Snowmass Lake - June, 2023

 

 Jimmy Brad and I had a perfect weather window where we fit in a hike to Snowmass Lake (and Snowmass Mountain for Brad) right at the summer solstice.  This one had been on my list of iconic Colorado backpacks for over a decade, and it did not disappoint.  This spring has been so rainy and one of the craziest weather seasons I can remember.  A couple days before our hike in to this lake, it snowed a couple inches at this location.  Though this was the first day of summer, it looks more like winter up there!

When we arrived at the lake, there was only one area that was snow free for campers to set up tents.  We had to get close with a few other groups, but everybody was friendly with no problems.  That night sleeping was miserable, being right next to the lake with the wind blasting over it all night was restless.  Brad woke and left for the Snowmass summit at 1:30 AM.  From about then until dawn, there were various parties getting up and getting ready to hike not too quietly so, again, sleep was not good.  Jimmy and I got up to watch a fantastic sunrise over the lake.  The clouds made cool shapes that contoured the edge of the peaks.  Though we didn't know it, right at about that time Brad was standing on the summit.  After having breakfast, we attempted to hike out and find the trail toward Buckskin Pass hoping to hike Buckskin Benchmark.  Unfortunately, the snow was continuous and became a post-holing slog.  After a few miles of this, combined with a trail we couldn't find, we decided to turn back to camp.   We arrived back there at 9AM just after Brad returned.  We all decided we had accomplished our goals for the trip, so we packed up and headed home instead of staying for a second night. 

Sunrise on Snowmass - Prints available

If you look closely, you can see people climbing up the snowfield

And some of Brad's pictures from his 14er hike:

Humboldt Peak - June, 2018

The past few weeks have been very warm and dry throughout the state.  A huge fire near Durango had closed the San Juan National Forest.  This weekend the mountains received a fair amount of needed moisture, which has helped to calm the fire.  We also received a fair amount of moisture this weekend making for a cold, wet trip to the Sangre De Cristo mountains.

James, Lindsey, Cami and I backpacked into South Colony Lakes Basin on Friday afternoon.

I woke early to catch the sunrise on Crestone Needle.

Sunrise on Crestone Needle - Prints available

Once we all reached the lower South Colony Lake, James and Lindsey decided to hang a hammock here and relax while Cami and I continued up Humboldt.  The cloudy sky held steady until we neared the summit of the peak around 10 AM.  Then the wind and clouds came in rapidly and covered us and the peaks in white.  This was my second time hiking this 14er and both times have been covered in clouds with no views up high.  Rain and hail soon followed and we descended quickly.  The temperature went from hot to cold so fast!

From the saddle

Last shot before the clouds covered everything

While up there, I was able to confirm a long debated theory about the existence of an elusive creature called Sasquatch (A.K.A. Bigfoot).  On our descent, Molly started barking at a huge apelike creature that came up out of the mist.  He waved at us just as I whipped out my camera to take his picture, then ran back down the mountain and disappeared.

Proof of Bigfoot

Back at camp it poured for a few hours.  We built a fire to dry out our clothes and make some delicious dinner.  We talked about personality types and had a great time with good friends.  We all turned in before it was dark.  In the middle of the night it started pouring again.  We were all awakened by a loud rock-slide on Marble Mountain south of us.  It sounded like we might be crushed in our tents, but we survived.

The next morning Lindsey joined me on a hike back up to the lake to catch the sunrise again.  The peaks were covered this time, but there was bright color to the east.

Sangre De Cristo Sunrise - Prints available

Humboldt from Camp

On our way out, we realized none of us had ever seen Bishop's Castle that was down in that area.  There's an interesting story about this unique attraction if you google it.  The castle is quite impressive.  Much larger than I thought in real life.  James and Lindsey went up in it to explore.  Cami and I were tired of stairs.

Bishop's Castle