stay long since the clouds were starting to get pretty dark.
Tileston and its "bump" in the midground; Mummy Mountain on the horizon
Back down to the saddle and then up towards Mount Tileston. There was a bump along the way to Tileston so we hit that first. As much as possible we tried to stay in the trees. From the bump summit we had a good look back at Bighorn; from the Tileston summit we could see Potts Puddle and imagine our campsite not too far beyond it.
Bighorn Mountain
Potts Puddle just above Laurel's head
Heading down Tileston we came across a smaller lake that we had to hike around. We meandered back to the trail and found our campsite. Expecting rain any minute we thought it wise to set up our tent and a tarp lean-to to protect our bags. Just as we had everything set up it started to rain, so in the tent we went.
About an hour later, after a break in the rain, we decided to make dinner -- got the stove lit and dinner cooking and it started to rain again. We had rain jackets on but it was pouring so we sheltered under a tree. Then the thunder and lightning started again, and close by -- 5 seconds between lightning and thunder. Our stove, dinner, and a measuring cup were still out in the rain. The storm stalled directly above us: heavy rain and small hail. There was one enormously loud crack of thunder simultaneous with a flash of lightning. By the time the worst of the storm had passed the measuring cup had an inch of water in it. We ate dinner under the tree in the rain and went to sleep. Our tent was fairly dry but some rain had splashed in under the fly and through the mesh.
The "privy"
We had plenty of excuses to cut our trip short: the same lousy forecast for Monday night, a twisted ankle, a non-functioning water filter (at least we brought it this time!) So we dried out and packed up Monday morning and had an easy hike on the trail back to the car.
View Bighorn-Tileston in a larger map
Friday, July 29, 2011
Wild Basin Run
On Friday I decided to head to the Wild Basin area of Rocky Mountain National Park for my long run. All my running partners were out of town or unavailable, so this was a solo trip. I picked Wild Basin because the trails are long, very moderate in elevation gain, and cooler, sitting between 9,500 and 11,200 feet.
I started running at 7:30 and headed out to Lion Lake #1. The 6.5 mile trail took me about 2 hours with 2500' gain. I only passed two other parties on the way and I had the lake to myself. Then I backtracked a bit and turned off for Ouzel Lake.
On the way, I bumped into some backpackers who told me how just half an hour earlier a black bear stole their open jar of peanut butter. Great. I had to run by their campsite and there was a bear (with peanut butter!) in the area. I started singing. Loudly. I ran into an elderly couple who seemed surprised by my singing. I explained the bear story and they just couldn't believe how stupid the two guys were leaving out their peanut butter. Oh well. I kept singing.
I turned off for Ouzel Lake and started seeing many more people. It was getting later in the morning and there were a lot of tourists out. When I arrived at the lake I was surprised by how many fishermen were there. It was much different from the winter!
Then, I was getting pretty tired. So I backtracked again, passed Ouzel Falls and Calypso Cascades and made it back to the car, sans bear. All in all, my track was just over 17 miles. It took 5 hours.
(Dan did a more moderate "long-run" in town, mostly on trails.)
I started running at 7:30 and headed out to Lion Lake #1. The 6.5 mile trail took me about 2 hours with 2500' gain. I only passed two other parties on the way and I had the lake to myself. Then I backtracked a bit and turned off for Ouzel Lake.
On the way, I bumped into some backpackers who told me how just half an hour earlier a black bear stole their open jar of peanut butter. Great. I had to run by their campsite and there was a bear (with peanut butter!) in the area. I started singing. Loudly. I ran into an elderly couple who seemed surprised by my singing. I explained the bear story and they just couldn't believe how stupid the two guys were leaving out their peanut butter. Oh well. I kept singing.
I turned off for Ouzel Lake and started seeing many more people. It was getting later in the morning and there were a lot of tourists out. When I arrived at the lake I was surprised by how many fishermen were there. It was much different from the winter!
Then, I was getting pretty tired. So I backtracked again, passed Ouzel Falls and Calypso Cascades and made it back to the car, sans bear. All in all, my track was just over 17 miles. It took 5 hours.
(Dan did a more moderate "long-run" in town, mostly on trails.)
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Mount Audubon Run
Tanya and I ran up Mount Audubon today. It took us 1:33 to get up and about the same time to come down. It was a gorgeous morning and we were the first ones on the summit. More pics.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Chasm Lake with Jim and Jacqueline
Violin Jim is back in town for the Colorado Music Festival. We've seen two of his concerts (wonderful), visited with his 3-year-old twins, and had dinner with him and his wife Jacqueline this summer. Well, at dinner last week the idea of a hike came up. So, we planned a trip for the four of us up to Rocky Mountain National Park.
We met at the Longs Peak Ranger Cottage and hiked up the standard trail. It was a lovely walk through the forest. When we hit treeline, we saw many wild flowers and a few marmots.
We hiked up to the Chasm Lake overlook, had snack, and laughed over the cliff-side privy. We started to head down the trail to the lake, but were turned around by a huge snowfield on a 45-degree slope. None of us were equipped for such a crossing, plus Dan and I both had to get back to town for afternoon appointments and the clouds were getting darker.
On the way down we lucked out with the rain (just a bit while we were in the trees), but I think Jim cautioned everyone about the snowfield. He was disappointed we didn't get to go on (we were too!) but it was the safest choice. We got back to the cars in time for Dan and me to run up to Estes Park to get our backpacking permit for the weekend.
See all pics.
We met at the Longs Peak Ranger Cottage and hiked up the standard trail. It was a lovely walk through the forest. When we hit treeline, we saw many wild flowers and a few marmots.
We hiked up to the Chasm Lake overlook, had snack, and laughed over the cliff-side privy. We started to head down the trail to the lake, but were turned around by a huge snowfield on a 45-degree slope. None of us were equipped for such a crossing, plus Dan and I both had to get back to town for afternoon appointments and the clouds were getting darker.
On the way down we lucked out with the rain (just a bit while we were in the trees), but I think Jim cautioned everyone about the snowfield. He was disappointed we didn't get to go on (we were too!) but it was the safest choice. We got back to the cars in time for Dan and me to run up to Estes Park to get our backpacking permit for the weekend.
See all pics.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
High Lonesome Loop
Today I went for a beautiful run/hike with the BTR (Boulder Trail Runners) Church Run group. It was a small group today with only three of us, but it was tons of fun. I drove up to the Hessie trailhead with Theresa where we met Fred who had taken the bus and ridden his bike. From there, we ran/hiked up the Devil's Lake Cut-off trail to, you guessed it, Devil's Lake. There was significantly less snow than a month ago when Dan and I tried to hike in this area. There were a couple of snow fields still around, but nothing that wasn't easily crossable. We ascended Devil's Thumb Pass to the Continental Divide in about two and a half hours. The whole route was crawling with wild flowers and boasted gorgeous views.
We then ran down part of the ridge to summit two little bumps. I thought one of them was Skyscraper Peak, but after looking at the map again, I don't think we got the true summit. We got back on the trail and descended into the King Lake basin. From there we just took the King Lake Trail back to the Hessie Trailhead. The whole adventure took 5.5 hours and we covered 16 miles and 3600' gain.
Here's our route.
Here are the pics.
We then ran down part of the ridge to summit two little bumps. I thought one of them was Skyscraper Peak, but after looking at the map again, I don't think we got the true summit. We got back on the trail and descended into the King Lake basin. From there we just took the King Lake Trail back to the Hessie Trailhead. The whole adventure took 5.5 hours and we covered 16 miles and 3600' gain.
Here's our route.
Here are the pics.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Lee Hill/Deer Trail Bike Ride
I decided to go for a "little" bike ride before it got too hot today. I went up Lee Hill Road and then saw another biker turn off on Deer Trail. It looked interesting so I decided to follow him. The road didn't really go anywhere except up. I rode over 20 miles in 2:10 and climbed 2500' in elevation. Here's the map.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Buchanan Pass Run
This morning I drove up to Allenspark with my friend Maggie from my principal class to run 8-10 miles on the Buchanan Pass Trail. We left from Camp Dick and ran for about 4.5 miles until the trail was totally flooded out. Dan and I snowshoed this trail this past winter out to Red Deer Lake. There were beautiful flowers and great views of the Sawtooth!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Mount Yale
On Monday we were up at 4:30 again. We threw everything in the car and were hiking before dawn. The first mile of the trail was wide and fairly easy to navigate by moonlight. We only needed our headlamps to read the trail junction signs.
We passed a father-daughter pair and then a group of 14 hiking-camp kids from Massachusetts. The trail was very well constructed and easy to follow (we learned later that it was brand new!). As we got up to about 13,000ft we ran into a single hiker who had summited early enough to see the sunrise -— very cool!
We reached the summit at 8:00 and had it to ourselves for nearly half an hour. It was another gorgeous morning, made even more special by our solitude. Other parties started to make it up, so we headed back down. We passed the kids and wished them luck in summiting. I wonder if they actually made it up -- some of them didn't look too good.
Around 11:00 am we got back to the car and then headed into town for brunch. Dan had a huge omelet and I had the best French toast ever! You really can't beat real food! We were back in Boulder at 3:00 and then I went to class at 5:00. It was a long night discussing school law, but well worth the early morning!
From the summit we had great views of some of the mountains we climbed to the North. Use the scrollbar below to view the entire panorama, or click for a larger view:
We passed a father-daughter pair and then a group of 14 hiking-camp kids from Massachusetts. The trail was very well constructed and easy to follow (we learned later that it was brand new!). As we got up to about 13,000ft we ran into a single hiker who had summited early enough to see the sunrise -— very cool!
We reached the summit at 8:00 and had it to ourselves for nearly half an hour. It was another gorgeous morning, made even more special by our solitude. Other parties started to make it up, so we headed back down. We passed the kids and wished them luck in summiting. I wonder if they actually made it up -- some of them didn't look too good.
Around 11:00 am we got back to the car and then headed into town for brunch. Dan had a huge omelet and I had the best French toast ever! You really can't beat real food! We were back in Boulder at 3:00 and then I went to class at 5:00. It was a long night discussing school law, but well worth the early morning!
From the summit we had great views of some of the mountains we climbed to the North. Use the scrollbar below to view the entire panorama, or click for a larger view:
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Huron (Take 2)
Saturday evening we were both bummed that we hadn't reached the summit of Huron. Due to its remote location, I was not looking forward to making a return trip. After some debate and discussion, we decided to give it another try. However, we didn't want to hike the same trail we had just come down.
We turned to Dan's original plan of following a jeep road to the peak's north ridge. Along this ridge were several summits we could tag en route to Huron. We didn't want to be shut out due to the weather again, so we planned for a very early start. We moved the Xterra to the base of the road and set up the big tent, which felt luxurious after a night in the backpacking tent.
We got up at 4:30 and were on the trail before dawn. The full moon lit our way up the old Jeep road that we followed to the beautiful basin of Lulu Creek. From here we spotted a good route to the ridge. There were tons of columbines, which we were very careful not to step on.
Once we obtained the ridge, we actually traveled back towards the jeep road to summit Middle Mountain and Cross Mountain. From Cross we could see the town of Winfield that we hiked and then drove through yesterday.
Winfield
Laurel hiking down Cross Mountain. From front to back, the peaks are Middle Mountain, Point 13,462, Browns Peak, and Huron Peak.
We retraced our steps back to Middle and then headed towards the unnamed point on the ridge leading to Browns Peak. There was actually another small bump on the way as we scrambled to the top of Point 13,462. We were surprised to find a summit register up there. It was deposited a month earlier and already three other hikers had signed it.
Then it was on to Browns. We replaced the old tattered summit register. Unfortunately, the ink had dried up in the pen we brought, and the pen that was already in the register tube was busted. Hopefully the next person can leave a pen or pencil.
The ridge got rockier between Browns and Huron. Dan was completely in his element and I was a bit exposure-shy. It actually wasn't too bad and the talus was fairly climbable.
We summited another unnamed peak (Point 13,518) just for fun, and then it was finally on to Huron! We hiked the last 600 vertical feet quickly and reached the summit at 10:30. It was a gorgeous morning and the top was crowded. There was an 80-year-old man from Germany who reached the top shortly after we did. Most impressive!
Our respite was short, as clouds were already building around us. We hiked back on the Huron Superhighway for about 1,500 vertical feet, only retracing about half a mile of the trail we had hiked down yesterday. Dan wanted to find an old Jeep road marked on the map that would get us back to where we started in the morning. We navigated along the northwest slopes of Huron until the clouds got dark and we felt some rain.
At this point I was getting really nervous about still being above treeline, so we dropped down a couple of hundred feet into the trees to have some protection from potential lightning. Quite unexpectedly, we found a very old faint trail that led us all the way back to our original Jeep road. The weather held above us for the rest of the afternoon and the trees offered some shade from the hot sun. We returned to the tent around 2:00 after summiting 7 different peaks.
We took a nice nap and then contemplated our next move. We were both tired of backpacking food and there weren't any other peaks in the neighborhood that we were interested in, so we decided to pack up and head to Buena Vista for real food. We found a great Mexican place that served us despite our appearance after 3 days in the mountains. After picking up some additional provisions we headed to Mount Yale, found the trailhead, and set up camp at the neighboring campground.
We turned to Dan's original plan of following a jeep road to the peak's north ridge. Along this ridge were several summits we could tag en route to Huron. We didn't want to be shut out due to the weather again, so we planned for a very early start. We moved the Xterra to the base of the road and set up the big tent, which felt luxurious after a night in the backpacking tent.
We got up at 4:30 and were on the trail before dawn. The full moon lit our way up the old Jeep road that we followed to the beautiful basin of Lulu Creek. From here we spotted a good route to the ridge. There were tons of columbines, which we were very careful not to step on.
Once we obtained the ridge, we actually traveled back towards the jeep road to summit Middle Mountain and Cross Mountain. From Cross we could see the town of Winfield that we hiked and then drove through yesterday.
Winfield
Laurel hiking down Cross Mountain. From front to back, the peaks are Middle Mountain, Point 13,462, Browns Peak, and Huron Peak.
We retraced our steps back to Middle and then headed towards the unnamed point on the ridge leading to Browns Peak. There was actually another small bump on the way as we scrambled to the top of Point 13,462. We were surprised to find a summit register up there. It was deposited a month earlier and already three other hikers had signed it.
Then it was on to Browns. We replaced the old tattered summit register. Unfortunately, the ink had dried up in the pen we brought, and the pen that was already in the register tube was busted. Hopefully the next person can leave a pen or pencil.
The ridge got rockier between Browns and Huron. Dan was completely in his element and I was a bit exposure-shy. It actually wasn't too bad and the talus was fairly climbable.
We summited another unnamed peak (Point 13,518) just for fun, and then it was finally on to Huron! We hiked the last 600 vertical feet quickly and reached the summit at 10:30. It was a gorgeous morning and the top was crowded. There was an 80-year-old man from Germany who reached the top shortly after we did. Most impressive!
Our respite was short, as clouds were already building around us. We hiked back on the Huron Superhighway for about 1,500 vertical feet, only retracing about half a mile of the trail we had hiked down yesterday. Dan wanted to find an old Jeep road marked on the map that would get us back to where we started in the morning. We navigated along the northwest slopes of Huron until the clouds got dark and we felt some rain.
At this point I was getting really nervous about still being above treeline, so we dropped down a couple of hundred feet into the trees to have some protection from potential lightning. Quite unexpectedly, we found a very old faint trail that led us all the way back to our original Jeep road. The weather held above us for the rest of the afternoon and the trees offered some shade from the hot sun. We returned to the tent around 2:00 after summiting 7 different peaks.
We took a nice nap and then contemplated our next move. We were both tired of backpacking food and there weren't any other peaks in the neighborhood that we were interested in, so we decided to pack up and head to Buena Vista for real food. We found a great Mexican place that served us despite our appearance after 3 days in the mountains. After picking up some additional provisions we headed to Mount Yale, found the trailhead, and set up camp at the neighboring campground.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)