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Colorado Hut-to-Hut Adventure – Day 8 – 9/15/12 – Uncle Bud’s Hut to Timberline Lake Trailhead - 4 Miles

Another beautiful early morning, ready for an altogether different kind of adventure.  Today we’re headed to Glenwood Springs, Colorado, for a soak in their famous hot springs, a fancy meal and a cushy night at a famous hotel.  But as with every hike…there were a few twists and turns in the trail.

We packed up, cleaned up and swept up Uncle Bud’s Hut and lingered for a few minutes on the deck to say goodbye.  This was my favorite of all the huts we experienced because of the unparalleled view of Mount Elbert and Mount Massive and our relaxing reading time yesterday morning.  

Still, hiking out to civilization was very exciting – food, showers, food!  We hiked down the CDT, four miles of contemplation of leaving a piece of myself here in the Colorado mountains. 

Here in the Holy Cross Wilderness during deer and elk bow season, we met a crossbow hunter willing to pause to get his picture made.

We passed near Galena Lake on the left and then skirted the edge of this pretty little unnamed lake.

Reflection

Catching glimpses of tomorrow’s grand finale – Mount Elbert and Mount Massive

One more stroll through the aspens

Up and over one last little mountain, then on the last downhill we met a group of 15 people hiking up to Uncle Bud’s.  They were carrying very little, a few small backpacks and bottles of water, so I assume their gear was being hauled up via the jeep road.  They were laughing and joking, a rowdy crowd, although a couple of them were already sweating the steepness.  Looks like we got out just in time.

At the trailhead parking area, a discovery:  Jeff did not have the keys to the rental car.  Instead, they were in Mike’s van 20-plus miles away.  How long Jeff had known this, I’m not sure, but there was nothing to be done now except beg a ride to the van.  What worked in our favor was that this was a beautiful Saturday morning and this was a popular parking area for multiple trails with many cars coming and going.  A young couple drove up and I asked if they would help us out, give Mike a ride to the main road where he could hitch another ride to his van.  They were very kind, taking Mike all the way to the service road where we had left the van, and from there he walked in less than a mile. 

During our two-hour wait, Cathy explored the trail to Timberline Lake, then read her book on her eReader.  Jeff contemplated the universe.  I spread out my rain jacket, pulled my ball cap over my eyes, and simultaneously napped and acquired a sunburn.  Hey, there are many worse things than sitting outside on a sunny day.

Once we had collected both vehicles, we commenced our long drive to Glenwood Springs, stopping at the funky little town of Red Cliff for fish tacos at Mango's Mountain Grill. 

A little rooftop celebration

On Highway 24, the abandoned mining town of Gilman clings to the side of Battle Mountain, wrapped in aspen yellow.  The view was irresistible.  Cars were screeching to a halt at the pull-off every which way to get a look.

 

Gilman, Colorado, founded in 1886 for mining zinc and lead, closed in 1984

Highway 70 winds its way through Glenwood Canyon, an engineering feat as it slithers through the narrow twists and turns.  No photos, we just enjoyed the ride.

Our home for the night, Hotel Colorado, reminded me of the Overlook Hotel in “The Shining”, wide plushly carpeted hallways perfect for a kid to ride a Big Wheel, beautiful people in the common areas attending wedding receptions.  But it’s all a blur because the real reason for the long drive was …

The Spa of the Rockies

 

Glenwood Springs!  The biggest hot tub I’ve ever seen!  The water was waist deep and luxuriously relaxing as the sun set on eight days of outdoor frolicking.  And the shower afterwards was a wonderful thing. 

Then, a glass of wine and dinner at Juicy Lucy’s Steakhouse.  That is all.

“You know he’d be a poorer man

If he never saw an eagle fly

Rocky Mountain High”

~ John Denver

Navigation 101 With Mike

Colorado Hut-to-Hut Adventure – Day 7 – 9/14/12 – Peak 12313, St. Kevin Lake & Bear Lake – 5 Miles

Tried a night of natural sleep (no Tylenol PM and no ear plugs) that resulted in some restlessness but no headache.  Ah, progress.  The everyday world at home tried to creep in, listing things I need to do as soon as I get back.  I thought about the amount of time we spent last night just watching the daylight fade.  At home I would have spent that time goofing off on the computer.  What have I learned?

Uncle Bud’s Hut was very cold when we got up this morning.  Jeff prepared for another peak- bagging day (Galena Mountain) while the rest of us brought our sleeping bags downstairs to the window seats to relax and read while waiting for the day to warm up.  My book was Wisdom For The Ages by Wayne Dyer, a collection of 60 short essays by Dyer based on writings by poets, philosophers, authors and spiritual leaders.  Each essay is about four pages long on topics such as forgiveness, beauty, humor, grief, etc.  An excellent book for an adventurer contemplating the universe and his/her place in it.

We left the hut at about 10:15 a.m. for a day of roaming with Mike in charge, starting out at 40 degrees with a strong sun.  Mike’s vague itinerary included backtracking part of yesterday’s route to climb up a peak that we skirted around.  The peak has no name, just an elevation of 12,313 feet on the map.  

Backtracking up the old jeep road, snowy peaks in the distance.  We took a left turn into the woods to shortcut over to the CDT.  This should have been my first clue that today was going to be a clueless day.

There is no trail going up 12313, so we meandered until we were above the tree line and then Mike made his own switchbacks.  Just because a pile of rocks goes straight up doesn’t mean you have to walk straight up it.  I brought up the rear, moving in my slow and deliberate style, keeping my breathing in check, enjoying that familiar-but-always-new expansive feeling of being in the wide open outdoors. 

The summit of 12313 is a big old pile of rocks – like the AT in New Hampshire but with less oxygen.  For new reasons, I was glad that I had the opportunity to hike in the White Mountains with Judy in August:  good training for Colorado.

On top of Peak 12313.  Looking due west, we could see Galena Mountain up close where Jeff was hiking today.  Looking in the far distance due northeast we could see Pearl Peak and the small mountain that Jackal Hut sits upon.  And here, looking due south, are snow-covered Mount Elbert and Mount Massive.  Wow.

Where to next?  Let’s go look at the lake, which I thought meant Bear Lake, not far below Uncle Bud’s Hut.  But…rather than retracing our steps, we began a descent down the back side of 12313, a great deal steeper, carefully choosing our steps around boulders, loose rocks and fir trees.  

Looking back up at the rock pile summit

Looking back one more time

Although Bear Lake was down in the valley and to the left, Mike kept trending to the right.  I finally asked what his plan was and he said he wanted to show us St. Kevin Lake, a high elevation snow melt lake.  I felt frustration rising up in me because…did I want to go to St. Kevin Lake?  I had no choice.  At this point there was no trail, no option for me to go a different way solo.  I was short-tempered with Mike, and he allowed that maybe it was too much of a surprise but that I really would like St. Kevin Lake. 

And of course Mike was right.  He definitely pushes me beyond my comfort level but the result is always worth the push, if for no other reason than a good story of overcoming adversity.  To reach St. Kevin Lake required more climbing, my main reason for not wanting to make the effort in the first place.  Another quarter-mile of cross-country and we intersected with a faint trail ascending to the lake.  And it was spectacular.

St.  Kevin Lake – Cathy and I are tiny dots on the rock in the bottom center of the photo

The most perfect lunch stop of all time

St. Kevin Lake is stocked with trout and therefore a popular fishing spot.  Today there were three fishermen departing as we arrived, and one came along while we were hanging out.  As we ate lunch at the water’s edge three speckled trout swam nearby.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen fish in a pond like this before.  

Naturally Mike wanted to hike out a different way and he was determined to teach us some navigation skills.  After some time studying the NatGeo map (#126) we identified some landmarks and chose a creek flowing down into the valley. 

Keeping the creek on our right side (called the “handrail”) and the semi-circle of mountains at our back (the “backstop”) we followed the drainage all the way until it intersected with the CDT.  Turning right onto the CDT, we followed it to the side trail to Bear Lake.

Bear Lake

Grasses in the lake

Somewhere over that ridge is Uncle Bud’s Hut

Ah, but the lesson is not over, Grasshopper.  From here Mike challenged me to find our way back to the hut using map and compass skills.  It was getting late, I was tired, and I reluctantly took his instruction.  I knew it was uphill (again) to the hut and not the way I wanted to end my day.  After a bad start, Mike showed me how to get a bearing using my shadow and then how to take the path of least resistance up a sparsely wooded steep slope, meaning to zig-zag back and forth a lot, correcting with the shadow trick.  I was so intent on my shadow that Cathy spotted the hut and we were home free.  My mantra was true again:  the only thing better than the beginning of a hike is the end of a hike. 

During our trip we had been discussing what to do on our last day in Colorado.  The original plan was to drive a really long way and climb Pike’s Peak because, well, it’s Pike’s Peak.  But all week long we had been looking at the awesome mountain range that included Mount Elbert, the tallest peak in Colorado and coincidentally the second highest peak in the lower 48 states.  (Remember how I summited MountWhitney a year ago, the first highest peak?)  And although Jeff had already climbed Mount Elbert, well, good old Mount Massive, the third highest peak, was right beside it.  Looks like we’ll be staying in the neighborhood.

Outhouse view of Mount Elbert and Mount Massive

Jeff checking out the log books at Uncle Bud’s

Aren’t you curious about what we had for dinner on our last night in the huts?  Creamy wild rice soup to which we added fresh mushrooms and leftover tortellini, leftover shredded parm cheese and pepperoni, plus crackers that Cathy had carried around for 4 days without crushing.  Tomorrow we hike out to civilization, retrieve cars and enjoy our first showers in 8 days!

Bonus photo:  Jeff’s view of St. Kevin Lake from atop Galena Mountain.  Peak 12313 is in the center foreground.

“His sight is turned inside himself

To try and understand

The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake.”

~ John Denver

Welcome To Uncle Bud's Hut

Colorado Hut-to-Hut Adventure – Day 6 – 9/13/12 – Hiking to Uncle Bud’s Hut – 11 Miles

Another Tylenol PM night with a different result – no headache this morning!  And a good thing because today was going to be our longest hike, going from 10^th Mountain Hut to Uncle Bud’s Hut via a hybrid route of cross-country ski trails and the CDT (which still runs concurrently with the Colorado Trail).  What will this be like?  A great deal of variety in topography and landscape and challenges – a terrific day.

Yesterday’s precipitation left a light frost everywhere.  This bench bears a plaque naming it “Catherine’s Bench”, in memory of a 29-year-old woman who loved hiking and skiing in the Colorado Mountains.  She was killed by a lightning strike while hiking up one of the 14er’s.  Her family installed a “Catherine’s Bench” at each of the 10^th Mountain huts.  

Say goodbye to 10^th Mountain Hut

Buebird skies and 28 degrees.  Ready for whatever comes next (Jeff’s photo)

The first couple of miles consisted of backtracking, with Cathy and me in front as route finders searching for those blue diamond trail markers (Cathy says “Blue diamonds are a girl’s best friend”). 

A giant landmark that we remembered

Clouds in the valley where the town of Leadville sits

A day of “reflection”

We crossed the intersection with West Tennessee Lakes Trail and continued on the cross-country ski route, increasingly confident of our navigational skills until we came to a very large meadow.  I’m sure in winter it’s pretty simple to look across a white expanse the length of a football field and spot a 10-inch blue diamond nailed 25 feet up on an evergreen tree…but not today.  We needed to cross the meadow and then scout along the tree line to find a trail marker.  Looks simple enough, right?

But those low bushes and grasses are actually waist high and very dense, with marshy spots you might not see before splashing into them with both feet.  We began following a promising trail that ultimately meandered all around until we concluded that it was an animal trail, not a people trail.  There was no straight route across the meadow.  We pretended to be Moses and the chosen people wandering in the wilderness.  In spite of the slow process, I really enjoyed this interlude.  The terrain was flat, the colors were spectacular and I had that feeling of a very small being in God’s great big world. 

Next we passed another small pond and walked through a narrow meadow still partially in shadow with lovely frost patterns. 

Frosty morning

Couldn’t resist this tiny Christmas tree with a sunbeam spotlight

When we reached the CDT we turned right for a couple of miles of pure delight, a rockin’ and rollin’ level trail through Longs Gulch, and then entered Holy Cross Wilderness.

Long Gulch (Jeff’s photo)

Another pretty pond

Our biggest climb of the day tested my lung capacity yet again, 35 minutes of steepness, and I persevered (very) slowly and steadily but without stopping.  I was still not loving the climbs but I was conquering them.  

At the top of the climb we reached the pass between Galena Mountain and an unnamed peak that Jeff wanted to bag.  There were two beautiful small unnamed lakes to explore.  But first…time for refueling.  What a spectacular setting for lunch!

Horses passing through to pick up a crew of fishermen camping out at the lake.

Cathy and I explored a little bit over the next ridge – a view of everything coming up, snowy peaks and yellow aspens.

The peak Jeff bagged today (Point 11,820).

During our rest stop Mike gave Cathy and me a tutorial on reading topo lines on a map, helping us understand what was ahead (some up, some down, surprise!).  When Jeff returned, we got back on the CDT. 

Across this open pass we had our best view of the day.  At this point Jeff and Cathy were ahead and Mike wasn’t sure if he had told them the next stopping point.  Mike wanted to depart from the trail again and try a different route for the final approach to Uncle Bud’s Hut.  He decided that they would figure it out for themselves (Jeff had the GPS track) and so he stepped off the CDT in search of this alternate route, an old road.  I followed Mike – I wasn’t about to get left behind anywhere. 

We found the old road that Mike remember- ed and it took us about a mile down to Uncle Bud’s.  Jeff and Cathy were already there.  And our Washington, D.C. hut buddies evidently had made it there the day before because they left us a note and some marshmallows!

Welcome to Uncle Bud’s Hut

Once again we are the only residents

We sat on the deck soaking up sunshine for a couple of hours and admiring the front row view of Mount Elbert and Mount Massive

Cathy is trying to relax (and succeeding)

Mike

Toasting some bread for dinner

Another gourmet feast:  spinach and cheese tortellini, the last pound of Jeff’s frozen peas, chopped up pepperoni and sausage.  Believe it or not, we actually had leftovers tonight that will reappear tomorrow night.

Sitting at the front windows, we watched until the light faded to almost full dark before turning on lights inside.  We sat and talked and read aloud a couple of tales from a book of local stories.  Before bedtime we went back out on the deck to gaze at the sky full of twinkling stars and the Milky Way arcing over our heads.  Sigh… I wish everyone could have these kinds of experiences. 

“He climbed cathedral mountains

He saw silver clouds below

He saw everything as far as he could see…

Rocky Mountain High”

~John Denver