Category Archives: Colorado Trail

Stories recounting my 2011 hike along the Colorado Trail in reverse Chronological order and later hikes.

Flattop Mountain

14 Sunday Jul 2019

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bear-lake-map

Don’t you think this is an easy enough route?  On paper, it’s fairly straight-forward.  Park at Bear Lake Trailhead, as big and well-groomed a thrailhead as you will ever find.  This trailhead presents numerous options for more pedestrian hikes to various lakes.  I took the less-pedestrian trail that runs above treeline to merge into the Continental Divide Trail in a photopunk moonscape of alpine flowers.

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I drove through the ranger gate at 6:15am, and it was open for free.  Rangers have told me before that parking fills up by 7am. There are other trailheads along the drive, but this trailhead is a great place to start so many hikes.  The difficulty of the hike depends on which direction you go onto the Bear Lake Loop Trail.

You take the left trail—the epic hike ends, you see pretty new lakes every mile or so after cresting shallow hills. You take the right trail—you climb this hill, and I show you Colorado from the top. Remember: all I’m offering is the truth.

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The trail hits treeline about half way up, time and distance-wise.  Treeline is also about two-thirds up the 3000 feet of vertical.  The rocks are covered in alpine flowers here that should still be around in late August.

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This section of trail, just before cresting Flattop Mountain, is convered by snowpack still. I suspect some of this will remain in late August too, but it’s passable.  I’ll have a few pairs of trekking poles for those who want them.

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The top is surreal, like Mars with grass and flowers.

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The views were great the entire hike.  At the top here, you can see Longs Peak behind me.  There is an awesome view of the Keyhole and the Ledges on the northwest side of Longs Peak.

I know Nancy, Steve, my brother Steve, and really, most of you could make this hike.  It took me a little under four hours.  Expect five.  Like this post if you’re interested Sunday morning.

Two Girls Eating

30 Sunday Jun 2019

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The only two things a girl needs when hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park is water and her smartphone.

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This is what we saw at the end of our hike in Wild Basin.  Sandbeach Lake is considered deep at fifty feet, and it has a deep-blue reflection.

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Two girls eating a sandwich, after a couple of hours of hiking, is basically the goal of hiking.

Sky on Fire

16 Sunday Sep 2018

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Never Summer

La Plata and I rejoined for a second hike this summer along the Continental Divide Trail.  We met at the Bowen Gulch trailhead off Hwy 34, inside the Rocky Mountain National Park.  We left my car there for our finish and drove through Granby for Hwy 125, which took us up to Willow Creek Pass.

The yellow and burnt orange aspen were much thicker here than in RMNP.  La Plata said the colors were incredible between Durango and this valley.  Their color was echoed by the sun setting under plumes of smoke from the Kremmling fire as we drove up the pass.  The smoke filtered blues on top of hot pinks, mirroring the inferno below, telling the story of our summer with the sky on fire.

Willow Creek Pass

We set off at 6:30am and tracked forty-five minutes of fast-paced progress before I discovered I’d left the keys to my car back in La-Plata’s car at Willow Creek Pass.  This added ninety minutes to our twenty-two mile trek, and a good four more miles.  Today would be a marathon.

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I discovered a new 200 calorie snack bar that I highly recommend – Bulletproof.  I ate their lemon cookie for breakfast.  Yum.  I doubt there is anything else on the health food market anywhere close to this tasty.  The Kremmling fire smoke is in the picture below – those aren’t clouds.

Bowen Pass 2

Hiking with La Plata is like trail running with anyone else.  Fortunately, the section of the Continental Divide Trail between the Willow Creek trailhead and Bowen Gulch near Grand Lake is mostly below tree line.  My breathing seemed good despite the altitude and La Plata’s torrid pace.  He schooled me with this unyielding pace for the earlier blunder with the keys, not slowing down until we crossed Bowen Pass, our high point a little above treeline.

Bowen Pass

Can’t thank him enough.  Always the coach, and actually a personal fitness instructor, this training will serve me well for the three days of trail half marathons in Utah and Arizona next month.  I did have to run at times to catch up with La Plata in the early going.  I took advantage of downhill sections of trail.  We maintained a strong two mile per hour pace.  That’s good for high altitude mountain trails.  Standard walking pace is about three miles per hour.  I don’t expect the Trailfest to be nearly this challenging, except that it’s three days in a row for a total of thirty seven miles.  Recovery will be paramount.

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I missed the photo-taking for Ellie’s homecoming dance.  The kids looked good.  The first photo is with Ellie and her boyfriend Will at Chautauqua.  The second is the group shot.

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Mount Evans

15 Sunday Jul 2018

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Ed on Guanella Pass

The best hikes begin with camping.  I’m pictured here at dusk beside my one-man, Big Agnes tent, perched about a hundred yards from the upper parking lot on Guanella Pass. Signs posted in the parking lot say “no camping”, but the guidelines aren’t clear.  A reasonable person would believe that to mean within fifty yards.  We weren’t alone.

It’s been about a year since I’ve been camping and I will tell you that I enjoy it as much as the next day’s hike.  It’s mostly the stars that I find so special.  Absent the ambient city lights of the Denver metro, the night sky is absolutely stunning.  The first stars to become visible are actually planets, first Venus, the evening star, followed closely by Jupiter and then Mars appears as a red twinkle.  I have thoughts watching their light emerge from the darkness of early man viewing the same night horizon thirty thousand years earlier and maybe learning to count to three.  Soon after the arrival of Mars, too many stars flood the night sky to count.

mountain goats

We woke at 4:30 and hit the trail an hour later, after packing up and enjoying trailhead coffee.  The upper parking lot was filling up and the lower parking lot was completely full, with fifty or more cars parked along the road.  If you’ve hiked Mount Beirstadt, then you know how crowded that trail is.  With the pass sitting above tree line at 11,669 feet, Mt. Bierstadt is one of the most attainable 14ers in Colorado.  But Rob and I didn’t take the trail up to Bierstadt.

Still in the willows, we turned left at the creek crossing.  There’s a faint, unmarked trail that follows the banks, until it disappears in the willows.  The trail existed on some map Rob studied before our hike.  A map he left at home.  Having a map would seem wise when entering the forest and mountains of Colorado, but we knew where we were and about where we wanted to go.  We shuffle parked our other car at Echo Lake, on the other side of the mountains that lie in front of us, roughly thirteen miles easterly from Guanella Pass.

Rob on Mt Evans

I can tell you the trail didn’t exist on the map I studied before hand.  It’s safe to say, there is no trail, so we bushwhacked our way through the cold, wet mud and willows in a pointed direction to the saddle that sits north of Mount Bierstadt.  Trails did emerge at times, animal trails no doubt.  Rob’s general tactic when having lost the trail is to proceed upwardly toward higher ground.  There was no debate, up was where we wanted to go.

We encountered climbers at the top of the saddle.  Rather than presenting a trail down the far side, turned out the other side of the saddle is what climbers call the black wall, a sheer cliff with a thousand foot drop.  Our trail was another quarter mile uphill and to the right.  It’s actually a loop and we continued up Mount Spalding, and eventually to Mount Evans itself.  It’s not an easy trail, at times more of merely a route marked by cairns.  The climb was exhausting.

Ed on Mt Evans

Of course, you don’t have to hike for miles to reach Mount Evans, there’s a paved road that allows visitors to park a hundred or so feet below the massive pile of rocks that form the peak.  As far as we know, we were the only hikers atop Mount Evans who arrived via the unmarked trail from the Guanella Pass direction.  This is a rare mountaintop that is reachable by paved road.  I very much recommend it.  Visitors were taking pictures of mountain goats as they stood in line for the restrooms by the observatory.  Where else would you find that experience?

Our descent was just as brutal as the climb up.  The first thousand foot drop from the peak contained switchbacks as tight as a staircase, and the steepness continued for several thousand more feet, hammering my thighs and quads to where I still can’t descend the stairs in my house today without holding onto the railing.  We reached the Echo Lake Trailhead after thirteen miles and nine hours.  Another epic hike in the books.  Can’t wait to get back out there.

Buffalo Pass

07 Monday Aug 2017

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buffalo pass THI continued my hiking with Rob on the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) near Steamboat Springs this past weekend.  We’ve been hiking northbound generally but the most efficient car shuffle for this outing suggested a southbound route.  We hiked two sections southbound, first 15 miles from Buffalo Pass to Rabbit Ears Pass on Saturday, then 24 miles from the Three Island Lake Trailhead to Buffalo Pass on Sunday.  For Rob, this leaves the section of trail between Grand Lake and Rabbit Ears, and the 50 miles of trail south of Wyoming, for him to complete all the CDT within Colorado.  He also he completed the northern half of New Mexico.

moose watch cafe

Saturday’s adventure began at the Moose Watch Cafe for a breakfast burrito and a few donuts.  I ate one of these maple bacon delights, along with something cream filled.

Wyoming Trail

It might be hard to read this sign but it says the Wyoming Trail.  Whenever we were in doubt, and the CDT is nothing if not poorly marked, we followed signs for the Wyoming Trail.  Apparently the section of CDT between Rabbit Ears Pass and Wyoming, is also known as the Wyoming Trail.

moose

Early in our hike, as we stopped to adjust our gear, this cow and her calf sprinted up behind us.  They stopped and acted a bit startled after spotting us, before continuing their trot deep into the woods.  Moose are really just super large deer.  They’re somewhat spectacular to see up close in the wild.

 

lakes

This section of trail consisted mostly of alpine meadows and lakes.  Everything, even the tundra above tree line on day two, was lush and green, like these high mountain daisies I’m standing in here.

parry primrose

I’m not totally certain what these flowers are.  My best guess is Parry Primrose.  Could be fireweed.

Rabbit Ears Pass

Saturday’s hike ended at Rabbit Ears Pass, just south of Steamboat Springs.  We saw a decent number of other hikers, and even more mountain bikers.  Even a few fishermen headed up to those alpine lakes.

butcherknife amputator IPA

To heal our sore muscles after the 15 mile trek, we dined in Steamboat and quaffed a few of the local Butcherknife Amputator IPAs.

camp fire

Despite the very wet ground, we got ourselves a camp fire for the night.

3 island lake TH

We started out the next day at the Three Island Lake Trailhead, 50 miles south of the Wyoming border.  Sunday’s hike was mostly above treeline, but the ground was still more soggy marsh.

first snow

The melt off these snow fields accounted for some of the sogginess, constant afternoon rains for the rest.

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The photo above captures what much of the top of the CDT looks like, fields of alpine flora with very little signs of an actual trail.  You just walk between the drop offs.

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Other times, you look for the next cairn to guide the path, when the trail is under near permanent slow fields, or like below when there’s not enough foot traffic to carve out a path through the fast-growing grass.

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This sign points to a spur trail, Grag’s Trail, that runs behind me.  You can’t make out a discernible trail in the grass, but you can spot the cairn over my shoulder pointing the way.  Our trail in this photo, is the Wyoming trail running horizontal, also without any visible path.

fly agaric top

There were so many photo perfect moments on the trail but for the most part, I simply experienced them without taking pictures.  Like when the team of elite mountain pixies came running past us.  Spaced over a 20 second spread, four unbelievably attractive runners ran by us at maybe a 7 minute pace.  Clearly under 8 minutes per mile.  At extreme altitude.  While they were wearing different racing outfits, you could see they were a team by how uniformly they maintained form, like a peloton in bike racing.

fly agaric profile

Either Rob and I really were passed by a quad of beautiful elite trail racers, or we took a bite out of this hallucinogenic Fly Agaric mushroom growing alongside the trail and imagined it.  After 8 hours, we completed Sunday’s 24 mile trek, this time entering Buffalo Pass from the north, satiated for that moment, hungry now for the next opportunity.

Thirteener

15 Saturday Jul 2017

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Brainard LakeWith Zach up from Austin, we thought he’d like to see what Colorado looks like, from the top.  So we hiked up 13,223 foot Mt. Audubon today.  The trailhead starts near Brainard Lake.  That’s Mt Audubon in the upper right of this photo as Zach, Ellie and Brit sit on the bridge rail overlooking the lake.

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The girls tended to stop to smell the roses often enough that the 9 mile round trip took us over 5 hours.

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This photo above shows how close Ellie gets to the flowers for a pic, as she lies among the Alpine Buttercups at over 12,000 feet.

group

The group consisted of Ellie, Brit, her friend Tabitha, and of course Zach – doing his impression of Michael Nesmith from the Monkees.

Brit n Tab

Tabitha’s a hoot.  Tabitha and her sisters are all named for characters from the TV show Bewitched.

backs

This was Zac’s highest climb ever.  He and Ellie contemplated the achievement looking west at 13,000 feet.

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As we returned to Brainard Lake, Ellie tried walking to this rock without getting wet.

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Zach joined her, demonstrating some impressive balance as he walked across the submerged rock path.

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Amazingly, they made it without too much water getting inside their boots.

Ed

Pretty sure everyone enjoyed themselves on this hike.  I would say I had the best time of all though.  This was my first big hike in the mountains this summer.  Hope to hike more.

 

 

Zion

20 Tuesday Sep 2016

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Half way between California and Colorado is Zion. So Brit and I booked a night at the Cable Mountain Lodge near the entrance to the park.  We rose before the sun to squeeze in a hike through the Narrows.  The first mile was paved.

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The trail disappeared with the sidewalk.

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Surely, the trail will pick back up around the next curve in the canyon.

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Brit wades deeper.  The trail guide did say something about expecting to get wet.

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And to guard against hypothermia.  The sun is slow to warm up the canyon.

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We hiked up the Virgin River for maybe a quarter mile.  The cold, deep water didn’t turn us back.  The canyon walls drew us in like sirens to the rocks.

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But we had to get home to Colorado by nightfall.  We’ll return for sure to Zion when we’re not just passing through.

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We skipped the high speed Interstate for Hwy 9 through the park, connecting later with highways 89 and 12, traversing Escalade, Boulder, the Dixie National Forest and Capitol Reef National Park.  A virtual lifetime of vistas.  Barely out of Zion, just past the tunnels, we saw a rock that had to be climbed.

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Brit preferred walking the sandstone barefoot to her sandals.

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She finally made it to the top, after me.

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Brit celebrated her climb with a namaste.

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I just did my best to keep my balance.  I don’t have words to describe the splendor of our remaining drive through Utah.  We saw flaming orange aspen in the Dixie Forest and petroglyphs in the cliffs of the Capitol Reef rocks.  If you get a chance to drive between Colorado and California, do yourself a favor and skip the Interstate. Take the scenic byway.

Colorado River Headwaters

10 Sunday Jul 2016

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Berthoud Pass

This weekend’s fifty-four mile backpacking hike along the Continental Divide begins at Berthoud Pass at 6am.  The early start required a 3:30am wakeup from our stellar Shadow Mountain Lake beachside camp site in Grand Lake, where we leave one of our cars because that’s where this trek will end.

berthoud pass weather station

1100 feet of elevation gain later, Rob stands atop Mines Peak, the first of so many peaks that I lose count.  I didn’t capture stats with a Garmin, but traversing the Continental Divide Trail above the headwaters of the Colorado River likely included well over 10,000 feet of vertical on just the first of our three days.

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My legs are so spent by the end of day one, I’m near tears when Rob tells me we have to scale yet another giant boulder field to avoid having to glacade down a scary snow cornice that covers the trail over Devil’s Thumb Pass.  We need to get around this snow to camp on the east side of the pass.

avalanche

We end day one having trekked twenty miles in thirteen hours.  Not a strong pace but considering 30 pound backpacks and terrain, we’re impressed with ourselves.  Thousand foot climbs followed immediately by thousand foot descents.  Boulder field after scree field after boulder field.  For this final scramble, I use my bare hands to steady myself against the cold, abrasive granite on each step.  I no longer trust my fatigued legs to land without buckling.

ridge

This photo of Rob above shows the typical tundra we walk across from Mines Peak to Devil’s Thumb Pass.  No trail for much of it, just a route for us to keep between the edges of East and West.  The Cairn at the top of this hill leads the way.

alpine flowers

The tundra isn’t all moonscape, alpine flowers are lush from this season’s strong snowfall.  I’ve never seen so many alpine daisies.

alpine daisies

Camping over the pass near Devil’s Thumb Lake offers us not just water to resupply, but the softest high mountain meadow grass to pitch our tents.  I go to sleep fearful I won’t wake with the strength needed to climb back up that pass to continue on the trail.  I credit the meadow with my recovery.  We wake to see Elk streaming across the mountainsides, crossing fields of melting snow.  I climb back up that 1000 foot pile of rocks, and for the most part, the rest of the hike is downhill.

squeaks

We meet Squeaks as we descend the High Lonesome Trail from Devil’s Thumb.  She looks to be about 65 years old.  She’s a south-bound (SoBo) through-hiker backpacking from the Wyoming border to New Mexico.  We’ve met other NoBo through-hikers, Charge, and later Cloud Buster.  She tells us about the rough blow-down we’ll face on Knights Ridge Trail.  Blow down are dead trees, some Aspen but mostly Lodgepole Pine, that fall from strong winds and block the trail.  Squeaks also tells us about the three or four family members who have joined her for sections of her hike.  I figure her pack weighs forty pounds.  I mean, look at it.  No idea how she can do this.

Monarch Lake 1

Day two takes us below tree line, where we remain the rest of our hike.  The downhill direction and the oxygen that comes with each downward step help us to complete over twenty miles in twelve hours.  Cooling off at Monarch Lake helped as well.

Monarch Lake 2

Shortly after Monarch Lake, we stumble across the world’s smallest bar, the Red Dog Saloon.  The bartender Lee, qualifies his boast of the world’s smallest bar by excluding Malaysia, where he says they have smaller bars.  Rob and I polish off a six pack of ice-cold Ranger IPA, a Colorado brewed 6.5 ABV thirst-quencher.

Ranger IPA

Rob considers renting a teepee for the night, but I convince him there’s yet more hiking before night fall.

teepee

We end the night at the southern tip of Lake Grandby, on a sandy beach.  This is the view from my tent.

Lake Grandby

We start out day three earlier than the others, at 5:30, and hike the final stretch alongside Lake Grandby, the Colorado River, and Shadow Mountain Lake.  Much of this is down near the water, some miles are up in high mountain meadows.  On our first climb, we watch a moose take a bath in a marshy pond.  He shakes the water off like a dog, sending shock waves across the meadow from the force of his hooves.  The prettiest flowers in these meadows above the Colorado River are these Columbine.

Columbine

The headwaters to the Colorado River are dammed up to form a sizable lake, although the northern end flows like a river.  I refill my LifeStraw water bottle, given to me last Christmas by my sister-in-law Susan, at a point where we need to cross a creek streaming into the river.  This water bottle filters untreated water so that it is safe to drink.  Worked awesome for me.  At another creek crossing, either the water is too high or the bridge is washed away, so we cross over the top of a beaver dam.  One of our more dicey creek crossings.

East Shore TH

We complete the twelve remaining miles on day three at the East Shore Trailhead after six hours.  A total of 54 miles, 20 above tree line, and 31 hours spent on the trail.  We celebrate this truly epic hike at the Peak Brewpub in Winter Park.

Peak Brewpub

Mt. Bierstadt

19 Sunday Jun 2016

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silver valleyBrit and Ellie drove up with me Saturday evening to Silver Plume.  We spent the night in the A-Basin Room of this modest B&B, the Silver Valley Bed & Breakfast.  Surprisingly nice place on Clear Creek, a few miles past Georgetown.  Above is a photo of their backyard, from a wooden porch swing.

creek crossing

The first mile of  our 3.5 mile climb included this creek crossing.  Brit demonstrates here how not to cross the fast flowing snow melt.  She said her feet were numb the rest of the hike.

alpine seating

We took our time hiking up, stopping here about half way, to smell the alpine flowers and eat some grapes.

sisters

We summit the peak in about 3 hours.  Ellie’s first 14er at age 14.  Pretty special.  That’s Grays and Torreys to the right of Brit.

Brit yoga

What is it with girls and yoga poses?  Pretty funny, after our deliberate pace up to the ridge, Ellie nearly sprinted up the final pile of rocks to the peak.

Ellie yoga

I’m not sure which view I like most from Mt. Bierstadt, east or west.  It’s an awesome view of Mt. Evans to the east.  Actually, you can continue on across a knife-edge ridge to Mt. Evans.  I’d like to do that some day.

Bierstadt photo

You can see Mt Evans in the upper left of this photo above.  There are some lakes below, that add to the view.

 

fathers day

The western views contain the most snowcapped peaks.  Brit and Ellie enjoyed sliding down a long snowpack on our descent.  I was impressed by their bravery, they simply thought it was fun.  The link takes you to the video on YouTube.  Overall, I had an awesome Father’s Day.  Got my long run in on Saturday.  Even installed a garbage disposal without having to make additional trips to Lowes.  Great weekend.

 

I Just Want to Run

16 Thursday Jun 2016

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race photo mile 2c

All I want to do for Father’s Day is go for a nice long run.  Doubt though my new InSinkErator garbage disposal will install itself in the kitchen sink.  And Ellie wants me to take her camping.  Why is Father’s Day rarely about Dad?  This photo is two miles into the 2016 Bolder Boulder – Memorial Day where I had an hour in the morning to myself to run a storied 10K.  I recall having to return quickly from the race to grill burgers for Brit’s band, who was performing in the neighborhood.  How much you want to bet, I’ll grill dinner for Father’s Day too?

Bierstadt

I think my plan will be this.  Install the garbage disposal Saturday morning.  Celebrate that victory with a run in the afternoon.  Then travel up to a B&B in Silver Plume for the evening to position us for an early morning climb up Mt. Bierstadt.  I tried to reserve camping spots but they are either taken or not yet open.  I could risk camping at first-come, first served camping spots, but if I’ve learned anything as a father, you don’t take such risks with kids.  So the B&B is booked for a sure thing.

This entire hike is above tree line from the trail head.  It’s 3 miles up to the peak, with the first mile through a wet marsh.  Should be frozen in the morning.  The next two miles are steep.  This will be Ellie’s first 14er.  Brit is going too.  Wish us luck.

From the Depths of Hell

12 Sunday Jun 2016

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girl on the mountaintopRan ten miles in 86° Saturday.  I think the humidity is up because it felt like 100°.  Carried a camelbak for the first time this year.  My pace slowed down to a crawl the final four miles.  I was happy to see the irrigation ditch flowing strong again, allowing me to dip my hat in the cold mountain snowmelt.  A refreshing respite after running through Hell’s kitchen.

snowFrom the depths of hell Saturday, Ellie and I climbed 11,400 foot Twin Sisters on Sunday.  As the photo shows above, the trail is still covered with snow at higher elevations.  Glad we took trekking poles.  This is Ellie’s first real mountain peak hike, if you don’t count the Flat Irons overlooking Boulder.  This is a seven mile roundtrip hike and a real accomplishment.  Our plans this summer are to work ourselves up to a 14er, likely Grays and Torreys.

MudsildeThis photo shows where the trail crosses the massive mudslide from the Great Flood of 2013.  Karen and I hiked up to this point two years ago, and turned around.  Ellie and Brit went further, but the trail was in disrepair and they didn’t make it to the summit.  The trail is still an extremely steep alternate route, but safe and manageable.

charlies angels 2Ellie’s friend, Esme hiked up with us today.  The cool mountain air made for a perfect hike.  You can see the Diamond Face east cliff wall of Longs Peak over Ellie’s head in this photo.  The views were awesome of Mount Meeker and the Mummy Range.  We could see Estes Park and Longmont as well.

yogaIf anyone wants their kids to get in some hiking this summer, let me know.  I’m scouting 12,000 and 13,000 peaks next.  A 14er by end of summer.

Longs Peak

31 Monday Aug 2015

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momma rosasI set out Saturday afternoon with my neighbors, Keith, Jen, Steve and Scott, to hike Longs Peak.  We are pictured here eating in Estes Park before camping out near the trailhead.  The allure of Longs Peak has been haunting me for years now.  Ever since I climbed my first peak back in 2008 – Mount Garfield. I say “haunted” because of the apprehension this trek stirs in hikers as they commit to plans.  As the northern most 14er in the Colorado Rockies, I  see it every day outside my window.  The trailhead in RMNP is a 45 minute jaunt from my house.  But not a year goes by without reading about some hiker in bluejeans and cotton hoodie dying from exposure.  Or being blown off the peak by a gust of wind.  To be fair, this trail takes its share of experienced hikers and climbers too; although there is a strong correlation between victims and cotton wearables.  Every section of trail is popularized by name.  The Boulder Field.  The Keyhole.  The Ledges.  The Narrows.  Those names alone will spook you.

wildWe reserved a 7 camper backcountry permit to camp at Goblins Forest.  Turns out, there was 8 of us as Steve invited 3 friends, Parker, Robert and another Keith.  The rangers were none the wiser as they close at 4pm and we didn’t pitch our tents until around 8:30.  Goblins Forest is a little over a mile in from the trailhead.  It turned out to be an awesome site with plenty of room, even a vault toilet.  Smoke from the Western State forest fires obscured the stars but the weather was fairly warm.  A couple of the guys slept in hammocks.  Jen imitates Reese Witherspoon here in Wild with her backpack loaded up.

goblins forestWe initially planned for a 3am start.  There are several reasons for this.  As one of the most difficult class 3 14ers in the country, Longs Peak is crowded with most hikers hitting the trailhead between 1am and 3am.  It’s a long, slow hike, mostly above treeline, and the early start is needed to avoid the typical afternoon thunderstorms.  Steve’s buddies had some experience hiking Longs Peak and recommended we wake up at 1:30.  We did and hit the trail by 2:30am.  As you can see in this photo, we’re all wearing headlamps.

Ed on KeyholeThe headlamps weren’t always needed above treeline as the full moon illuminated the trail.  And we weren’t alone.  We followed a trail of lights from other hikers climbing up the Mills Morraine into the Boulder Field where the sun finally rose.  This photo captures the sun rising over Mount Lady Washington and the Boulder Field as I scramble over the Keyhole to the western side of Longs Peak.

Scott on LedgesOur timing was perfect in terms of light and crowds.  Our campsite was a little over a mile from the trailhead, giving us a 12.5 mile hike.  This made us part of the main wave of hikers.  Anyone driving up and arriving by 1am will easily find a parking spot at the ranger station and trailhead, but will have a 15 mile hike.  Arrive after 3am and you will find yourself parked a mile down the road; possibly still fine in terms of beating the afternoon showers but you’ll have a 17 mile hike.  For us, the sun began to rise as we entered the Boulder Field and gave us ample light as we passed through the Keyhole and traversed the mile or so through the Ledges, Trough and Narrows to the peak.

Jen on LedgesClick on the photo above to see Scott making his way across the Ledges.  You’ll be able to make out a path marked by bullseyes painted on rocks.  There is no trail, simply these paintings for you to target as you make your way over a steep slope of rocks generously termed a ledge.  Trust me, this was some scary shit.  I can’t imagine people hiking this at night with headlamps, unless perhaps it’s better not being able to see the 1000 foot drop.  Click to enlarge this picture of Jen hiking the Ledges and tell me if this doesn’t scare you.  Longs Peak is considered a class 3 hike for scrambling but no ropes.  But the level of scrambling is intense – over a mile non-stop to the peak.  And the Ledges is just a warmup for the really scary stuff.  Next comes the Trough, an 800 foot climb over loose boulders.

troughThis photo captures Steve’s buddy Keith at the bottom of the Trough.  Note the bullseyes – here again there is no discernible trail.  You just make your way the best you can.  The crowds of hikers slow down at this point to under one mile per hour.  If you arrive late, then the wave of hikers will be coming down while you ascend, kicking an avalanche of small boulders down at you.  Heads up.  Scott turned back at this point as his knee gave out on him.  He was fine since he’s hiked to the top of Longs Peak before.  It is said only 20 percent of hikers ever complete the trail to the top.  I suspect it is a much smaller percentage who ever consider hiking it twice.  In terms of difficulty, the Keyhole is a portal to hell.  Several levels through Dante’s Inferno with increasingly dangerous and brutal scrambling.

climbSeriously, check out this photo of Keith and Jen climbing this granite wall made slick from thousands of previous hikers’ boots.  If you don’t have some basic mountaineering skills, don’t consider hiking Longs Peak.  I didn’t see any kids on this trail.  This is not a family hike.  Just imagine hitting a wall of granite on your path and looking up to see a bullseye painted 20 feet over your head suggesting the way forward.  The 1.3 miles from the Keyhole to the peak was a series of increasingly scarier challenges.  This was more an obstacle course than a hike.

Longs PeakOne point in the Trough is termed the Hoist, because there’s no way the average hiker can climb it without a little help.  Beyond the Trough was the Narrows.  This is where Jen sensibly turned around.  I nearly did and would have if Jen had asked me to stay with her.  The Narrows aren’t termed a ledge because you can’t stand straight up on most of it.  You have to lean into the cliff wall and grab onto handholds as you make your way across several hundred yards of slick granite.  It’s mostly single file and ends with the Homestretch, a several hundred foot climb to the peak.  The return was just as brutal in reverse.  I had to slide down much of it on my bottom.  I didn’t begin to appreciate this hike until hours later while safely drinking beers at Oscar Blues in Lyons.  I’m crossing this 14er off my list and won’t be coming back.

Indian Peaks Wilderness

23 Sunday Aug 2015

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Wow!  What a difference dropping my mileage down to normal makes.  After dropping from 100 to 50 miles, I’m running fast again.  It doesn’t hurt though that the temperature has also dropped – down to what I consider football weather.  Call me foolish but I even ran without my hat and sunscreen.  And the kids returned to school this week.  It just keeps getting better.  I ended the week by hiking in the Indian Peaks Wilderness with Ellie today.  A bit blustery up there.

Brainard LakeIn fact, the intense wind kept us from climbing to the top of Mount Audubon.  Couldn’t complain though because the wind also swept out the smoke from the Washington State forest fires.  You can see the smoke in several of the photos if you click to enlarge them.  The high altitude smoke was thickest north of us over Rocky Mountain National Park.  Ellie has some asthma related issues so I checked the Colorado air quality index before committing to the hike.  We saw a bull moose here next to Brainard Lake during our first few minutes starting out.
Ellie and I found ourselves constantly adding and removing gear.  The temperature was fairly cool starting out, although the trees shielded us from the wind.  The climb quickly warmed us up so we stowed away our coats and hats in our backpacks, only to put them back on along with gloves once we rose above tree line.  Same routine in reverse on our descent.  The flat topped peak above and to the right of Ellie’s head in this photo is Longs  Peak.  I’ll be hiking up there next weekend with some buddies.

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This is Mount Audubon directly over Ellie’s head in the photo to the right.  We climbed nearly up to the snow field before turning back.  On the way down we turned north onto the Beaver Creek trail for a short ways and bushwhacked over to a rock cropping to catch the views.  The entire hike was about seven miles because we started from a parking lot one mile before the Mitchell Lake Trailhead.  Looks like a brand new parking lot with restrooms on the east end of Brainard Lake.  They’ve done a great job improving the parking in the Brainard Lake Recreational Area.  I didn’t see any cars parked on the road like in days past.
This is Beaver Lake behind Ellie in this photo.  Karen and I have snowshoed near there on the Sourdough Trail before.  Ellie and I also hiked around Brainard Lake a bit on the return.  Ellie couldn’t get over how blue the water was.  Mountain lakes are absolutely gorgeous.  I can’t wait to get back up here next weekend to hike Longs Peak.

Grand Lake

09 Sunday Aug 2015

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north inlet trailThe last thing I remember Friday night was looking up at the stars, undiluted from urban light sources, high in the Rocky Mountains outside Grand Lake.  Sleeping cowboy style, I dodged fallin’ stars aimed straight at me.  I finally tucked inside my tent after midnight once the temperature dropped.  Rob and I camped out here to hike a 25 mile segment of the Continental Divide Trail.  The accuracy of CDT maps are specious as my Garmin captured 29.5 miles.  Fortunately the weather was cool, between 40° and 60° so that our water lasted through those final four unplanned miles.

Grand Lake sits at the western entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park, and is also part of the headwaters to the Colorado River.  A quaint mountain town with wooden boardwalks and expensive but good restaurants, it’s worth a stop if you’re near Rocky Mountain National Park, or the Winter Park ski resort.  Grand Lake anchors the southern end of Trail Ridge Road.  Rob and I ate surprisingly good Mexican food at El Pacifico.  After two large margaritas, I was seeing stars.

Flat Top MountainThe 25 (29.5) miles would complete my 90 mile running week, for a total 510 miles of my massive mileage Boulder Marathon training plan.  I run 20 miles today to begin my 100 mile week – the final week before I begin my taper.  I can still report no muscle strains or injuries.  Keeping my fingers crossed.  I’ll start some strength training and work on my pace once I cut my miles by half.

We got some decent running in Saturday on the trail.  This section of the Continental Divide Trail is a loop that begins and ends at the North Inlet Trailhead outside Grand Lake.  It’s contained within the southwest corner of Rocky Mountain National Park, so permits are needed for camping.  We stealth camped, setting up our tents shortly after dusk to avoid the Park Rangers.  We encountered a number of group backpackers who camped along the trail.  One father was trekking his kids on a 3 day outing, targeting 8 mile days with their heavy packs.  There is a Big Meadow trail that shortcuts the CDT, forming a slightly shorter 24 or 25 mile loop.  Sporting light packs, we ran about two miles worth of the big loop.  The coolest part was running across the alpine tundra among the rock cairns above 12,000 feet.

burn zoneAnother cool section of trail was this burn area on the northern part of the loop.  Would have been hot without shade but we benefitted from partial clouds and 60° temperatures.  I’m happy mixing up hiking with my running.  I count the miles toward my training plan because hiking with Rob at high altitude is little different than running.  We maintained a 3 mph pace for essentially a 50K ultra.  Ascending above tree line had my cardio going.  I imagine I burned well over 3000 calories over the ten hour hike.  Once I finish my coffee this morning, I’ll set out on a 20 miler on the LoBo Trail to begin my 100 mile week.

The Route

19 Sunday Jul 2015

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narrow topThe Continental Divide Trail isn’t as well marked with signs as the Colorado Trail, and much of what I hiked this weekend with Rob wasn’t marked by trail at all.  The CDT along the mountaintops above Breckenridge, Frisco, Dillon and Keystone is essentially a route.  So few hikers travel this twenty mile section of alpine tundra that there is no trail.  The entire width of the mountaintops define the path.  Where I’m standing in this photo, the route is about as wide as the length of a football field.  Clearly, it narrows across that hill behind me.  This photo captures the pathless trail and general conditions above 13,000 feet as Rob and I hiked from Argentine Pass to Georgia Pass Saturday.

snow fieldWe didn’t have much snow to worry about.  This photo shows one of the larger snow fields we encountered, but we were able to hike alongside its edge.  Good thing as I wore my running trail shoes for this effort rather than hiking boots.  I wanted to test out my trail shoes, even though I knew they would fatigue my feet much more than boots.  The Salomon Speedcross trail runners are awesome.  I don’t think they have a rock plate, but their sole is strong enough to step across sharp rocks and their tread never slipped once for me.  I did notice some hot spots, but this was after 8 hours of hiking.  We completed the twenty-plus mile jaunt in 10.5 hours.

wide topEverything was so green, even above treeline where the ground oftentimes turns to moonscape rock.  The Cushion plant moss was easily 3 inches tall in places.  The Alpine Sunflowers and Forget-me-nots were thick, and the Marmots were quite fat as well – presumably from eating the lush grasses and flowers.  This photo captures Rob in a mountaintop field of Alpine Buttercups.

top viewI can’t say enough just how stunning the views were on this hike.  We spent at least eight hours hiking above treeline.  I applied the 20 miles to my weekly running goal, giving me 70 for the week and a total of 260 miles toward my marathon training plan.  We hiked an additional six miles this morning which I’ll apply to this coming week’s 80 mile goal.  74 more miles to go over the next six days.