16 Şubat 2013 Cumartesi

Welcome To Uncle Bud's Hut

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Colorado Hut-to-Hut Adventure – Day 6 – 9/13/12 – Hiking toUncle Bud’s Hut – 11 Miles
Another Tylenol PM night with a different result – noheadache this morning!  And a good thingbecause today was going to be our longest hike, going from 10thMountain Hut to Uncle Bud’s Hut via a hybrid route of cross-country ski trailsand the CDT (which still runs concurrently with the Colorado Trail).  What will this be like?  A great deal of variety in topography andlandscape and challenges – a terrific day.
Yesterday’s precipitation left a light frosteverywhere.  This bench bears a plaque namingit “Catherine’s Bench”, in memory of a 29-year-old woman who loved hiking andskiing in the Colorado Mountains.  Shewas killed by a lightning strike while hiking up one of the 14er’s.  Her family installed a “Catherine’s Bench” ateach of the 10th Mountain huts. 
Say goodbye to 10th Mountain Hut
Buebird skies and 28 degrees.  Ready for whatever comes next (Jeff’s photo)
The first couple of miles consisted of backtracking, withCathy and me in front as route finders searching for those blue diamond trailmarkers (Cathy says “Blue diamonds are a girl’s best friend”). 
A giant landmark that we remembered
Clouds in the valley where the town of Leadville sits
A day of “reflection”



We crossed the intersection with West Tennessee Lakes Trailand continued on the cross-country ski route, increasingly confident of ournavigational skills until we came to a very large meadow.  I’m sure in winter it’s pretty simple to lookacross a white expanse the length of a football field and spot a 10-inch bluediamond nailed 25 feet up on an evergreen tree…but not today.  We needed to cross the meadow and then scoutalong the tree line to find a trail marker. Looks simple enough, right?
But those low bushes and grasses are actually waist high andvery dense, with marshy spots you might not see before splashing into them withboth feet.  We began following apromising trail that ultimately meandered all around until we concluded that itwas an animal trail, not a people trail. There was no straight route across the meadow.  We pretended to be Moses and the chosen peoplewandering in the wilderness.  In spite ofthe slow process, I really enjoyed this interlude.  The terrain was flat, the colors werespectacular and I had that feeling of a very small being in God’s great bigworld. 

Next we passed another small pond and walked through anarrow meadow still partially in shadow with lovely frost patterns. 
Frosty morning
Jeff’s photo
Couldn’t resist this tiny Christmas tree with a sunbeamspotlight
When we reached the CDT we turned right for a couple ofmiles of pure delight, a rockin’ and rollin’ level trail through Longs Gulch,and then entered Holy Cross Wilderness.
Long Gulch (Jeff’s photo)
Another pretty pond



Our biggest climb of the day tested my lung capacity yetagain, 35 minutes of steepness, and I persevered (very) slowly and steadily butwithout stopping.  I was still not lovingthe climbs but I was conquering them. 
At the top of the climb we reached the pass between GalenaMountain and an unnamed peak that Jeff wanted to bag.  There were two beautiful small unnamed lakesto explore.  But first…time forrefueling.  What a spectacular settingfor lunch!
Horses passing through to pick up a crew of fishermen who werecamping out at the lake.
Cathy and I explored a little bit over the next ridge – a viewof everything coming up, snowy peaks and yellow aspens.
The peak Jeff bagged today (Point 11,820).



During our rest stop Mike gave Cathy and me a tutorial onreading topo lines on a map, helping us understand what was ahead (some up,some down, surprise!).  When Jeffreturned, we got back on the CDT. 
Across this open pass we had our best view of the day.  At this point Jeff and Cathy were ahead andMike wasn’t sure if he had told them the next stopping point.  Mike wanted to depart from the trail againand try a different route for the final approach to Uncle Bud’s Hut.  He decided that they would figure it out forthemselves (Jeff had the GPS track) and so he stepped off the CDT in search ofthis alternate route, an old road.   Ifollowed Mike – I wasn’t about to get left behind anywhere. 
We found the old road that Mike remember- ed and it took usabout a mile down to Uncle Bud’s.  Jeffand Cathy were already there.  And ourWashington, D.C. hut buddies evidently had made it there the day before becausethey left us a note and some marshmallows!
Welcome to Uncle Bud’s Hut
Once again we are the only residents
We sat on the deck soaking up sunshine for a couple of hoursand admiring the front row view of Mount Elbert and Mount Massive
Cathy is trying to relax (and succeeding)
Mike
Cathy toasting some bread for dinner
Another gourmet feast: spinach and cheese tortellini, the last pound of Jeff’s frozen peas,chopped up pepperoni and sausage.  Believe it or not, we actually had leftoverstonight that will reappear tomorrow night.
Sitting at the front windows, we watched until the lightfaded to almost full dark before turning on lights inside.  We sat and talked and read aloud a couple oftales from a book of local stories. Before bedtime we went back out on the deck to gaze at the sky full oftwinkling stars and the Milky Way arcing over our heads.  Sigh… I wish everyone could have these kindsof experiences. 
“He climbed cathedral mountainsHe saw silver clouds belowHe saw everything as far as he could see…Rocky Mountain High”~John Denver







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