Colorado Indian Peaks

I arrived in Colorado, at Boulder County Fairgrounds Campground, on my fourth day of travel, Sunday, August 25. It was  very hot day of driving, with temp in the high 90s for several hours, but upon arrival at the Fairgrounds it was 80, and overnight down to about 50. I stayed there seven nights, longer than I had planned, but – I had not planned on having a root canal, so … all is well now.

I visited Denver and stayed overnight there visiting friends from Connecticut Corrine and Jason, and their wonderfully friendly son, Kieren. It was nice catching up, as I had not seen then in around fifteen years! I also had service done on my solar panels. They are working great now. I’ve gone six days now without “plugging in” to charge the batteries and they are still at 100%. Solar works!

While at the Fairgrounds, I did a few bike rides in addition to my daily walks. The biking was great. I learned of some new bike paths, so I cut down considerably on my time on roads, especially avoiding high traffic areas. I did two long walks in this time period, one of about eighteen miles and one of twenty miles. I am readying myself for a long hike coming up. These were training hikes. I’ve been cutting back some on my biking, too, as part of the process.

I visited with other friends, Dave and Denise one afternoon and Marty that evening. I had hoped to see others, but some schedules, combined with my root canal, did not facilitate proper timing.

I met a guy, David, at the campground who was traveling with his converted ambulance with a bicycle and motorcycle in the back, along with his bed, sink, fridge, A/C, etc. He is a retired photographer. He lives in Texas. We had several long talks, as he was at the Fairgrounds for a week, too. It was interesting to hear about his career of 40+ years taking photographs, working his way through the business all the way up to ownership of his own studio. One of the most interesting aspects of meeting him is that he is from Bolivia. He came to the United States at age 18 and really made a good life of being here through hard work and smart decisions. It was interesting to hear a little bit about his life there as a youth and teenager, about how and what Bolivians learn about the United States.

From the Fairgrounds, I drove west about 30 miles, up onto the mountains, to Brainard Lake National Recreation Area. I camped there, at Pawnee Campground, for three nights, arriving on a nice sunny day with temps around 65. It was 97 when I began my drive from the campground. Brainard Lake is at 10,300 feet, and there is easy access to Indian Peaks Wilderness, which contains a number of high peaks in the 13,000’ range. The most prominent is Mount Audubon at 13,300. I have hiked it several times over the years, my most recent time being last year in August. There are a number of great hiking trails available, including Lake Mitchell and Blue Lake, Long Lake and Isabel Glacier, and Pawnee Pass. These all rise to high elevations above tree-line.

My first full day there, I started a late morning hike with mostly sunshine. I walked about half a mile to the Niwot Cutoff Trail. Just as I arrived at the trailhead, I noticed two moose, a male and a female, hanging out eating shrubs not far off the road. Several other hikers gathered around and watched and/or took photos until the male crossed the road and disappeared into the woods. After that, several of the moose watchers began hiking up Niwot Cutoff. Two women invited me to join them. One lived in Denver, a three-year import from Minnesota. Clearly an extrovert, she was a bundle of positive energy, yoga instructor, life coach, avid skier, student, and bartender. The other woman was visiting her from Maryland. More of an introvert, she was going to Colorado Springs in a few days for a Plant Medicine-Wellness Retreat, all about how to utilize plants to bring about and maintain optimal health.

It was an interesting and fun hike, talking about some of our experiences with work and play, all fun and games until the weather changed. Over the initial half hour or so that we were hiking, there was a transition of bright sunshine to clouds to cold rain. We were about a mile and a half from the parking lot when the precipitation began. I had rain gear, they did not. They got wet and uncomfortable, but fortunately not dangerously cold.

On my second night, the campsite next to me was home to seven backpackers, four women and three men. They began their hike at Monarch Lake on the west side of the Continental Divide. They were on Day Two of a five-day, counterclockwise circuit within Indian Peaks. They would cover 65 kilometers while crossing the Continental Divide twice, Pawnee Pass (12,541’) and Buchannan Pass (11,837’). While the two women and I were being rained on earlier in the day, these hikers experienced snow coming up to Pawnee Pass from the west side. These seven were not only physically fit, they were kind, up-tempo-high-energy, fun-loving people. It was nice talking with them. What’s with the kilometers? They were from British Columbia, Canada. And 65K is close to 40 miles.

Also camping at Pawnee was a guy named Jim. He is a teacher at CU-Boulder, and he was there with seven honors-program students from the university. They were on a multiday education, career, and soul-searching exploration. Jim and I talked about these things in terms of our own experiences and how life is anything but a straight line. Planning life and the real thing diverge frequently, often to a great extent.

Star gazing was on his list of activities and for good reason. From Pawnee, I was amazed and happy to see so many stars. Clear to my eyes around 3AM was Orion toward the southwest and the cloud-like presence of The Milky Way directly above. It is mind-blowing, looking out into the depth of the night sky. We see a number of brilliant stars, stars that others have mapped out and created stories about, handing down from generation to generation across a variety of cultures. But those we see represent only a tiny fraction of all there is. We are looking out into the unseen of millions of galaxies, trillions of stars! Our solar system is a wonderous, miraculous spec floating in the universe. It is a work of art, a scientific marvel, a mystical experience …

On my last day at Brainard, my intent was to hike up to Pawnee Pass. This route brings one past Long Lake and up to the beginning of Isabelle Lake, which sits at the base of peaks with Isabelle Glacier straddling up the side of the mountain range. The hike was about eleven miles roundtrip from the campground. As one climbs higher, it provides a continually changing view of the mountain features, while the lakes become smaller in the distance. When I was about 4.5 miles along, a mile short, I decided to stop, enjoy the view, and head back. I am glad I did, too. I had planned to hike for about five hours, and I brought along enough fluids and food for that time period. If I continued to the Pass, it would have added two miles and about ninety minutes to the hike. Probably doable, but I figured stick with the timeframe I planned. No unwelcome surprises in the high country.

The views on this hike were spectacular. There is a feeling of wonder when one rises above tree level and looks on these multihued gray and brown rocks and peaks, some snow cover remaining, and the deep-blue and green tinted ponds of icy water. The sensations are amazing. My favorite terrain in which to hike are desert mountains and hills, such as is the case in places Death Valley, Zion, Bryce, Arches, and other national parks of the United States southwest. Being in Indian Peaks Wilderness was an extraordinary experience, one that rivaled the southwest for sensations that integrate calm and exhilaration in a welcome paradox.