@ 39.4318, –106.2573
Near mi 132.4
Up early this morning, down to Arvada to pick up Dan and then off to Copper Mountain. The day promised heat, and the air became noticeably warmer as we ascended up from the resort.
Unlike my last trip through here, there was no Crazy Grandma at Guller Creek to spew and shout at me for coming within a hundred yards of her tent, or indeed, her valley.
We made the steady climb up to Searle Pass with only a few stops to catch breath, picking up a dropped glove along the way.
Neither the hiker or trail runner taking a break there was missing a glove, but the runner offered to take it with him to locate its owner as he passed hikers ahead.
Hiking season on the CT is in high gear, or perhaps the trail is just getting more popular- especially with relatively inexperienced hikers toting large packs. We talked to a good half dozen of those today. The lack of wind or cloud made the pass an uncomfortably warm lunch spot, and we soon moved on to one of my favorite hikes in CO, the tundra traverse between Searle and Kokomo passes.
It features an easy trail over tundra swales with views of the Gore, Tenmile, Sawatch, and Holy Cross ranges in the distance, and a lush garden of tiny tundra flowers below. To walk this ridge is to walk in exaltation.
The rapid downclimb along Cataract Creek brought us to an early camp. There’s no good camp for another half dozen miles and we’ve done 13 already and are not in great shape. We were joined by Megan and her dog Nelson who was looking pretty tired and sad. A week of hiking was apparently enough for him and Megan will pass the dog onto a friend at Tennessee Pass. Good for her.
The clear skies have finally clouded and I smell rain. Time to put up the tent, the weather at night is never reliable in these mountains.
Heading up Guller Creek from Copper Mountain
