The Great Sand Dunes are a special place. It's a super unique national park that is in the middle of nowhere southern Colorado. 360 Sangre de Cristo mountain views and hundreds of miles of sand with no trails. To get to the dunes, we started at the parking area and walked across Mediano Creek, which was cold on the first day and warm on the second day based on whether or not the sun was out.
The kids have been to the dunes before, but Kolby was only a toddler and KD didn't even remember the experience being a 3 year old. This time, we drove down there and didn't tell our kids that our family friends were going to meet us there. It was a fun surprise when they showed up to our camping spot the first night. The look on their face when they saw them was priceless. We had a great time with the Coffins as we stayed at our parents "cabin" in the Spanish Peaks area the first night and then rented a cabin near the dunes on the second night. The kids (and adults) got to play in the creek and, believe it or not, all of the older kids made it to the top of High Dune, which was not an easy task! The wind up there was intense.
The Eagle's Nest Wilderness is a special place. Most of the high lakes and peaks are difficult to access on long, steep trails (or off trails). Tim and I both were already tired before we even started backpacking on Friday morning. We weren't really feeling it this weekend, but we'd planned this trip months before and stayed true to our commitment.
Molly sure was excited to go with us though. She sat in the garage the previous day while I packed and wouldn't come inside the house because she was afraid of being left at home. She's 10 years old now and doesn't seem to have the energy she once did. I figured that this might be one of the last strenuous backpacking trips that she might get to take. It wasn't too much for her, though she did choose to stay in the tent and rest rather than go out and explore with me a few times.
The first part of the trek in is 4 miles on the Gore Creek trail to the Gore Lake split. It's fairly easy and unimpressive through the forest without many views other than some nice aspen groves. In the fall, this would be a great place to see the colors. Once we reached the trail split, there were actually hundred year old marked graves for two men right next to the trail, a strange and kind of surprising thing to see while hiking. There were rock piles to mark the graves and a metal sign description.
Molly
Grave signs (Photo from backpacker.com)
The next couple miles up toward the lake were steep and tiresome. We weren't sure if it would rain so we were trying to move quickly, but were still going at a pretty slow pace
(at least for Tim). He's been doing a lot of long distance running lately, but hiking up steep hills at altitude with a heavy pack on is a totally different kind of exercise. Finally the trail leveled out and the views opened up. Wow! Jagged peaks all around with colorful wildflowers and streams and pools everywhere. It was truly an alpine paradise.
First views of Gore Lake
Not long after we set up camp near the lake, a thunderstorm moved in. We all ducked into the tent to avoid the rain as loud thunder clapped and echoed and rolled through the valley. You know, the long, loud, ominous kind that seems to shake the ground. As the storm moved in, you could tell the sudden change in temperature from hot enough to make you sweat to cool enough that you need a jacket. It was a good time resting our legs and just laying there listening to the wonder that The Lord brings.
After the storm passed, I tried my luck at fishing. I don't think there were ANY fish in this lake. There were a number of other people fishing that afternoon as well and nobody had any luck. We never even saw a fish surface, which was strange because the reports I'd read about the fishing here were good. Luckily, Tim brought some tuna packets and shared some with me to go with my fish dish. After we ate our warm meal, I found a good sunset spot for the evening.
Gore Lake with Willow Benchmark/Mount Silverthorne
Red Peak (center) and part of the Zodiac spires (left of center)
Stars over Gore Lake
The next morning I woke to catch the sunrise on Gore Lake.
Believe it or not from the cloudless pictures above, after we ate some oatmeal, the sky quickly filled in and it rained for a little while that morning. I was concerned that our second day of hiking might get cancelled due to weather, but it turned out to be just a quick little drizzle and we were able to get some sun afterward. We bushwhacked off trail, around a ridge and into the Snow Lake drainage. From here, we hiked up to Snow Pass and summited an unnamed peak of 12,835 ft. between Mount Valhalla and Snow Peak. This area was stunning. I just could not stop taking pictures. I mean... postcard shots in every direction. We saw at least 4 different groups of mountain goats along the way. From the time we left camp until the time we returned, we didn't see another humans soul (Other than two specs of people on top of Grand Traverse Peak in the distance).
Grand Traverse Peak and Deluge Lake (left) with Mount Valhalla (Right)
Snow Peak from Point 12,835
We found our way back to camp in the afternoon in time for more thunderstorms to move in. The sunset that night and sunrise the following morning were more fiery due to cloud cover. The next morning right as I was setting up my tripod to shoot the sunrise I hear this loud, rapid thumping in the trees. Suddenly, a big white mountain goat comes running through the field at full speed being chased by a dog. I didn't realize they could move so fast! It outran the dog easily and then leaped across a 5 or 6 foot stream which neither the dog nor any normal human could do. Eventually the dog figured out a way around the stream and continued up the hill after the goat until it disappeared.
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.
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.
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.
