You know, I really felt SO organized by 11am this morning. Lists were made, food bought, pack organized, car packed and bed made in said car. Wrigley oversaw the operation and then inspected the result. That's right, I'm working up to blaming Wrigley for what actually transpired!
Leaving just after 5pm, I decided to go via 285 through Fairplay - Well Google suggested it but I didn't disagree. The road that rose up in front of me was not so busy and muchly beautiful. TMJ pain plagued me but thoughts of car camping and hiking high in the mountains tomorrow kept me smiling.
At Alma, I stopped for food-truck dinner at Otto's. Really good, FYI! And the folks there were incredibly nice to me.
Park County Rd 8 (Buckskin) out of Alma was wash-boardy but not too bad... for the first 5.5 miles toward Kite Lake. Then it's like the county lost interest! Giant holes and large rocks meant my clearance was just good enough to eek through at 5mph in 4 wheel drive. (Thanks be to the TRD design team!!!) I made a mental note to look into off-road lessons and just kept going - all the way to the trail head at Kite Lake. 6 off-road vehicles met me there. I deposited the fee and carried on. Just enough time to wash face, brush teeth and photograph the moon then set up for bed. It's GORGEOUS up here!
It was about this time I leaned on my cot and felt wooden slats... the wooden slats typically disguised by an inflatable mattress. Said mattress was still nicely deflated and bagged in my closet.
We do the best we can, right?! I moved the slats closer to each other to fill the gaps and laid out a couple of blankets. I'm a bit precious in many respects, but this wasn't going to hold me back. The alarm was set for 5 am. Let's do this!
5:35am departure from 'camp' and I think I was about #6 to leave. The 14-ers trail maintenance crew who was camped up here too was already up and doing group stretching/motivational talks. Impressive.
My hiking adventure today was to be a loop trail, clockwise direction. In theory, 7.2 miles. In practice, with lots of added steps to accommodate a very non-linear, traction-challenged trail, probably a lot closer to 8 miles.
From Kite Lake (11,750') I headed straight up to the saddle between Mt Democrat and Mt Cameron. The sun was rising.
A hundred pikas scurried about their business between the rocks and ample alpine flowers, calling to each other incessently. One even decided the 'traffic island' rock garden on my path was where she wanted to pick her bouquet. You betcha I turned her foraging into a short movie!
I reached the saddle at 6:50am and was now at about 13,400'.
At the saddle, I went left and began the large rock (sometimes scramble) part of this ascent. I was ever so grateful for my poles and surprised that my body was feeling rather fantastic. Could it have been the hydration tablet and lots of water I drank at 1am? The diamox I took at the same time? That I was indeed having a week where energy seemed plentiful? Probably a little of each, but IMHO a lot of these tough hikes are done in the world's most beautiful places... This was no exception. I was among the flowers, with 360 degree views, at an ideal temperature, alone and quiet with just the pika's and my thoughts. Mentally, I was having what some might call a Rocky Mountain high event. It carried me along with a smile.
I reached the false summit of Mt Democrat at about 7:30am...
... And the actual summit 10-15 mins later. There was the obligatory selfie, some water and a power bar.
Yeah, O2 saturation a little on the low side but heart rate was good courtesy of the Diamox. I felt breathless, but otherwise just fine. Surprisingly no muscles were burning yet... after a 2400' climb!
Some chit chat with a couple of other hikers and then I was off again. Back down the rocky trail to the saddle from whence I had come. One down, 3 peaks to go!
And now very much UP the other side of the saddle to Mt Cameron. This next 800' feet of elevation gain was tougher. The trail was not harder... just a different kind of climb and building on 2500' already under my belt. I was getting slower and breathing harder, but not light headed and that's a good thing!
The next pic is Mt Cameron... its a mound of rocks! What you see is not the top, it's another false summit. (They really should rename this hike "False Summit Loop" since every mountain seems to have one!)
It might surprise you (like me) to learn that despite this looking simply like a pile of rocks to clamber up, there is life up here. Flowers growing between the rocks, bee's and other insects making hay while the sun shines. More pika but not as many as around 13,000'.
Mt Cameron; I might have missed the actual top and kept walking toward Mt Lincoln, if it hadn't been for the older gentlemen reclined and resting there. I spent some quality time catching my breath and hearing about his hiking achievements. 42 14-ers under his belt. He started in 1988 and is still going. Not only was he kind enough to take my picture here (9:35am) but he also gave me sunscreen for my face. (I have no idea what I did with mine but I know it wasn't on my face and that's a mistake!)
Mt Lincoln, here I come. ETA 10:05am.
It was actually relatively short and easy between Cameron and Lincoln. A little up and down, but only a 40' gain in the end. I walked this portion with a young man from Divide, CO. He sported his mom's hand-me-down Nikon and was the only other person I saw who was capturing the minutia of the journey as I was. (Although, I didn't dare pack the weight of my big camera and was putting all my eggs in the cellphone basket today.)
At the top of Mt Lincoln I also met a pair of young men who captured mountain memories using their own traditions. They gave me a heads up to turn away before the down-trou portion of their plan! (I know right?! So many young ladies up here hiking together or bringing their dogs... none of them would ever think "I know, I'll preserve this memory with a bare bottom picture!" It's definitely a Y-chromosome thing! LOL Each to their own.)
I took the opportunity to get another O2 saturation reading. There had been a few seconds of lightheadedness recently. I was holding steady... really steady. All of my readings today had me around 80-82% saturation and heart rate 118-126. My muscles were still not complaining so I assumed they were getting all that they needed. And honestly, I was just overjoyed that there was not a ouchy spot developing anywhere at this point.
All that remained was Mt Bross and then what was reputedly the most brutal and treacherous downhill back to Kite Lake.
The hike to Mt Bross looked... boring. Not that I didn't relish the thought of a leg without strenuous uphill but from a distance it appeared to be a dusty and dead trail, exposed to blaring sun with little beauty.
I was wrong. I'm always wrong about these things! Up close and personal, the trail reveals thriving plant and insect life, plenty of color and that delightful buzzy bee vibration. I had been making pretty good time so decided to stop and immerse myself in some of this wonder for a few minutes here and there.
Heads up if you are reading this and planning your own loop. As you approach Mt Bross theres a final push uphill, of course. A trail sign tells you to bear right at a fork. There is a pile of rocks blocking the left prong of that fork. IGNORE this sign and take the path going left. It's a much more direct route to the summit. Going right took me slightly downhill then up a steep and sand-gravelly set of switchbacks. They are challenging! Its bad enough that this is the path down to the trail head after summiting without including it in the ascent too, IMHO.
For me, the highlight of Mt Bross was the view straight out to Democrat, Cameron and Lincoln. My previous achievements all in a line.
Mt Cameron
Mt Democrat
Mt Lincoln
It was 11:25am, I was starting to feel the weight of the day creeping up on me - and looking forward to being back at the car. Also hoping that my appetite would return on the descent. It appeared that above about 13,000' no matter how much energy I expended, I just didn't feel like eating. I forced in water and was staying hydrated but the calories I carried in my pack were along for a day trip like me! I had eaten nothing much more than a power bar and half a banana today and eventually that would bite me... so to speak.
The downhill...
It wasn't super unpleasant most of the time. Just unstable and requiring a lot of concentration to stay upright. With poles it was totally doable but still put a lot of strain on already tired knees. With the right boots, toes and ankles were offered the protection that was vital in these conditions. Slowly, slowly (too slowly) the parking lot was getting closer, the ground was getting greener.
It was such a relief to get to the part where trail maintenance was apparent! One could even imagine steps in places. And if I didn't know better, I could see the work of a master gardener at work. Flowers spilling out of every crevice. Perfect in every way. AND near the bottom, a little waterfall of melty snow too!
I don't think I really knew how 'done' I was until only a few hundred yards from the trailhead, I attempted one last squat for what might have been the loveliest of compositions... flowers in the low foreground and a sweeping vista of mountains behind, with trail leading me in at the mid-ground. At that moment I realized, I had no more squats left in me. Any attempt to get down low would result in me unable to get back up. It was ok to take the pics I had and be grateful for them and only them.
Back at the car it was almost 1pm. I took a full 40 mins to eat my egg and veggie croissant, drink lots of electrolyte replacement and poke in a couple of ibuprofen for the road. I spent the time with a cool young lady from Golden CO and her dog who, to be fair, was already asleep in the car! We discussed camping arrangements and cot options. They had just finished the loop too and were prioritizing the same... eating, drinking and resting properly before the drive home.
I was home and showered by 4:30pm! And guess what? Still feeling really good.
Bonus: My pedicure was still intact. Not a chip missing to my utter surprise!
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