Up at 5 this morning without too much grumbling from Dan. Although Dan is conscientious and reliable, he is not so much a morning person and wondered at my ability to rise (and start the coffee) so early with no alarm. But my rule is simple: rise when the birds start singing.
Properly coffeed, we headed up the steep but non- technical trail to the summit, shedding layers as the rising sun gradually won out over the cold tundra winds.
Unlike my 2015 trip up this mountain, the skies were clear (although smoky to the east) and we enjoyed views of the Maroon Bells, Capitol Peak, Mt Sopris, Huron, La Plata and the various Collegiate Peaks: Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, Yale and Belford ( is that a college?).
We headed down by 9am, encountering rush hour traffic on the way up, including a couple of very tired looking mountain bikers pushing their 30 lb vehicles up the trail. Legend has it that someone drove a passenger car to the summit in the 1940s. A shame that they didn’t have GoPros to immortalize their feats, as I’m sure our mountain bikers do.
We returned to camp, packed up and scampered the 4 miles and 2500 feet down to Twin Lakes, where we found Punky’s food truck serving out burgers and fried potato slices at an amazingly slow rate, the operator not conversant with the concept of multitasking.
Picked up our resupply box and struggled to supplement it with purchases from the general store. Apparently there have been a high number of hikers this year and stocks were depleted.
Poor Dan had to buy 8 4-packs of ibuprofen at an unconscionable price, and the only bug repellent left was a 15 oz spray can of DEET.
The inn not open for check in until 3, we killed time drinking beer under the shade of some large spruces with our fellow hikers (and their dogs), exchanging info on trail conditions and telling tales of past and future hikes. There is always a future hike.
High above Twin Lakes