Above Treeline
It is a beautiful day for hiking.....beautiful. It is just past noon, and I am in my tent already. It feels really odd. But after much internal debate, I am sticking to the plan. I left Lake City this morning, shuttled back to Spring Creek Pass, and am heading toward Molas Pass, the trailhead that will take me to Silverton. It is only about 54 miles of trail. This segment of the Colorado Trail takes us to it's highest point 13,271 ft. Almost all of it between here and Molas Pass (Silverton) is above 12,000 ft, and therefore above tree line. There are a couple of other small climbs before the high point at 15.6 miles from the trailhead, where I started today. During my time in Lake City, I looked at my options and decided that I had two choices. Do a really easy day of 8.7 miles, with a heavy, just resupplied pack. But easy also, because I am well rested. I took a zero day in addition to the first 1/2 day and night there. Or choice two; to push hard, and do the whole 17.2 mile segment in one day. Actually I would have had to go 1.3 miles into the next segment to get to a known campsite, so 18.5 miles total. I decided to do the easy day, and the climb tomorrow. The weather forecast for today and tomorrow was good, I was told.....not so good for the weekend. The younger hikers are all going to push hard the next two days, cover as much of the above tree line trail as they can. The views will be good and no storms. I want to do the same, but I know that my knees will be seriously unhappy, if I push that hard.
The younger hikers that began their hikes at Waterton Canyon after it reopened on June 26th, have started to catch and pass me. It first happened two days before Spring Creek Pass. Now it has happened today too....more than once. The competetive part of me resents being passed.
(Woke up from a nap a while ago...boiled water..... and ate Chicken A la King. I ate that meal first, on this time out into the wild , because it was the heaviest of my freeze dried meals. Now I do not have to carry it up to 13,271 ft. tomorrow morning. Pretty doggone good for hiker chow too. Slept like a rock for an hour and a half. I am getting soft. Aside from pack weight it was a very easy 9 miles today. Got passed up right here at my tent site by a father 50?, and son 16?, team, who said "Hi"..... and blew by me without breaking stride. It is unusual that fellow hikers do not at least stop and chat for awhile. Everybody chats. They obviously are going up top, yet, today. Hope the weather holds for them.
Yes, I am jealous. But also am being smart, I remind myself. )
Yes, I am jealous. But also am being smart, I remind myself. )
It is interesting how easy it is for us to transition back into our home selves while on a hiking adventure, if we are not careful. On a long hike you do have to cover some ground daily. But I remind myself that I do want to enjoy this experience, and to have fun daily.
On the Appalachian Trail the epic distance, and the difficulty of the trail dominated hiking decisions. We all hiked every day in spite of the weather....except on the rare occassions when to do so was not safe....the Smoky Mountains Blizzard, the ice storm, and maybe a lightning event. We usually started at 7 AM and hiked until at least 4PM...often till 6 PM.....and sometimes until 8PM or later.
Here in Colorado all hiking is dictated by lightning....period. Because the elevations are so much higher, and the fact that hikers spend so much time above treeline and exposed....the potential for lightning dictates everything. July and August are considered Monsoon Season by Coloradans. It storms most days in the afternoon. You do not want to be above treeline and exposed when it storms. Therefore for me the hiking day starts with a 4:30 AM alarm....and the hike itself starts at 5:30 AM. Some hikers start even earlier. I personally have tried and do not like hiking by headlamp. You walk into, and trip over stuff in the dark, and it is harder to figure out where you are at. Out here in these mountains, if you go the wrong way, you can be wrong for a long time. The hiking day often ends as early as 1 or 2 PM. Get going early, go up high, and then get down fast before the storms come. That is the routine. The result is less sleep, less time to hike, and more tent time out of the rain in the afternoons.
Here in Colorado all hiking is dictated by lightning....period. Because the elevations are so much higher, and the fact that hikers spend so much time above treeline and exposed....the potential for lightning dictates everything. July and August are considered Monsoon Season by Coloradans. It storms most days in the afternoon. You do not want to be above treeline and exposed when it storms. Therefore for me the hiking day starts with a 4:30 AM alarm....and the hike itself starts at 5:30 AM. Some hikers start even earlier. I personally have tried and do not like hiking by headlamp. You walk into, and trip over stuff in the dark, and it is harder to figure out where you are at. Out here in these mountains, if you go the wrong way, you can be wrong for a long time. The hiking day often ends as early as 1 or 2 PM. Get going early, go up high, and then get down fast before the storms come. That is the routine. The result is less sleep, less time to hike, and more tent time out of the rain in the afternoons.
Flash. I am writing this piece this afternoon, and into camp hike two people that I do not mind catching me. "Subaru" and "Jolly Rancher". Far out! Phil( "Bigby") and I met them on their first day in Waterton Canyon, and chatted with them again at Scraggly Trailhead while waiting for his dad to pick us up.
After chatting with "Soob" and "Jolly" those two times early in their hike, I had decided that "Jolly" was just too sweet, too fragile, too jolly, to last very long on this trail. I could not have been more wrong! It turns out that "Jolly" has trained on a Stair Master with a 30 pound pack on her back. They are both very fit. She and "Soob" are two of the strongest hikers on this trail, and two of the most fun. Had a great afternoon, today, visiting with them. It is a real treat to see them again. They are camping here tonight, and then bound for Durango, bypassing Silverton....so carrying heavy loads. That is how trail life is ........constantly bringing you unexpected joys.
After chatting with "Soob" and "Jolly" those two times early in their hike, I had decided that "Jolly" was just too sweet, too fragile, too jolly, to last very long on this trail. I could not have been more wrong! It turns out that "Jolly" has trained on a Stair Master with a 30 pound pack on her back. They are both very fit. She and "Soob" are two of the strongest hikers on this trail, and two of the most fun. Had a great afternoon, today, visiting with them. It is a real treat to see them again. They are camping here tonight, and then bound for Durango, bypassing Silverton....so carrying heavy loads. That is how trail life is ........constantly bringing you unexpected joys.
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