| 42 images 1. This was my half-birthday excursion. My route went left to right, and the yellow is what I did - both directions. The red shows the plan, which I abandoned after a ten hour slog through endless deadfalls in the woods, then rockfalls in the sun, with my 25 pound pack. There are several possible explanations for my failure: 1. Out of shape. 2. Gore Range Tectonics (like seafloor spreading, distances are increasing) and anomalolus Uplift (getting out of breath sooner). 3. Age  3. The new Wilderness boundary sign on Pebble Creek  4. Incredible crosscut sawing trail work by "The Four Strangers" - that would be Anne, Karrie, Catherine, and Nikki (USFS Rangers & Interns)- not strangers at all; when they visited us, Emmy told her daughters they would meet Forest Rangers, and Matilda (4) asked why they were meeting "four strangers." (Click HERE for pictures)  5. Boulder Lake - the weather was like this the entire trip. Above here, I saw nobody, and no recent signs of people  6. The trail was rugged, sketchy in many places, clogged with downed timber...  7.   8a. ... but the terrain was stunningly beautiful. Here is Boulder Creek (VIDEO - 23 seconds) 9. I ate lunch here  11.  12. The forest primeval  13. In places, the trail rose quite high above Boulder Creek  14.   16.  17. Endless glacially-smoothed rocks, with horizontal striae made as small rocks scraped along, dragged by the ice.  18. Ah, the rocks. Great hopping, and both of my "Hogan Hips" worked fine (this was my first trip since my second replacement - thanks 2x Dr. Hogan!)   20.  21. Marmot, woodchuck, whistle pig, groundhog  22. First view of Upper Boulder Lake. My campsite was straight across the lake.  23. Naughty campfire ring (should be an least 1/4 mile from the lake)  24. Sandy beach  25. Taken from my campsite, looking back (east) across the lake. I had the entire lake, and probably the entire valley, all to myself. Solitude at its most sublime.  27. Looking up-valley. I was so tired after my hike in that I decided not to attempt the rest (>1000 feet higher, dicey snowy approach to the pass...) Chicken...  28. Buckwheat, unknown..   30. Indian paintbrush  31.  32. Mountain larkspur, Parry primrose   36. Spring has just arrived at the edge of the snowfield - marsh marigolds (lower left), one of our first spring flowers   39.  40. Ten hours getting in, nine hours out (67K steps total by my fitbit)  |