Backpacking in the mountains

The high mountains of Colorado still had a lot of snow in mid-June. In fact, the Arkansas River flooding in nearby Canon City, despite there being no rain in weeks. The snow melt was enough to increase the years, the highest level since. But my friend Mike and I were still hoping to get a rucksack.

We had up to 9,000 meters, a few weeks before, and I saw only a pile of snow in the woods. Way home we saw that even though there are a lot of> Snow in the high peaks of the Sangre de Cristo mountains in the north, was patchy. There were large areas without snow, even above 13,000 feet. It was time to try.

We opted for two nights of travel Bushnell Lakes and possibly to the top of Bushnell Peak (13,105 feet). About this time I received a phone call. I have a backpack site, so you get emails with questions all the time, but that was only the second time someone had called me at home. The man on thethe other end was calling from Texas, about the conditions of the Sangre De Christos - was too much snow?

"I hope not," I said. "Me and a friend are headed there tomorrow." He said he had a ranger for the area south of where we were called, and she had told him that everything was still snow on top. He was for a week, just days after we started, and I wondered if they could be exaggerating. We agreed that probablywere.

The challenges of mountain

It was hot when we started, with only 13 pounds on my back (I like to go to the light). Where the split path, we decided instead of going to the lakes of fat in the Twin Sisters Peaks. This was the next valley over Bushnell Lakes, and a shorter walk. When we arrived in a track log, we found that only a few people were there this year. They had left a message on the way down: "Lost the trail in the snow at 10,800 feet." E 'was dated just days before.

We drove on the track, just heard the roar of the river below. We saw the first small patch of snow, before crossing at about 9,600 meters. Then we went on a hiking trail that doubles as a flow of everything, even with small waterfalls. Snow patches became more frequent, and we went across the stream / path on a bridge covered with snow at some point before realizing that it was a three foot fall, when it was broken.

Several hours of gave way there is no trace. E 'was somewhere under several feet of snow. It' hard to get lost after a river valley on, though, so we kicked steps in the snow hard and continue. In places we found the path again and also had long stretches of dry to roam. The fusion process is very irregular. In one of our pictures of Mike Snow is standing in the grass next to a two-meter-high wall made. On another hill, I try to twenty feet> Snow cliff.

Then there's the photo of the first lake. E 'of me standing on it. E 'state land, about half of it, but it has been frozen. We're back down to a small pond, which was only partially covered with ice. There was the snow was a hot day backpacking deep. We put our water bottles in a snowdrift and place the sheet on the lawn. Marmots approached to investigate.

The next day we went over the lakes, the first and second, both above the tree line. We followedcurrent and a steep climb to a meadow full of wildflowers at about 12,000 feet. There were frozen lakes below, flowers around us, and a 13-foot mountain above 012 is pending, past rocky climbs and slippery snow fields. - We on top of the tallest ever got Mike - and signed the register . We have mountains in all directions to see some of them over 60 miles away.

Over time we returned to camp, I was sick. I did not expect that the effect of the sun. Ihad a hat and sunglasses, but reflects the sunlight at you from all sides when you cross the ice and snow. It was not just a sunburn, but sun-sickness. I spent the night in turns to run and feel the fire with a shiver through my body. Mike had the chills the next day. In that spirit, here are some tips for backpackers in the mountains.

1. Call the Forest Service. Discover what are the conditions in which you want to migrate, you can bring the right equipment andClothing.

2. Do you have a good map and know how to use it. This is particularly important in early summer, when you might lose track in the snow.

3. Sunscreen is only a beginning. It is a hat, sunglasses and long sleeves.

4. Your car GPS position. If you have a GPS device, mark your car in case you lose track.

5. Check the trailhead register. This backpacker before the escape should be noted that a bridge is washed stopped falling trees have fallen,the road, or something else you should know.

6. Getting up early. afternoon thunderstorms are high in many mountain ranges. If you want to go to the high peaks and ridges, is best done early and be at least before noon.

It 's great, meadows and valleys have. This is one of the advantages of the pack in the mountains early in the season. Just be prepared for a variety of cycling conditions.