Last weekend was the first 13er for the Spong and the Coffin kids. We chose a relatively straightforward route up UN 13,541 that began nice and high on Independence Pass. I was a little concerned when we arrived that the clouds were looking like they might rain. We did get a little sprinkle, but it eventually burned off and made for a pleasant stroll.
Gloomy Castle Peak in the distance
To keep the little ones motivated along the hike, they conveniently found little "gems" along the trail. The boys showed no sign of fatigue throughout the whole hike. Once we reached a good spot not too far from the summit at around noon, we could see the clouds beginning to build upward and knew we could soon be in trouble with thunderstorms. We decided to split up to a fast moving group that would summit and a slower moving group to stop here and then head back. The ladies decided to stop and the boys went on.
Girl Summit!
Grizzly Peak
La Plata
Twining Peak
We did get a little bit of tiny hail balls on the way down, but we were prepared to take cover in the bushes. On the drive back along the road there was a marker pole that was sticking diagonally into the road. We had to swerve into the oncoming lane in order to miss it. Whew... close one! Wait, a little while later we found T&D's sprinter van pulled over. We stopped to find out what was going on. Apparently, they didn't see that marker pole on their way down and it smashed their rear view mirror. They figured out a way to tape it back on and had a good attitude about it.
Overall it was a great hiking/camping trip with good friends and good food and good times.
There was a group of friends we had scheduled to do a 14er hike last week, but right at the last minute, they all bailed for one reason or another. So J and I got to have some good bro time and decided to drive a little farther and climb on of my favorite San Juan peaks. I no longer have a 4 wheel drive vehicle, so we backpacked 4 miles up the 4 wheel drive road to the upper trailhead and hung out with a campfire.
We woke for an early start as there was a chance of thunderstorms before noon that day. As we reached treeline, we were rewarded with a colorful sunrise on the mountain. I ran ahead to take some photos off the trail in the wildflowers. J must have missed me and hiked way up the trail figuring I had gone farther ahead. I didn't notice him passing on the trail and we got separated. I went a ways back down the trail and couldn't find him, so I figured he must have went up ahead. I finally caught back up to him as he was heading toward the saddle. Whoops!
Once on the ridge around 8 am, it began to rain a bit and became quite windy. We continued up through it because it looked to us like those rain clouds would soon burn off. After some unfriendly warnings to turn back from other hikers, the clouds did indeed burn off and the weather turned out to be very nice for the rest of the hike. We enjoyed some fun little scrambles toward the summit. The top of this mountain is one of the most interesting with some of the best views IMO. There is a spot where you can stand and the cliff below looks like it drops about 2000 feet and gives some good butterflies.
Wetterhorn Peak
Handies Peak
Sneffels (right of center)
Precipice Peak
Dragon's Back?
We had some great conversations on the way back down including creating our own "rules for men". For example, a man should never dye his hair for any reason. A man should know how to shoot a gun and start a campfire. A man should do at least 80% of the driving on family road trips (our wives don't like to drive)...etc...etc. I'm thankful for the good memories and a fun and rare hike with my brother, especially with how busy he is with his business - Dry Out Restoration.
Nellie Creek Falls
About half way down as we were packing out on the road a friendly couple from Texas who owned some land in the area offered us a ride the rest of the way down. Thanks Texas couple! You saved our knees some soreness.
The Coronavirus has kept us all home for months. National Parks are beginning to open and outdoor recreation is considered a good social distancing activity. We chose a more secluded area in the Eagle's Nest Wilderness to take the kids on their first backpacking trip. The route was 3 miles one way and 1,500 ft. of elevation gain with lots of ups and downs along the way. We had doubts on how the kids would do especially Kolby with his little almost 4 year old legs. Well...the two of them were troopers! We just had to keep playing games and taking snack breaks to keep them entertained. They made it all the way to the lake and I didn't even have to carry them (much). By the way, sunrise at the lake was stunning!
This year we took the whole family to camp at Twin Lakes near Leadville. This is now one of my favorite spots to camp. The fishing wasn't good, but we didn't care cause the views were awesome. I'm starting a four seasons series of photographs from this area, so we'll be visiting here again throughout the year. There were absolutely 0 clouds the whole trip. Most photographers don't like clear skies, but I personally like the plain bright blues against the golden yellows. Plus, it makes for unbelievably clear starry night photos! Below are some of my favorite images from the past couple trips. Hope you like them!
Beaver Pond with 14er Mt. Elbert and hills of gold
Old Cabin in the town of Twin Lakes
Pano of Twin Lakes with aspen grove
Super clear night with the Milky Way easily visible to the naked eye.
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.
