Training Log Archive: pfc

Got a morning start up to Lewis Lake and up the Medicine Bow Peak Trail. On the peak (12,013 ft) around 8:00, then continued south along the west side of the ridge, after losing the trail in a jumble of talus. Came down at the south side of Lake Marie. Then back along the Lookout Lake trail. Topo and photos.

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I was up before 6 AM today, and didn't feel like getting back to sleep. So I went for the early morning start up Medicine Bow Peak. I was the only person up at the trailhead, and was on the trail by 6:22 AM. The sun was up but obscured behind bands of clouds off to the east, but luckily the fog from last night had dissipated. The trail winds around the south end of Lewis Lake and then climbs around he north side of Sugarloaf Mountain to a saddle at about 11,000 feet. The trail splits and I went directly west up the ridge to the peak. It was slow going, and the wind started to get stronger the higher I went, but a steady pace brought me to the top of the ridge where I could see its flat, sloping, west side. The peak itself was really more of a big pile of rocks on the edge of the ridge just to my south, so I climbed over the boulders to the top and took a picture of what I think is the summit marker. At least, it was the highest point around, both by eye and by altimeter.

I had planned on continuing south and coming off the ridge by Lake Marie, so I tried to locate the trail in the jumble of rocks. I ended up following some of the trail markers, which were wooden posts about 4 feet high held in place by stacking a cairn around the base. As I started to switchback and descend, it became apparent I was actually on trail #294, heading steeply down towards Dipper Lake. So I climbed back up a bit to see if I had missed a trail junction, but finding nothing I had to strike out on my own towards the south. About 15 minutes later I was picking my way down a talus slope and met the only other hikers I saw all day on their way up - two women out with their dogs. The dogs had been requisitioned to carry all the supplies. We sat and talked for a little bit. I was wearing my PQ sahara hat, and one of them noticed and commented on it. It turns out she had done a little adventure racing and knew enough about the sport to have heard of that race. They were taking the same circuit as I was, just in the opposite direction, so we jokingly noted that we'd probably run into each other a couple hours later.

After the slope flattened out, I finally spotted some trail markers that were not from #294, and headed for them to minimize my impact on the tundra environment (I had been trying to hop from boulder to boulder rather than step on the low vegetation.) The trail immediately started to improve and brought me southwest toward the end of the ridge, where it switchbacked down a slope with several scree sections. Right as I descended to treeline, the sun started to come out and I picked my way down to Lake Marie.

It was a quick return hike, along the edge of Lake Marie and through the Mirror Lake picnic area to the Lookout Lake trail. As expected, I ran into the same two hikers about halfway up the trail, this time trail running (well, it was a downhill section!) I made it back to the car, said goodbye to the Snowies, and went for lunch in Laramie before heading for Colorado.

I took the U.S highway (287) south out of Laramie to Fort Collins. Now I remember why U.S. Highways aren't the greatest - lots of traffic including 18-wheelers, and bad road surface. Nevertheless, it was the quickest way there. In Fort Collins, I stopped for coffee and got online, and that's where I heard the news about the bridge collapse and finally saw all the messages and voice mails. It was mid-afternoon, so I called and talked to Annie for a while and got caught up. After that, just a lot of driving to make my way to Idaho Springs. In accordance with my plan to eat my way across the West, I planned for dinner at Beau Jo's and that's where I knew one was (turns out there was one in Fort Collins, too.) It also brought me to the area (immediately west of Denver) that I wanted to spend my time in before heading to Peaceful Valley.

After dinner, I drove up Mt. Evans Road to the West Chicago Creek campsite, another site I knew from prior trips. I grabbed the last available campsite and settled in for the night. The site was right across from the campground host, and she came over to warn me that there had been a bear visiting the campsite every couple of nights all summer, so she gave me the usual warnings. I assured her I was familiar with camping in bear country. Just as it started to get dark, a storm moved in from the west, just to our south over the ridge on the other side of the creek. All we got for rain was a few light drops, but there was quite a lightning show. I laid in the back of car with the hatchback up watching until it moved away, then fell asleep.