please remember you can click on a photo to see a larger version & highlighted text are links to further information
Part Four of Our Big Summer Adventure
A Hop, Skip, and A Jump
The Lady was driving south on Wyoming
789 as we approached the border with Colorado. I was handling navigation and
plans. We had been out for several days and the Lady wanted to do laundry so my
job was to find an overnight spot with laundry. I also had to do driving time
calculations. I saw there was a KOA in Steamboat Springs along the Yampa River.
The Lady made a call as we gassed up
in Craig and asked about space availability, laundry, showers, and filling our
propane tank. Everything checked out, a site reserved, and we'd arrive mid
afternoon.
The campsites were close to one
another, pretty common at these places. Our fears about this vanished when our
neighbors immediately walked over and introduced themselves and their dog,
Kona. What an impressive and classy thing to do! The young athletic couple were
from Vancouver Island in British Columbia. We are now convinced people from
B.C. rank as the friendliest and nicest around.
Mike was competing in a bike race
the coming weekend, the SBT GRVL. He and Marika had arrived early to
provide time for practice rides at elevation to
acclimate, since they live at sea level in B.C.
I have to say, just flat out that we
fell in love with Steamboat Springs, CO. The KOA was five miles out of town but
Steamboat Springs provides free bus service. There's a bus stop right
in the KOA campground. After our laundry was done, the propane tank filled, and
hot showers - minor disappointment was the showers are inside the respective
genders restrooms so couples can't save water by showering together, Mike and
Marika agreed - the Lady and I went on a dinner date to the big city with a
free bus ride. Yes, Steamboat Springs is a touristy ski town, but it has charm
and friendly people. We felt comfortable and at home. Few towns do this for us.
We arrived back at the campground
after dark. I was greeted by our neighbors taking Kona for a walk.
"Where did you go?" Mike
asked.
"Went to town on a dinner
date." I answered.
"Did you tell Julie?" Mike
asked with a smile.
I got the quick joke and said,
"Yes, I did. Julie is the only one I go out on a date with."
"Did you go to a hot
spring?" Marika asked and continued, "I heard Strawberry Springs is
clothing optional at night. I'd like to go there."
I looked over at Mike. "Mike, it
looks like you are missing your date night."
We left early in the morning and
stopped in Steamboat for a long morning walk. We picked up one of Winona's Restaurant
& Bakery's famous cinnamon rolls to eat on the drive south to my brother,
Fastshot's home in Colorado Springs. We were visiting
to celebrate he and his wife's 55th wedding anniversary on August 15th.
Fastshot and The Dancer have lived in
Colorado Springs for over 40 years and resettled here after Fastshot retired
from the Army after a long career in aviation and air traffic control.
Fastshot's bride is into everything
dance and helps with movement therapy in nursing facilities. And, she is
currently in a singing group. Fastshot's passion is brew pubs and Cowboy Shoots. His cowboy handle is "Tombstone"
and their new home is a shrine to everything cowboy. They have a wonderful
group of friends and family to keep them happily occupied.
And what did they want to do to
celebrate 55 years of marriage? Throw a party for friends and family.
They are friends with the owners of the Airplane Restaurant, a nice place for the gathering. A
complete KC-97 refueling tanker is incorporated into the building and the place is
everything aviation. Kids are welcome to sit at the controls in the cockpit. We
did. Of special interest is that early in Fastshot's career he was sent to
Texas to train with the National Guard and learn how to operate the refueling
boom in the tail of a tanker. The Airplane Restaurant has a manikin dressed in
a flight suit in the tail of the plane to demonstrate the job.
"See that dummy laying there?"
Fastshot pointed. "That was me in this very aircraft. I couldn't believe
when I saw the tail number."
The celebratory get together was
grand and it was great to meet so many neat people. The next morning their
daughter and husband - our niece and nephew - joined us on a walk in Red Rock Canyon Park.
A sandstone quarry once operated in
the canyon.
Our niece brought along their dog,
Bella, fresh from the groomer, complete with manicured pink toenails up front. It
made me think that back in the old days Mom was the only one that got her nails
done. Our happy group posted for family photos.
We had a great time with family.
Thanks so much for your hospitality!
We headed out for more adventure on
Saturday morning. Yes, it was a weekend and we wondered how that would impact
where we ended up. First off we wanted to get off the main roads so we headed
up and over Weston Pass - known as "The Road to Riches" - on our way
to Leadville.
It was a typical Rocky Mountain
thunderstorms kind of day. The high alpine scenery never gets old.
What were we up to? The day after
summiting Mount Elbert - Colorado's highest peak in 2010, we attempted Mount Massive - Colorado's second
highest (18 feet lower than Elbert) - but turned around because of weather. The
Lady does not forget these things.
We decided we'd let conditions
dictate whether we'd make another attempt. In this instance
"conditions" meant could we find any kind of open campsite near the
trailhead on a weekend? Colorado 14ers are a huge tourist industry and we would also be right at the base of Mount Elbert, the tallest. Were we dumb to even
try?
First we needed to stock up on
groceries so we pulled into Leadville's Safeway market and encountered the
rudest people. It was unbelievable. We drove up the dirt Halfmoon Creek Road to
the trailheads. Again, it was unbelievable how rude all the drivers were.
Fast, and right down the middle of the road trailing a huge cloud of dust. It
was a game of chicken forcing other vehicles off the road. And the road was
busy. We were on the brink of dropping the whole idea and just get out of
Colorado. It was that bad. The road up is lined with hammered dispersed camp
sites, ugly patches denuded of any vegetation, and everything covered in road
dust. They were all packed with campers.
We pulled into the Elbert Creek
Campground to turn around and leave. Surprised that several of the sites were empty, we decided to look
around. The finest campsite, alone at the upper end perched above Halfmoon
Creek, was ours for the taking. It was a miracle.
Although a tremendous thunderstorm
beat down on the area when we were in Safeway, a check of the weather
forecasted clear weather for Sunday. Another miracle.
From our campsite, it was a little
over 8 miles to the summit of Mount Massive and a bit over 4500 feet of up.
14ers require an early start so we were on the trail in the dark at 5:30. We
had a waning full moon so no headlamps.
Bright morning sunlight bathed the
east slopes as we reached tree line.
It was hard not to stop for all the
flowers that lined our route.
The trail traverses to the north
before turning west for the long climb to the saddle in the summit ridge.
The moon set as we made the turn.
A mountain chicken watched us pass
as she made sure her brood of almost grown chicks were behind her.
A whistle pig also stopped to watch.
The climb up with the clear blue
skies was incredible.
I do a bit better at elevation than
the Lady. Feeling winded and out of breath is rarely a problem for either of us. A nice slow
steady pace gets the job done, never move faster than you can breathe. The
Lady, with her active digestive system, can have bloating and gut issues above
13,000 feet, probably due to the lower atmospheric pressure. This day she did
great until 14,000 feet. We stopped at the saddle to let her tummy settle.
We had passed a line of hikers - they
would move fast and then stop with hands on hips and try to breathe - on the
long pull up to the saddle. They slowly caught up with us.
The wind was roaring through the
saddle and we sat below a rock for shelter. I managed one panorama shot.
The Lady recovered nicely and we
started up the ridge and passed the others.
The vistas were outstanding.
This was so much fun. We were having
a wonderful time!
As were neared the top of the
southern end of the long summit ridge, four mountains goats moved above us. One
struck a pose for the camera.
The ridge was the most delightful
part of the hike.
At the next saddle we shared the
space with a goat who looked as if she had just left the groomers.
These are such strong animals and it
is awe inspiring to watch them move.
The goat had incredible views from
her spot on the ridge.
The next section of the route was a
long series of very fun easy steps and ledges. We also met the first person
coming down.
The majestic views continued.
After several ups and downs, the
summit came into view.
As we say, "With a hop, skip,
and a jump," we were on the top of Mount Massive at 14,421 feet. It was
9:30 am.
We snacked as the Lady oriented us to
our surroundings with her topo map.
We shared the summit with six or
seven when we arrived, Many more were close to summiting. It was so nice to
see so many strong young women. One man started in on talk soaked with the
bravado of youth - past exploits, what he was up to next, and all in a voice loud
enough he knew all others could hear. It got old as soon as he opened his
mouth. How about soaking in the incredible awe of this place in respectful
silence?
The Lady leaned close and whispered,
"I think we have a minimum of three decades on anyone else up here today. Let's
start down and get away from everybody and enjoy the descent."
We came upon a pika as we dropped off
the summit ridge.
The view opened up with Leadville and
the Arkansas River Valley below.
The king whistle pig surveyed his
domain.
We took a nice break lower down the mountain out
of the wind.
We had to stop for the columbine.
Back in the trees and back on the
Colorado Trail, we filtered water and took a hour or
so break along Willow Creek. We arrived back at camp at 2:30 in the afternoon
and relaxed the remainder of the day away along Halfmoon Creek.
Early the next morning we were on top
of Independence Pass and the Continental Divide on highway 82.
We love this place, especially in the
early morning.
We had a few things to attend to
before leaving Colorado. We stopped in Palisade for peaches. And, we stopped at the REI in Grand
Junction as we needed to replace a few items we had worn out. I needed new
socks for my hiking boots. I couldn't put up with all the holes any longer.
The Lady finally ripped out the seat of her long nylon hiking pants, she got a
new pair. And her Lowa boots were completely shot. We replaced them with a new
pair of Solomon boots.
We arrived in Green River, Utah late
afternoon and spent the night in the park like setting of Green River State Park. All the sites have electric hook up
so we were blissfully free from the sickening noise of generators. If you just
need an overnight spot, this one works well.
We woke refreshed the next morning
and made our way to our next destination - Nevada!
No comments:
Post a Comment