... wild as in backcountry.
We secured our site at noon - Upper Chipmunk in Rocky Mountain National Park (4.2 miles from the Lawn Lake TH). We waited for Christin and Carrie to roll into town from their festivities in Boulder. Meanwhile, we chilled in Estes Park (BAD IDEA on a weekend). Everybody goes to Estes for the weekend. EVERYBODY. There's always a festival going on in Estes. Who knew there could be so many things to celebrate? We grabbed some grub at the first available parking place ... Huevos Rancheros ... probably NOT what you want to eat hours before hauling a pack 4+ miles into the woods at elevation.
We rolled into the Lawn Lake TH at 3:00 PM and it was dumping big buckets of cold Rocky Mountain rain. The temperature quickly dropped from 70 to 50 ... just like that. Oh Hell No. I'm not starting hiking in 50 degree rain. It's one thing to be hauling ass us a steep trail and be greeted with a sudden rain storm ... a totally other beast to slip out of a car into that situation willingly. So, we all huddled in my car like school girls until the rain broke.
Lawn Lake TH - breaking rain.
People are always happy in the beginning. Packs feel light. Socks are dry.
Even me (especially me) ... I'm happy.
Girls getting wild.
Classic CK pose ... and so nice to have Carrie and Sarah here in Colorado with us.
Roaring River
On July 15, 1982 at 5:30 a.m. Lawn Lake broke through the terminal moraine that had held since the end of the last ice age, thousands of years ago releasing 29 million gallons of water. The damage was obvious and amazing.
Pizza for dinner... Deb liked it.
I thought it was an awesome idea. It was a little difficult using a microscopic MSR stove. I used Buboli crusts with standard sauce, cheese and pepperoni. They turned into more like slightly burnt calzones ... but, hey, food automatically tastes somewhat delicious after a few hours of hiking.
CK making pasta.
Backpacking 101 - make pasta (and BTW Christin would know that because she authored some Chapters in BP 101 ... as well as I'll Kick Your Ass on a Bike 101). It is easy and it's hot. I have to admit that I was slightly jealous and wishing I'd brought spaghetti (and I think Deb and Sarah were secretly dreaming the same dream - but they were sweet and praised me for the burnt pizza thing).
Dinner "table"
One bad thing about backpacking is the lack of chairs. A chair is a luxury. You can always pay $100 for an ultra light chair at REI (or hog the Bear Vault). Lug your $100 chair to your campsite and be the envy of your group. That's my plan ... next time :)
Ypsilon Lake
Are there trout in there? Why, YES, there are trout in this high alpine lake. I was fishing and beginning to question that myself and a trout shark swam right by my feet. After that, I was determined to catch a fish and I finally did - a little one ... but it felt like a monster on my golden, magical Sage fly rod. I had decided a priori that there would be NO cooking fish at the campsite. After all, I want to be the biggest animal around my tent! However, I decided that Smores absolutely have to be more enticing to bears than lake trout. So ... next time ... fried trout for breakfast.
Sarah and Deb collecting water (there's no snow down there BTW - it's a lake).
That pose I mentioned.
Upper Chipmunk - No Vacancy
Carrie sporting down in July - typical Carolina Girl.
Somebody had an upset tummy in the middle of the night. Luckily we had a privy situated about 100 yards from our campsite. That certain somebody sat on the throne at 10,682' for quite awhile in the middle of Rocky Mountain National Park surrounded by little critters (maybe some big ones). This also happened to be Certain Somebody's first time camping - I was proud of them for being a Brave Tr(p)ooper.
Not the official Panty Pole ... but a Panty Tree nonetheless.
Smores for snack (and Carrie ... sporting diving attire???? ....)
Deb perfecting MSR marshmellow roasting. (It was decided ... NOBODY shall eat raw SMORES ... EVER).
Girls Gone Wild and Back Again.
Thank you Sarah for coming to Colorado and thus forcing us to do something incredibly cool. Next year - Maroon Bells!
