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CT Cronica: Copper

04 Monday Jul 2011

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Colorado Trail

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

aurora, Copper Mountain, Elk Ridge, garmin, Henke's beef, Kokomo Pass, Leadville, puerco pibil, Searle Pass, Tennessee Pass

You drive up to the mountains Friday afternoon, along with the rest of Denver for the 4th of July weekend.  At times, it’s an uphill parking lot, especially around Idaho Springs.  It occurs to you that maybe you should have taken Hwy 285, but you reach Tumbleweed at Tennessee Pass, on Hwy 24 near Leadville, just a little after 6pm.  The traffic only adds about 30 minutes to your drive.

You leave Tumbleweed’s car at this trail head and drive to Copper Mountain to setup camp.  You find a nice spot near the rushing snow melt of Ten Mile Creek.  The parking lot is huge, it appears to be for overflow parking for Copper.  This is very near tomorrow’s trail start at the Wheeler Trail bridge.  Once you’ve pitched your tents, you head across Hwy 91 to Copper Mountain for dinner.  You quaff a Guinness at a nice pub on the pond, but select Tucker’s Tavern for dinner based on the recommendation of some locals.  You’re not disappointed.  Tucker’s serves Henke’s beef from Paxton, Nebraska and you award them a puerco pibil for their ribeye.  The guitar player/singer outside added to the atmosphere.

You retire early, and if that doesn’t reveal your age you get up sometime during the night to pee.  As you step outside your tent, you gaze upward at the night sky.  Nearly two miles up in the blackness of the forest, the stars are amazingly bright.  If you were to leave home tomorrow morning, this view right now would make the trip worth it.  Tomorrow morning is announced by Tumbleweed as he strolls by your tent to say it’s 4:35am and he’s headed down to the car to brew some coffee.  Had he only stated the time, you’d have ignore him like the beep from your iPhone announcing a tweet.  But he also mentioned something about coffee.  So after a few minutes of deconstructing his complex sentence, you roll out of bed, tear down your tent, and pack it down to the car.  25 miles and snow require an early start.

The best news of the day came yesterday afternoon when Tumbleweed encountered some through hikers who’d just completed segment 8 without snowshoes or trekking poles.  They report snow, but say it’s hard enough to walk over.  So you leave the snowshoes in the car and gear up in shorts, gators and two shirts to warm you until the sun is up.  But the sun never rises in Copper Mountain, it crests over the Ten Mile Range.  A mile into the hike, headed west, you sight this sun crest as a reflection in the eyes of an eastbound smiling girl wearing a knit skull cap and walking her dog.  She is the trail spirit Aurora.  The beauty of the CT never ends.

You climb across the slopes of Copper Mountain and at 7 miles encounter snow.  Your La Sportiva trail running shoes and REI gators are more than a match for the packed snow.  Even above treeline where you must cross sizable fields of snow, you rarely post hole your trekking pole let alone a leg.  This is passable.  You reach Searle Pass at 10 miles and cross Elk Ridge to Kokomo Pass.  The views here are among the best of the CT to date.  All you see are snow-capped mountain peaks in your 360° vista.  It’s not an original thought but you feel literally on top of the world.

The tall trail posts along Elk Ridge are visible, but Tumbleweed consults with Garmin way points to guide you through some questionable spots.  You’re delighted to discover that since earlier through hikers bushwhacked their way across the tundra, you’re still blazing some of this trail as your shoes leave the first tracks in the snow.  After your own bushwhacking experience over Georgia Pass, you appreciate Garmin way points.

The difference in the texture of the snow is worth mentioning.  Above treeline are countless small seas of snow with rippling waves that fully support your weight.  It’s even stronger near the rocky beaches, whereas two weeks ago the edges were slushy and sloppy.  No doubt your early start is affording you this still hard surface.  The sky is cloudless and your skin already burning from the sun.   Two hikers you spotted about 30 minutes behind you seem to drop back on their pace.  You suspect the snow is already softer by the time they reach it and it’s slowing them down.

As if they ever stood a chance at catching you.  Tumbleweed notes your plans to begin running down from Kokomo Pass and begins to trot the start of your third 10K in this 40K hike.  Having only walked the first half of today’s hike, you have the strength to run downhill.  The pace is best described by “dancing” as you negotiate foot placement among the rocks.  You rely upon the trekking poles first as caution and later for support as your knees begin to weaken.  You run most of these 6 miles downhill but begin walking before it flattens.  Your knees aren’t in pain so much as you lose confidence in their ability to withstand any more pounding.

Once in the flats, you recover your strength by walking.  Tumbleweed clears some of winter’s damage of downed trees from the trail.  You’re surprised to encounter so few hikers/bikers on the trail given this is a holiday weekend.  The only other hiker was an older woman with a shepherd mix named Rainbow whom you passed by after Kokomo Pass.  At 16 miles, where Tumbleweed stashed refreshments Friday afternoon, you’re deluged by a clockwork orange of droogs on RTVs, filling the air with dirt from the gravel road they’ve commandeered.  The flats are further burdened with a scorching sun that taps out your energy and lengthens the last few miles.  And while not overly steep, the final 10K is measurably uphill.  Enough so that your legs feel it.  And your feet, having been slammed on the downhill, are now tender and you’re thinking of reaching the car to sit down.

But there are more odd sights along the way.  The 10th Mountain Division litters the trail with huts and other WWII paraphernalia.  You don’t know what to make of this monolithic cement structure, but recognize other huts and the coking ovens.  You recall the history of this fighting crew that lost up to 25% of its forces battling the Germans in the Italian Alps.  They prepared for battle in paradise.

You’re as tired as you’ve been on any of the CT segments after you reach the trail head.  While certainly not as brutal as crossing Georgia Pass, you credit an unrelenting sun for your complete exhaustion.  You change into comfortable clothes, shuffle cars and head to Leadville for a meal.  You consider driving another few miles to the trail head to setup your tents, but after hiking 25 miles in 10 hours, the need to refuel is paramount.

Dinner at the Golden Burro was fair, although not close to your expectations.  You’ve enjoyed some really unforgettable gastronomical experiences on the prior 7 segments of the CT, so your foodie bar is set high.  Perhaps as important as the food is you prefer a locally brewed tap beer.  Is that too much to expect in Colorado?  No, it isn’t.  But that’s fine.  You buy some chips and a 20 ounce PBR while gassing up your car on the drive back to the trail head.  You pitch your tent with noticeably less precision than the night before.  You’re tired.  Tumbleweed announces it’s camper’s midnight at 9pm and you pass out ’till morning.

40.137598 -105.107652

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The Fourth

29 Wednesday Jun 2011

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Storytelling

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

10th Mountain Division, Colorado Trail, Copper Mountain, Kokomo Pass, Leadville, Searl Pass, Wheeler Flats

Are you as excited as I am for the upcoming 3 day weekend?  If not, you need to make some plans.  My ‘hood has two parties planned, one on the 3rd and another more elaborate bash on the 4th – complete with BBQ and live music.  But the biggie for me is two days of hiking on the Colorado Trail – segments 8 and 9 on Saturday and Sunday.

I’ll meet up with Tumbleweed at the Tennessee Pass on Hwy 24 near Leadville Friday night to drop off one of our cars at the trail head.  Google shows an extensive list of eateries in Leadville, but I’ve only eaten at the Pizza Hut in that town, so please send me recommendations for something with a little more Leadville flair.  Any reviews on the Golden Burro, the Quincy Steak & Spirits, the Grill Bar & Cafe or the Tennessee Pass Cafe?

We’ll camp out near Copper Mountain, likely in some back country spot off the Wheeler Flats Trail Head.  Saturday’s 25 mile hike starts out at 9800 feet and climbs  through the ski resort up to Searl Pass just short of 10 miles at over 12,000 feet.  The trail stays above treeline for about 3 miles along Elk Ridge until it reaches Kokomo Pass, also over 12,000 feet, then we’ll descend down to Tennessee Pass which sits around 10,000 feet.  Near there we will pass the 10th Mountain Division huts where soldiers trained for WWII.  Should be gorgeous views the entire route.  Wish I had a better camera than my 2.5 mega pixel iPhone, but the pics will be good enough for publishing to the web.

The next day we’ll hike 14 miles on segment 9 from Tennessee Pass to Timberline Lake.  This is where the trail turns south for good.  The cool thing is recent trail reports from the Colorado Trail Foundation Facebook page state the snow has melted from this segment.  Plus, while entirely above 10,000 feet, the trail is relatively flat.  Should be a good run.  Segment 8 will be mostly snow shoeing, possibly even using the ice axe, so Sunday will be nice.  Can’t wait!

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CT Cronica: Ten Mile

23 Thursday Jun 2011

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Colorado Trail

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

avalanche, Backcountry Brewery, Copper Mountain, garmin, Lake Dillon, snowshoe, Ten Mile Range

The night went quick, yet you feel rested when you hear Tumbleweed tearing down his tent.  Feeling rested and feeling like crawling out of your sleeping bag are two different things, so you roll over.  It’s going to take more sun than what’s currently showing to get you out of your tent.  You inventory your hurting parts and are surprised to find everything seems mobile.  Nice.  You’re getting used to this.  Tumbleweed stops by your tent to tell you he’s going down to the car to make coffee.  You tell him you’ll be there in 15.

So 15 minutes later you get up and pack your gear down to the car.  The camping spot is just off the Gold Hill Trail.  Very convenient – this will be your earliest start yet.  Your car is at the trail at the other end of today’s trek at Copper Mountain.  Tumbleweed has a burner setup in the gravel parking lot with some water boiling for coffee.  You both have two cups and then some oatmeal with honey.  This is Tumbleweed’s typical morning routine when he’s backcountry camping.  Yours’ so far has been McDonalds, but flexible as always, you find this satisfying.  At 6:30am, you pack up your snowshoes and head out to cross the Ten Mile Range.

The trail is gorgeous.  You encounter a woman running from the other direction within the first mile.  You don’t feel the need to run today.  Yesterday’s best trail run ever has you satiated.  And you’re a bit stiff still.  You maintain a strong pace but walking nonetheless.  Today’s first hill takes you from 9200 feet to over 10,000, then drops back down to about 9900 feet at mile 3.  Around this point you turn left onto the Peaks Trail for about a half mile until you reach Miners Trail.  Man, the blokes that live around here have a lot of trails.  They have hiking trails along with paved biking trails all the way from Breckenridge, though Frisco and Copper Mountain to Vail.  Sweet.

Miners Trail, before 4 miles, begins the big climb up to the ridge crest.  You need to snowshoe before hitting tree line, maybe around 5 or 6 miles, but it’s not bad.  You’ve picked up some skill at it, and the snow is hard enough to support your 180 pounds without post holing.  The snow doesn’t even get deep until close to tree line.  Your pace slows down then.

There’s extensive sidestepping across the tundra, and sidestepping in snowshoes is hard.  Sidestepping in snowshoes at Tumbleweed’s pace is even harder.  He seems to float across the tundra.  You’re hanging ok but it’s real work.  Then the views begin and you forget about the pain in your thighs and calves.  You’re not sure which is peak 2 or 3 or 4 or 5, but they are all right in your face.  You can see the cornices up close and wonder about the likelihood of avalanches.  It seems like you are still separated by a small ridge from the peaks, so you don’t worry.

You maintain Tumbleweed’s constant pace.  He’s concerned about crossing the ridge before it gets cold.  The forecast calls for thunderstorms and the sky looks like it could do anything it wants from giving you a sun burn to blowing a blizzard.  You keep up.  Reaching the ridge literally takes hours and feels like the entire day.  The approach to the pass between Peak 5 and Peak 6 is deceiving.  You keep thinking you’re there but there’s always a little more to go uphill.  You do become concerned about avalanches by the time you’re almost under the cornice of Peak 5.  This picture captures your wonder as you stare at the cliff wall.  Although to be fair, the more likely cause of your gaping mouth is that you’re sucking wind at 12,000 feet.  Tumbleweed snaps the photo of you with Lake Dillon in the background.

Just a few steps beyond Peak 5 is the crest and you find the snow melted on the western slope.  It feels good to shed the snowshoes.  You need to don your jacket though as the wind is howling up here like a banshee from Celtic hell.  Otherwise, this has been shorts weather.  You didn’t even need your gators until the snow got deep.  On this side of the Ten Mile Range, you find that you need to switch in and out of your snowshoes multiple times until you work your way below 11,000 feet.  Tumbleweed works the Garmin waypoints like a space pilot.  This is another crucial piece of gear that makes this hike passable before July.

The trail is fairly straightforward however.  From the crest you continue south for over a mile, then reach a switchback that turns you north for nearly the remainder of the trail.  And it’s at this switchback, where Wheeler Trail starts, that the snow ends to the point you can remove your snowshoes.  It’s an easy 3 mile cool down dropping into Copper.  This hike is over.

But wait, what’s this?  Well below treeline at the first wooden bridge, you run into hundreds of downed trees – the apparent victims of an avalanche.  Wow!  Although a fairly contained area, the destruction is huge.  But the bridge survived.  Crossing is an ankle-biter and the poles help.  Soon you’re crossing more bridges as you’re in a bog.  Then you reach the trail head.  Your first two day CT affair is over and it was epic.  Certainly the most amazing views to date.  You change into comfortable clothes and shoes and then drive back to Gold Hill.

After picking up Tumbleweed’s car, you turn toward Frisco and stop at the first open restaurant in search of calories.  The first place is Backcountry Brewery at Hwy 9 and Main in Frisco.  You’ve been here before so you know the food is decent.  You start with beer and nachos.  The kitchen is a bit slow to meet the demands of your low blood sugar; which reminds you that weed is legal in Breckenridge so urgency should not be expected.  When those nachos do arrive, you devour them like Stuntman Mike and order another Switchback Amber.  Tumbleweed orders another Telemark I.P.A.  You can’t even recall the burgers well enough to blog them after this point, it’s all a food blur.  You know it was good.  You make plans for hiking segments 8 and 9 over the 4th.  Then you head home east and Tumbleweed drives west.

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