This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Funny, I started to go that way to Telluride the other day but decided against it (I'm new to these mountains, but starting to get the hang of it!) and turned around and went via Ouray. I did talk to someone else who did go that way who said it wasn't too bad.
Looks pretty spectacular! Thanks for sharing. What are you getting with that hog... 9 MPG?
I reluctantly ended up leaving Silverton on Tuesday and heading down to Durango. I stopped at a lake to try and catch some dinner, and ended up pulling out a couple of nice rainbow trout! I got some lunch at a brewery and then walked around Durango a bit, then headed up on Animas Mountain right in (over?) the town for a good run. As everywhere in Colorado, amazing views, with trails right on a cliff edge basically right above town. Very cool. Found a laundromat with showers, which happened to be right across from a brewery where I refueled a bit, and then headed out of town to find a campsite on BLM land for the night and to cook up my fresh fish dinner. Epic thunderstorms that night kept me up until the wee hours, thunder and lighting every 5-10 minutes until about 1:00 AM!
That was Andrews Lake, about 8 miles out of Silverton on the way to Durango. I had stopped first at Molas Lake, but it was a relatively busy campground and I was looking for something less crowded. Andrews is right off the 550 and has an easy hiking trail so a few people stopped, took pics, etc, but most of the 90 minutes or so I was there pretty much by myself.
lol...that road is paved and some retaining walls. I've had couple of situations where I told others, or was told, to vacate the vehicle while we traversed a narrow road. When I sold my truck when I left Colorado it had numerous marks from such incidents.
I tried to go as light as I could. Philmont starts at 6500 ft. I live basically at sea level over here on the East Coast and was worried about the elevation. I can and did get to 6000ft as part of the my training, but can't easily spend significant time or walk miles above that. (MtWashington...) Mt Baldy is basically twice as high. I was seriously sucking wind on that ascent. I was also worried, right fully so as it turned out, about the Philmont food packaging. it was bulky and heavy.
We had a huge food drop the first day and I struggled getting it all into my pack. It was 6-7 days worth. Thankfully that was the largest food drop of the entire trip and it got progressively better each day.
Brain Dead Zombie Scouts is the name of my somethingsomething tribute band.I tried to go as light as I could. Philmont starts at 6500 ft. I live basically at sea level over here on the East Coast and was worried about the elevation. I can and did get to 6000ft as part of the my training, but can't easily spend significant time or walk miles above that. (MtWashington...) Mt Baldy is basically twice as high. I was seriously sucking wind on that ascent. I was also worried, right fully so as it turned out, about the Philmont food packaging. it was bulky and heavy.
I used a Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60 pack, A BigAgnes Fly Creek 2 man tent, and a ULA Sprit 28degree quilt. I couldn't use my hammock due to Philmont rules. But these three shaved a ton of weight from the big three. Add in a rain kilt and an OR Helium2 rain jacket and most of my clothing came in pretty darn light. Since I was hiking with brain dead zombie scouts, my first aid kit was much bigger than I'd normally carry for just myself. I had a fleece and puffy for when it would get cold. I brought a water filter along, cause I am paranoid. I am glad I did, as we ran out of tablets. (See above comment about brain dead scouts). But the filter added about a 1lb to my weight. I had gotten some TarpTents for the scouts. 2 Double Rainbows and a Rainshadow for the scouts. Much lighter than the default MSR tents that Philmont provides. (Like 5 or 6 lbs lighter, each)
I had hoped to be around 35lbs leaving basecamp. My personal gear was close 16lbs (no food, water, tent) The scale said I was closer to 55 when everything was said and done.
Great pics! Looks and sounds like an amazing weekend!
Wow!!! Can't wait to hear about that one! You have my utmost respect. How long do you anticipate it will take you? Be careful of those bees!
Thanks! The race starts at 9:00 AM on Saturday and with a 34 hour cutoff ends at 7:00 PM Sunday. With these things you always have to have three goals - A (stretch), B, and just finish. My A goal is sub-28 hours, B goal is 30:50 (my only other 100M was 30:51), and of course the C goal is 33:59:59. The winner should take 18-19 hours, for comparison.Wow!!! Can't wait to hear about that one! You have my utmost respect. How long do you anticipate it will take you? Be careful of those bees!
My first trip over Black Bear into Telluride was as a passenger in a full size Bronco. I got out.
I haven't been in that tunnel, but people seem to love it. Don't worry about that part.
lol...full size...yeah I would too. Of course, I grew up at the bottom of this...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=desQB1fTh60My first trip over Black Bear into Telluride was as a passenger in a full size Bronco. I got out.
Heh.
Finished Cascade Crest 100 about 10 days ago in just under 32 hours. Beautiful country up there, and was awesome to spend 32 miles of the race on the PCT. Lots of thru hikers out there, and I sure was tempted to stop and pull up a seat near some campfires as night hit on Saturday.
Fantastic! I had thought of this several times over the last week or so and meant to ask you about it, but (unsurprisingly) it always occurred to me when hiking, not when near a computer. Glad you had such a great time, and it looks like you had decent weather. Love the pics! Was your number actually 69? Tee hee.
Awesome place! Angels Landing was by far my favorite. For the narrows and subway we rented mountaineering boots and sticks. I have mixed feelings on the boots but the stick was really appreciated on the narrows hike (you can buy a stick in the grocery store for like $10). Wished I hadn't brought it to the subway hike though. The boots were nice for climbing (I was able to scale the wall at the end of the bottom up subway) but provided absolutely no support , which made for really sore feet and ankles. Also, be sure to check out both routes of the narrows (I liked the right at the fork better), it had more climbing and obstacles, was narrower, but not as deep. On the return from the left though we did purposely find the deep water and got over our heads a few times. Really wished we had more time there. Enjoy!
There were two of us with the same last name, and as the numbers were assigned alphabetically I was supposed to be #70 and he was #69. For some reason they switched them at race check in...and yes I giggled.
If you're doing Half Dome, you'll need a permit. Here's a link to the NPS site explaining the system. It gets really crowded (hence, the need for permits), especially on summer days. A fun hike I did with the family (kids were 10 and 7 then) was from Glacier Point to Sentinel Dome. Not too long or strenuous for the young ones, great views from the top of Sentinel.
My girlfriend and I spent a day hiking in Pinnacles last year and we really enjoyed it. The trails are pretty exposed with little to no shade, so be sure to cover up and bring plenty of water. Also, make sure that you hike back to your correct parking lot as the two park entrances are on opposite sides and there is no connecting road between the two. There was a group of teenagers in the parking lot that returned to the wrong lot and found this out the hard way!
Surprised you lost the trail on G/T I'm not a big 14er guy but there are usually about a million people on those mountains. I'd expect a packed down trail.
Nope. Saw only three other people while there, though there were about 6-7 cars on the way to the trailhead (no one had made it to the trailhead as the snow was too deep).
K... its been 30+years since I've hiked Yosemite- so grains of salt and alll. But we would go every summer when I was a kid and do the high sierra camps, usually a week loop. We'd always start by hiking to May Lake. Iirc, it's only a couple hours off the road... so can be done out and back. Just a stunning place, start in the am and have lunch there.
Thanks! I looked up May Lake and see you can also continue past it up Mount Hoffmann to get a fantastic view of Half Dome. Looks great, and not very difficult - my mom could even do that!
Still at altitude up there, so not easy-easy if extending. We'd drive up from Marin and head straight up. was a great way to get acclimated and still get a hike in... especially staying at the camp.
