While KD was at camp Kolby, Cami and I went for a 13er hike up in RMNP. Kolby still has his free 4th grade National Parks pass, so we wanted to get some good use out of that. We drove up the Fall River Road for the first time and, wow...that's the nicest dirt road I've ever been on in the mountains. Once we start on the trailhead, we made quick work to treeline.
As we appraoched the saddle between Chapin and Chiquita, a couple passed us on their way down telling us to turn back because the winds were 70 miles per hour at the saddle. Having been through nasty winds last year on Kolbys first failed attempt on a 14er, this concerned us a little. Years of hiking experience have taught me never to listen to strangers for advice of this sort, so we decided to press on and judge for ourselves if we could handle it. Before reaching the saddle we left the trail and hiked steeply up the tundra to the summit of Chapin, our first mountain of the day.
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| Looking at Chiquita from near Chapin's summit |
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| Victory! |
To our pleasant surprise, the winds were tame as we descended to the saddle. The route up Chiquita was fairly steep and arduous, the crux of the day for sure.
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| Obligatory shot of Longs in the distance |
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| Chiquita summit |
Two mountains was enough for Cami and Kolby, so I gave myself a time limit to reach Ypsilon's summit and back. The slope was gradual and very easy. It took about half the time I expected. The best views of the day were near the Ypsilon summit where you look down some very dramatic cliffs with jagged spires into Spectacle Lakes thousands of feet below.
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| Looking toward Ypsilon from Chiquita |
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| Fairchild and friends |
On the descent we literally ran into some mule deer bucks that had little fear of humans in them. This made for some nice photo oportunities. The animals in these national parks are very used to peaple being up in their business. Just this past week, some old guy got chased by and flipped into the air by a Bison in Yellowstone, though he was not provoking it at all! It was all over the news/social media. At first I thought it was AI, but turns out it was real:
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| Elk just chilling in the valley below us |
