Elk Hunt 2010

Opening morning, two nice bucks.  Quakies across the trail.  Hunted down and around.

Day two hunted the radio towers.  Went all the way to the top, seen a bull elk at 3 pm across Well's Gulch from just above Dalton's rock.  Seen a bear who bird dogged for me.  Steve seen a bobcat.

Day three we went up top to flowing park.  Dave, Justin, and Steve went to the end of the road and shot at some cows 700 yards.  I hunted the crunchy snow on the road to point camp.  Forgot my fanny pack.  Hunted the ridge... didn't see any elk below me.  Hunted down by xx lake.  Steep drop off, no way to hunt down.

Day four it was snowing hard.  Hiked up the ridge on the far side of Alkali Basin, but the blizzard turned me around.  It let up a bit so I wanted to hunt the bull I seen on day two.  Beautiful basin, but no elk.   I watched the park where I seen the bull, but didn't spot him.

New binos are great for seeing elk.  Day five Dave and I shot at some cows from the honey hole.  Dave followed a wounded cow for three miles.  I hiked up, seen a bull up high.  Made my way through the oak brush, then tracked him for a couple of hours.  Back down at Dalton's rock, I seen four elk up at Indian Point.  A doe followed by a little buck came into the park below d rock.

Day six Dave and Steve hunted from the cabins and I hunted from Point Camp.  Seen evidence of a bull, but seen no hair.  Drove to the end of blue grouse for lunch.  Decided to load my gun and spotted 30 elk on the hill above.  Took some long shots.  Tracked them across and down to the raging creek.

Day seven, Steve hunted low and I hunted the end of Blue Grouse again.  Went straight across along a trail, up the far ridge and along the ditch bank.  A plane scared the elk.  I seen evidence of many beds.  Decided to ride the ATV up the road and spotted some cows.  Took one shot.

Day eight we had to be out of there to go to Phoenix for the race.  Steve and I made it around the downed trees and to the end of the road.  My advice is to take the lower spur.  The horse trail is a much easier hike than up the ridge.  I spotted the bull on the next ridge and made my way across the basin.  I got within 400 yards, but too much oak brush to get closer.  Took my shots and dusted his ankles but couldn't draw blood.

Drive to Phoenix took all night.  I drove from Mexican Hat.

Lost Creek Wilderness Loop

 

It has been a while, but finally got out and hiked with my Colorado Trail partner Nick.  He has been exploring the Lost Creek Wilderness in Colorado and invited me along on an epic hike of 22 miles (some posts say 26 miles... I didn't bring my gps: mistake #1).  Of course Nick wanted to do it all in one day: August 18, 2012!

We got to the trailhead early and headed out.  Due to the length of the hike Nick was worried about finishing before dark so he set a blistering pace.  I almost broke into a trot to keep up.  There were many cars in the parking lot and quite a few folks in the first couple of miles, but we soon found solitude.   The picture above shows a typical Lost Creek scene of monuments.

  

 We came upon a nice campsite near the spot of the failed dam and old buildings.  We also seen the first hikers we had seen in a while.  Nice quakies.

Goose creek starts to become lost in this area.  We witnessed the tunnel where the creek makes its way through the rock and a man sitting lotus position meditating.  Very spiritual and feng shui.

At the top of the pass you see refrigerator gulch.  I'm not sure where it gets its name, but there are many monumental rocks in this fine wilderness.  Here is where I started seeing many mushroom species.  I'll post pictures later.

Approaching McCurdy park we were far from civilization and had not seen another person for hours.  My dogs were barking and we were only half way.  Serenity is in abundance here.

How about a nice combination of aspens, pines, and granite?

How about my ugly mug?  Hiking in my approach shoes, but why not.  Don't tell anyone, but fly agaric in this area.

Long before you reach this lovely rock, a word of extreme caution: you will reach the massive blow down of Lake Park trail.  There are so many trees blown down that you are in for one hell of a bushwhack.  It is easy to get lost here.  Funny how the wilderness rules work: no chainsaws, so it will be awhile before this trail is nice again.

Proof I made it.  The hike to the top of the pass after an unwanted set of switchback descent sapped me of any remaining energy.  Plus we still had six miles to go.  The long gradual descent back to the truck was enjoyable despite my tired feet and empty tank.  Here again you see the unique beauty of Lost Creek Wilderness.

Ellingwood Point Southwest Ridge

We met Brian at the trailhead for the road to Lake Como deep in the Sangre De Cristo mountains.  Due to a flat tire, we started up the road very late in the day.  Add to this that I didn't feel comfortable taking my stock 4x4 as far up the road as I did in my Little Bear ascent.  We ended up hiking most of the way to Como in the dark.  We got to Lake Como at midnight and pitched our tents.

 

I originally had planned to do the Little Bear to Blanca traverse, but Shelz was not comfortable with such a committing route so early in her scrambling life.  Instead we decided to try the Southwest ridge on Ellingwood Point.  Roach describes it as a fun and continuous tune up for Little Bear to Blanca, and so it is.

We hiked passed the recommended start, and so I decided to take off from the next lake up.  This approach to the ridge proved to be a bit harder scramble.  At one point we spent the better part of an hour trying to get around a particular vertical rock section.

Finally once on the ridge, the scrambling is solid class 3.  Often times the ridge looks like it is too hard, but you can always find a reasonable weakness in the slope.  If the rock gets too vertical, you can always drop to the left side of the ridge.

Once you can see all of the final approach, things get a bit airy.  The ridge narrows and you must keep your balance.  A couple of knife like edges exist here.  Just before the final pitch, we found it necessary to downclimb and then scurry up a loose rock and dirt section to the last notch on the ridge.

The scrambling up to the summit was easier both in climbing and in route finding than the final pitch on Sneffels.  We had the summit to ourselves and hadn't seen a soul on our route all day.  Even the descent was us alone.  The 14er initiative volunteers had even quit for the day.

The descent down the standard route was an exercise in talus hopping.  Once we made it to the cave, the descent was easier.  The long slog back to camp was highlighted by the sighting of four nice mule deer bucks.  Two of the fellas had quite large racks, while the other two were younger.  All still in the velvet.

This route took us from dawn to dusk.  It took us over eleven hours, granted we were moving slow.  This was one of the most fun scrambling routes I've done.  It wasn't the hardest, but the continuous fun is hard to beat!

 

Initial Ramp

Our harder scramble

Balancing on the ridge

At times on the east side

A long way down on either side

Finally, the rest of the ridge to the summit

Little Bear in the background

Final pitch

39th 14er

A look at our first pitch

A look at the recommended start

Sneffles Southwest Ridge

Shelz and I decided to brave the Class 3 Southwest Ridge of Sneffles on a fine July weekend.  We arrived Friday night amid a hail and sleet storm.  It was so wet that we decided to sleep in the pickup cab rather than try and set up a tent.

We woke after an uncomfortable sleep and took the truck up the 4WD road to a point just below the lower trailhead.  The hike to Blue Lakes pass was very picturesque and enjoyable.  Once up the switchbacks you get a glimpse of the ferocious gendarmes that guard the start of the ridge.  Luckily these are avoided on the west side.

Once past the gendarmes the ridge progresses steadily from hard class 2 to easy class 3 to harder moves.  This was Shelz first big class 3 outing so it was a descent choice for a noob.  She tackled the climb with aplomb.  Route finding was even a test as you pass to the east side and do a bit of descent via a notch in the ridge.

The climbing continues in a fun fashion until you see the final pitch.  The climbing became a bit harder here due to the line we took.  A couple of times we had to retreat and find another way up.  Shelz even slipped once providing a tense moment.

The views on top are amazing.

Our descent followed the standard Sneffels route.  At top it is still some class 2+ ridges but then descends into a nasty scree and dirt slope.  Shelz decided a dirt and mud glissade was best for her.

The shelf road on the way out is crazy for sure.  Once down into Ridgway we stopped at Colorado Boy for a brew and a souvenir T-shirt.  A great adventure in the San Juans!

The Second Flatiron July 2011

scramblers

I haven't been back to the second flatiron for awhile -- it's not my favorite scramble, but it is a good one.  It makes for a good after work climb where you can get done before the sun sets.  Here you can see some of my scrambling brethren.

Dodge Block

Today I climbed the Dodge Block line on the Second Flatiron.  It is a bit easier in my opinion than Freeway.  You can actually make it as easy as you like by trending left.  Here's a picture of the first pitch.

Proof I was there

 On this day I not only saw the scramblers in the first photo, but also some roped climbers on my route.  I stayed left of them and actually climbed below the rock that requires a "flying leap".

Aesthetic Scramble

By staying low and left, I found an enjoyable line that I hadn't explored before.  I also climbed higher than normal.  The final pitch just to the north of the pullman car has an easy escape.  But it isn't visible as you ascend, so it takes a bit of faith unless you remember the ending.

El Camino Royale July 2011

Normally I prefer to try new trails and new routes.  There is so much in Colorado to explore it would take several lifetimes to see it all.  But one climb I return to again and again is the El Camino Royale.  It is the perfect balance between accessibility, excitement, and fun!  You can string together El Camino Royale, Royal Arch, Yodeling Moves, Lost Flatiron, and Fern Alley for a wonderful day of scrambling.

Cactus

Here's a picture of the middle pitch on El Camino Royale.  While you are heads down climbing, don't forget to look for cactus!

 The upper pitch was a bit shaded making for a nice bit of scrambling.  There are many lines to take up ECR, but the middle shady was my choice today.

The final pitch is a must do on most days.  To give the folks at the Royal Arch a thrill seeing you at the apex is only right.  But the downclimb is a bit more work than I want on some days and can eat up twenty minutes of time.  If I'm in a hurry, I skip this pitch and head over to climb the Arch.  I have also done the downclimb off the face of this top when I don't mind the exposure.

Great day in the flatirons!

Pyramid Peak

Brian and I decided on a climb of Pyramid Peak on September 11, 2010.  I had planned to climb it earlier in the summer, but hit a cow elk just outside of Leadville which ruined that weekend.

I made sure I didn't roll thru Leadville at dusk to avoid the wildlife and spent the night in the Maroon Bells day parking lot.  The overnight parking was full, but nobody bothered me since I slept in the cab.

Brian arrived from New Castle and we headed up the trail past Maroon Lake.  The start of the trail to Pryamid is easy to miss, but we caught it and hiked the switchbacks to the boulder field.  The climb up across the boulder field is a bit tedious as the Peak looms over you.

If the boulder field is tedious, it is not as bad as the slog up to the pass.  This section was steep and slippery.

We were greeted at the pass by a small herd of mountain goats.  Finally the climb starts to get fun.  We found the gap where you have to jump over about a three foot opening.  Then we shinnied our way across the cliff traverse.  This was an interesting section, but not too exposed.

As the terrain gets steeper the rock gets smoother.  This is rated class 4, but I didn't feel it was any trickier than a lot of class 3 I've been on.  I guess I'm getting some comfort on this level of rock after much climbing in the Flatirons.  A couple of climbers past us on this section and one kicked a rock down on us.  It was easy to dodge and he apologized at the top.

Later that month I learned that Don (peakcowboy) had died on Kit Carson.  He had wanted us to join him on Snowmass the same weekend we climbed Pyramid.

I only made the summit of three 14ers this year, but next year I plan to finish the Elks.  I will also attempt Sneffels, Wetterhorn, and the Wilsons.