We had a terrific time hiking in
Well, OK, we drove up one of them. This is
We stayed in Silver Springs, about 70 miles west of
Chipmunk
Cliff and lake and Cat trying to scare Tony. It worked.
Here’s Tony at the base of Mt Bierstadt, another 14’er. About a 3-4 hour hike round trip.
The trail is kind of funny- you first descend a few hundred feet of altitude into the marshland you see here.
Lots of bushy laurels and what looked kind of like blueberry.
Here is the party atop Bierstadt. It was a teeeeeny mountaintop, so you had to kind of climb over people to get around.
Proof. J
A lake near Mt Evans.
The next day, we hiked Gray’s Peak, another 14’er. It was pretty hard because we were sore from Bierstadt, and the trail was rough.
There was a fair amount of hand-over-foot kind of climbing. Did you know that there’s less than half the amount of oxygen in the air at
11,000 feet than at sea level? No problem if you’re headed downhill, but you really notice it when you’re climbing.
Above is a view of the continental divide from the parking lot at the trailhead. Gray’s is on the divide.
Marmot-- This guy wanted a handout. He was pretty insistent.
Tony at the trailhead. Looking mighty fresh. Not for long!
This mountain goat ran around like a maniac. Must’ve been mating season.
Quite entertaining, but a little bit vertigo-inducing.
This dude was a trip. He was encouraging everyone up the mountain, calling us by our home-states.
“Go,
us to take his picture and email it to him so he could prove to his wife he was here (maybe to prove he
wasn’t out with some hussy at the bar?) I suspect he likes to hike, just a little bit.
See the party atop Gray’s peak in the background. There are parties atop all the big mountains, it seems.
View from top of Gray’s Peak
View from top of Gray’s, looking at Torrey’s Peak, another 14’er immediately next to Gray’s.
A view from Gray’s
Ooh, look at the beautiful thunderstorm—Oh S*&% we have to hike 4 miles back to the car in that direction!
We were caught in a bit of a hailstorm running back to the car, along with all the people partying atop the mountain.
Next day—We were completely unable to walk. But the trip was really fun.