Travels and Vagabonds
I was in need of an exploration weekend. So Alexis and I took off for Linville in search of a rarely trekked trail on the western side of the Linville Gorge. The weather outlook that weekend was bleak and most people regulated themselves to stay indoors, but not us. We had our trusty rain-shells and were not afraid to get lost or wet in the wilderness. The goal for the trip was to locate “Sunshine Point” on a not so sunshiny day.
Continue reading “Linville Gorge – Gold Coast, Sunshine Point”
On the second morning, we decided that we weren’t going to do the full 4 pass loop, but we still wanted to see the next basin over the 2nd pass. So we were off early in the morning to see Trail Rider Pass. Without our 40lbs (which we left at base camp) we made very good time and speed.
Over Labor Day weekend, I tagged along with Ben to go on a camping trip. The trip was initially set to hike the 4 pass loop in the Maroon Bells/Snowmass area. The total trip was to be a 28-29 mile slog, but do to some injuries along the way we decide to just to an out and back to the Snowmass Lake only 24 miles.
The trip started from the Maroon Bells View area (9,580 feet). This was a heavily touristed area, and allowed the visitors to Aspen a chance to see some of \the true ruggedness of the range. The first couple miles of the trail took us to crater lake. This trail was frequented by the very prolific species that is the the”Aspen Cougar”. Walking up the trail, you felt the constant glare of the predatory species. Amanda (Ben’s Girlfriend) received numerous compliments from the Cougars for hiking with “3 young men.”
After Brewfest(around 8PM), we decided to camp for the night. So Dave led the drive into the Mountains to find somewhere to camp. We setup shop at the top of the cell-tower road overlooking the town of Ft. Collins. We hike several yards down into the woods and found a sweet spot. We immediately went to camp ‘readiness mode’. Dave setup the tents, the girls went about gathering a huge amount of firewood, and I “the master of fire” made of huge fire ring out of all the near by boulders. Within 15 Min’s camp was setup, a roaring fire was flickering about, and food was being cooked. We feasted, watched stars and passed out on a nice cool evening.
The next morning, we went to Vern’s Place for breakfast. Vern’s was an awesome restaurant. First of all, its first come first serve. There is no hostess to seat you. You have to rush and claim a table before someone else does. Secondly is the huge amount of stuffed dead animals on the wall. This look is exactly how I want my house to look like in the future. Third is the Vern’s Huge Famous Cinnamon rolls. These were the most delicious and ridiculous cinnamon rolls that I have ever eaten (sorry Dad, yours were semi-close). Each one was the size of a dinner plate. Vern’s Place looks like a hole in the wall from the 1930’s because it is and that’s what makes it awesome. It was built to support the workers constructing the nearby Horsetooth Reservoir.
After our pleasant breakfast, we took off to RMNP (Rocky Mountain Nation Park) because Dave and Katie, have never been. I suggested we do the quick driving tour of the park since it was Sunday and we eventually need to get back to COS. RMNP on the weekends is definably a tourist trap. Everyone is out to enjoy nature from the the comforts of their cars. Basically, RMNP allows people to see animals and majestic view with great ease.
On some of the pull overs, Dave and I came to the realization that it is great fun make other people’s mothers nervous. We did our best to be adventurous/bad influences to little kids that could only standby and watched us hop safety barriers, climbing on rock cliffs, and other sorts of tumultuous activities. It was great fun to hear the whispers of mothers saying to their kids, “now, don’t you ever, ever, ever do that.” But I think the kids saw how much more fun we were having and break their mothers wishes.
I also decided the traffic was becoming a problem on ridge road. So I built a snowman traffic cop in the center of the road to stop all the driving infractions. People seemed to not heed the snowman attempts at civil order, and instead decided to start taking picture with it. That snowman was terrible enforcing order.
RMNP is a great place to go if you want to check out what the Rocky Mtns are about, but only have a day to do so. Below are some more pictures from the trip.
