So I went to Colorado for the Fourth
The trip was an ordeal if there ever was one. There were good moments, but they were too few, unfortunately. So many crazy things happened. I suppose it'd be best if I described it detail by detail. I won't be overly particular though, lest I bore all who are reading this.
I had hoped to get off work early, perhaps around noon, the Thursday before the Fourth. I was off for the holiday and then the weekend. Fortunately, it was my Sunday off. I work every other Sunday. This week, by the by, is my week to work. The paper isn't finished, due to having things waiting for coverage over Saturday. Thus I'll be busy Sunday. Joy. Back to the story though.
I got off work at 3, having rushed to get to that point, through a very stressful day. Things never seem to go as expected at the paper. That should be what I expect, I suppose. For things never to go right. There's always constant chaos pretty much. It's very frustrating and endlessly stressful. I wasn't able finish my preparations as early as anticipated either. In the end, I was leaving town around 7. I thought I'd save time by swinging by McDonald's on the way out to get a $.99 burger just to take the edge off my hunger. The line there was crazy, and it probably took me 30 minutes before I had my burger and was leaving the 'restaurant'. I am being to detailed though. I'll never get the story told at this rate. All right. Summarizing.
I went the scenic route from Des Moines, NM to Trinidad, bypassing Trinidad. I've done that once before and found the drive nice, though it was longer than I remembered and delayed me as opposed to the regular way. I stopped at a nice picnic pull-off sight to stretch my legs, the same one I'd stopped off at before. I could've camped there, I suppose. I had it in my mind to get to Lake Isabel. That was a flawed plan. You see, it was the weekend of the Fourth. You must be guessing the outcome. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm not even at Trinidad yet. I stopped at the Walmart there to get supplies, food mostly, as I had before. Then on to Walsenburg and Colorado City, toward Lake Isabel. Only, it was after midnight my time by the time I made it there. I had to find the campground I'd stayed at last time, over Memorial Day(which is a trip I never wrote about, apologies, and a trip that turned out better in ways though it was rushed). Then I had to find the man in charge of the grounds and wake him to ask for a spot. Of course, you probably guessed it when I got ahead of myself before, they had none available. I should have called ahead to make reservations.
He told me of a campground not far, perhaps 10 minutes down the road, but I never could find it. I backtracked and more than once, I believe, but never found it. As I said. I'm repeating myself... Finally, I found a trail marker exit that led a ways down a fairly rough road, Jeep goodness, to a dead end. Yes, there was a trail marker there, for motorbikes and hikers, and it appeared not many people had been there anytime recently. So I moved stuff about to setup camp in the back, sleeping back there as I always do. Next, we come to morning, no fire due to there being no fire-pit, nor anything really to form one from, and I needed to get a move on. This was a pit-stop on the way. Unfortunately, my trips always seem rushed. I don't recall what I did for breakfast. Perhaps some trailmix before I set off.
I stopped at Bishop's Castle, which I recommend visiting to all. Only, be careful. That thing is insane, and climbing the towers isn't safe. oO I was not comfortable. Me and heights are not friends. Ironic, I know. But childhood traumas will change one's perspective. And, after all, I am human. This was a rushed visit, but I did get video. Onward I went to go back the way I'd come to the interstate, I-25 north, and I didn't stop until Fountain. That's when I decided to get something to eat at a Subway I'd seen advertised on a billboard. This is where I locked my keys in my Jeep, both sets, along with my cell phone. I'd been charging the phone, and though it was no longer on the charger, I'd not put it back in my pocket as that makes it near impossible to get out if someone calls me. Not that I like talking on the phone while driving, especially on the interstate or in the mountains. I have no bluetooth hands-free headset, you see. So I either talk while driving with one hand, touchy with the steering of a Jeep, or I set the phone on my lap and use speakerphone, which means I yell and can hardly hear the person on the other end.
I've digressed once more, I'm afraid. I'm at this Luff and Jug or whatever it's called/Subway. They're integrated. The Luff and Jugs are a chain of gas station/convenience stores I've only ever seen in Colorado. I had come back out to the Jeep with my foot long sub, as the guy behind the counter convinced me it's cheaper. It is only like half a dollar more for the foot long vs the 6 inch. I think they're trying to make people over eat. oO So I got the sweet onion chicken teryaki. That's beside the point. I really do get too specific. The thing was that I didn't want to put it in my cooler to get cold, it's a hot sandwich, nor soggy, and I didn't want to wait until I found a picnic spot to stop on the road outside of Colorado Springs. It'd probably be more than an hour before I'd be able to stop and eat. I was hungry. So I got out of the Jeep and headed, with sandwich in bag, back inside to see if they had tables. They seemed small and likely to be a very limited combination of establishments, but one could hope. Oh, but I forgot. I'd already put the key in the ignition to start the Jeep when I paused in thought. CW, I really do think too much, yes. I'd even left it not fully inserted so as to keep the door warning from going off. It was hot so I'd not closed the door while sitting and pondering. My other set of keys were in the middle console because they gouged into my thigh when they were in my pocket for long drives.
Long story short, finally being concise, I had to get change, since I actually had my wallet, use the payphone, find the local insurance rep for State Farm as my papers were, you guessed it, my Jeep's glovebox, get transferred to the 800 number as they were closed in the local office, it was the Fourth, be told they couldn't cover this with roadside assistance for some reason, just to give the receipt to my local agent when I got back home, ask for a number for a local locksmith, actually get one after a bit of begging, call, wait for the locksmith to call back(they were actually open on the Fourth, and the first number I had, too!), standing by the payphone forever, nearly missing the call as the payphone had a weird ring that blended in with all the other cacophony of sounds going on there that day, wait again until he got there, then get the call saying he was there, have him open my Jeep only to charge me $95 and tell me he needed it in cash so I had to go to the ATM, fun fees there, more money out the window, discovered he'd scratched the paint where he'd used the tool to open the door, rapture, and then I could finally leave. I'd only lost an hour and a half. That was a rousing good time of an afternoon. Onward, but no stop in Colorado Springs as I'd hoped. I'd wanted to make a detour to the Target just off the interstate. No go.
I went the back way that takes one around to Evergreen or Idaho Springs, depending on the way you go. I took a left on 185, I think it was. Then I later went up a dirt road that found me passing a huge mountain known as Sawtooth. As far as I recall it was that anyway. I stopped and talked to a woman who'd recently moved there from Missouri, talking of the flooding up there. She said she loved Colorado. It was an interesting day. The view was amazing. I'll have pictures to share along with this entry. At least one is of the view of that mountain. I did get confused a few times, having to find my way through a tiny town on the way to I-70 before getting to the Idaho Springs turn-off to 103. The town was setting up for a block party for the Fourth and thus I had to find my way around to get to the interstate not far from there. It was confusing as small as those roads were. I thought I knew what a small town was but...those mountain towns are crazy. The entire width of main street might've been enough for two cars to pass eachother going different ways, if they were going 5mph and very careful. I went all the way up to Echo lake, not trying the West Chicago Lakes campground earlier up the road, off a dirt road that takes 15 minutes, only to find the same situation as with Lake Isabel. They informed me that West Chicago Lakes campground was almost certainly full as well and that my best bet was to go 'just up the road' toward Evergreen. 'Just up the road' on the left was an old gravel pit road, a frontage road as they said, which you'd need a 4wd to get up, but I'd be fine in my Jeep. Supposedly people went up there to camp more rustic style, away from other people and such. There were even spots they'd cleared off and circles of rocks setup for fires.
Following their advice, I turn off 'just up the road' at this sharp left turn, being on the opposite side of the road and the turn taking you the other direction following the road in the way you'd just come. Only, the road was very rough. I put it in 4wd high, but I still had to back up and then get some momentum at a point. I was digging myself a hole for the back, right tire. No traction. I did make it up, but the trees were closing in, and I could only hope there'd be a spot to turn around not too far along. Nope, but there was a dead end. I got to back up with tree limbs tearing at the sides of my Jeep, pulling the mirrors back, smack, smack, and just scratching into the paint. What a mess. I finally managed to pull back almost up the side of a hill on the inner side of the road, go forward, back up, go forward, and so on until I got turned around. Then I went the rest of the way down forward. The transfer case was finicky, which it's usually not, about switching into 2wd when I got off the road. Yikes, I hate the sound and even more the feel of the binding in the drivetrain. I backed up, fortunately no one was coming, and got it to disengage. A good means of doing that for those that don't know. Nothing works the same at 10,000+ feet. My Jeep just wasn't all that happy. The transfer case has never done that at home. Not that I go into 4wd often here. Not that there's need. Note to self for future reference, discovered after this trip was over, or at least this far into it, scout a trail on foot first before taking your Jeep up it!
Let's speed up now. I'm really going to slow. I went back to the lodge that wasn't a lodge, that being Echo Lake Lodge, and asked them for more specific directions. It turns out that the turn-off was 2.5 miles up the road. That's not 'just up the road', especially on a mountain road. It may take 10 minutes to go that far in places when you're in the mountains. I found the turn this time and went up, in 4wd again, and eventually found a spot. My though are the rocks on those trails sharp. My tires lost a good deal of tread on that trip. I missed the fireworks in Idaho Springs that night, barely got a fire started before dark, ended up talking to my older sister on the phone, there was actually service oO, and finally slept around midnight Colorado time, an hour behind what I'm used to.
The next day entailed discovery of the campgrounds having vacancy at Echo Lake and no longer caring, heading up to Summit Lake for the second time, I'd gone before over Memorial Day, this time the mounds of snow were gone and you could see the lake, oh, and there was no blizzard, and then up further to the summit of Mount Evans. That road was closed the time before, there was as I'd said a blizzard, and I'd been fool enough to hike up to the top of the mountain when stopping at Summit Lake, through snow, soaking myself quite good, and freezing, and darn near killing myself more than once. A fool, I do admit. I did get video though. This trip was less eventful other than the hoards of people, I hate that, finding hiking trails that had been buried in snow before, and then the mounds of traffic on the very windy, very precarious road. There's an observatory on the peak of Mount Evans, but you can't go in. I think it said it belongs to Denver University.
I headed back down in time for the gathering storm to begin to sprinkle. Once I'd made it to the West Chicago Lakes campground it was raining. I got a campspot, talking to the groundskeeper and his wife under their trailer eve, they live there during the summer and take care of things, and then decided to go driving while I waited for it to stop raining. Otherwise, I'd just have to sit in my Jeep and wait it out. Up the road I went back to a trailhead I'd seen, and then I turned off. No, that's not quite right. I went up past Echo lake, a good 30 minutes just from the campgrounds I was at, and then closer up to Evergreen until I had a cell signal again. I called my sister to tell her what was up. Sometimes it's best to let people know what you're doing. It's not good to be alone on a mountain trail without any cell signal when no one knows where you are or what you're doing. Not that her knowing I was on some trail up in the mountains near Echo Lake would do me much good. Still...perhaps it gave me some comfort. The signal I'd had at the gravel pit road the night before was gone, so I had to go further that day.
This brings us to my ordeal going up that crazy road. It was raining, the rocks were crazy, sharp and slick, and I had someone following me in some type of Chevy 4x4. I'd only needed 4wd high up until this point. As I slid backward up an ascent that was also a turn, the people behind me realizing that tailing someone close on a 4x4 trail was not a good idea and thus backing up, I myself realized I needed to be in 4-low. I got there, but for some reason it never wants to engage right away. Neutral does not get one anwhere, only backward when you take your foot of the brake. Fun, yeah... Eventually the road forked, and I went one way and stopped, heading back to the other people and asking if they knew what the trail was and if so how long it was and where it went. The map I had of the trails in the area didn't go this far west. In the rain I talked to them, found it was a girl in some family, her being the mother but rather young, probably around 30, who was driving. She said that they'd seen me pull off at the trail marker and were just following me. I'd actually walked up that trail a ways to the gates they close during winter and didn't think it was too bad. Boy was I surprised. Automatic on 4wd trails can be scary. Not that it's bad, but it's not great either. Even with 4-low and 1st gear I was braking to keep my speed down. Braking while pressing the gas does offer more traction at times, yes. I was able to apply that method a few times successfully. After talking with the girl and suggesting we both take one direction on the fork and see if we met up or if we'd find a way out, not that the latter would help either of us, nor would the former as we'd have no way to pass...okay, my logic was confused at the time, we went our separate directions. I thought I'd found a place to back up and turn around much the same way I'd done the day before, but it wasn't working, and I got hung up on my running board, I do wish I had rocker panel guards instead as the large tubes I do have, running board spastastic, just lower my ground clearance. I gouged a scratch on the bottom of my right on over a very large rock, but I managed to get off of it and go on until I found a better spot, still unnerving, to turn around. In 4-low turning sharp isn't easy. My poor gears and transfer case. I'm sorry, my Jeep. I know you served me well, and I just tortured you. I forgot to mention that I was almost down to a quarter a tank of gas up on that trail as well, and that concerned me. You never know how far you can go in 4 wheel low before you'll eat up your gas. It goes a lot faster, that's the problem. It was also near getting dark, and I didn't want to find out the hard way that the trail just kept going for hours. You don't want to be 4-wheelin' in the dark. At least not if you're inexperienced as I.
I found my way back to 103 and eventually the campgrounds and then made camp, as the rain finally stopped, and tried to start a fire. I had campers next to me now, they'd arrived after I'd left, and they were a couple of guys who were drinking beers like crazy. I talked with them after my fire was a failure. I just had wet wood and the wood around couldn't be gathered due to the rain. The stuff I'd brought with me had been rained on the night before I got it from my sister's house. They have wood stacked outside the house for the fireplace during winter, but it had to go and rain, after not raining forever here, right before I was to go to the mountains to go camping. If only I'd gotten the wood the day before. Alas, I did not. So with my failure of a fire I barely managed to cook some hotdogs and then went to talk with the weird guys for a while before heading to bed. The next day I was supposed to leave already, but I had the morning at least to enjoy. Only, it was raining before I was done with cleaning up my camp after making breakfast. The wife of the groundskeeper came to talk to me and said she loved my tiger shirt. CW will know which one. She told me about how she had raised tiger cubs and lion cubs and other types of cubs at Marine World Africa USA in California back when she was around 19. She'd worked there for several years and done about everything, she said. Her husband came over and talked some, told me my 'neighbors' had left earlier and asked what I'd thought of them. Yeah, interesting fold. From up in Ohio, I think they said. Very strange. Stripped down next to my Jeep that morning and changed. Well, I looked away as one guy took off his jeans. Um, yipes. Very unpretty to look at if you get my drift. *Shudder.* They couldn't have been much older than me, but they'd been abusing themselves for years. Alcohol and cigarettes will do that.
By the time I got my camp packed up it was good and raining again, and then up to Echo Lake Lodge, which wasn't a lodge but only a restaurant. I couldn't do much because of the rain, and the drive was precarious due to the heavy rainfall and intermittent hail, though that was tiny. Having someone ride my bumper because I wasn't going fast enough for their liking wasn't enjoyable either. Why must people in Colorado insist on driving 10-20-30 miles over the speed limit on windy mountain roads? And in heavy snowfall or rainstorms even!
The day was a bust for the most part, no trail driving, lots of rain, and then having people ride my bumper all the way the back way again, only this time toward Evergreen. Then onto Colorado Springs. I didn't have time to explore Evergreen as I'd hoped. I might just want to move there. I'm currently considering either there or Spokane in Washington. If that I can save the money and figure out a thousand variables. It's complex, but I need to figure it out somehow. What do you all think? Does anyone live in either place or in the area? Which would you suggest? Do please let me know.
Now for the pictures...
This is Sawtooth Mountain, I believe. It's a 14Ker.
This was taken from the end of the trail I'd mistakenly taken the day before, on the Fourth, thinking it was the gravel pit road. If you look close, down by the highway you can see my Jeep.
Another pic from that vantage point that doesn't show my Jeep.
This is overlooking the Goliath Pines National Forest area on the Mount Evans Highway up to Summit Lake and further the peak of Mount Evans.
Another from the same overlook, I believe. There were trails and some restoration projects for local fauna, but I didn't have time to look much. Unfortunately, these trips consist mostly of driving, and everything is so rushed I rarely have time to just enjoy the sights. I'm beginning to realize that's the whole purpose, and part of the problem I have is that I'm trying to do so much, several of the things which are entire day long expeditions. I don't get more than 3 day weekends with this current job though. So that's all I can hope for. If I want to spend my entire day just at one place, I might find it more enjoyable though. Perhaps I'll try that next time. Once I've saved up enough to pay for the gas, that is. It's insane! Of course, at this point I'm just considering saving to move. I do need to figure out where to go though, and then visit prior to going to find a place to live, figure out the lay of the land, and find a job. So much to consider.
And here we are at Summit Lake. I've got several pictures from there so I'll not caption them all.
Actually, it might be worth noting that there were a trio of snow boarders, or two snowboarders and one skier, on that mountain near the middle where the large path of snow remained. We'd been trying to see the goats but the ranger with the binoculars had caught these guys instead. You can't see them in this picture as it was taken before the men were there. That and the mountain is a lot bigger than it looks and a lot farther off. So the men were but tiny dos that were invisible without some means of zooming in. Even when they were moving they were specs to the naked eye.
This was taken from a trail on the north side of the lake looking up at the mountain slope to the northwest.
Here we are atop a large, flat rock overlooking the area north of the summit where the lake thusly named lies. The same mountain slope from the previous picture is on the left, and down in the valley area there are several pools or what could be considered smaller lakes. Not that they're large enough to be much more than ponds, but I imagine during the meltwater times of spring they can get rather a lot larger.
A mountain flower taken with an older digital camera so it's not that clear. These can have roots that dig several feet into the rock, huge in size in comparison to the actual plant above the rock, and live for hundreds of years surviving harsh winters, snow, and ice. I thought this one was calling out to be captured on film, or memory card, as the case may be.
This was taken from the top of Mount Evans, one of the tallest mountains in North America. It's over 14,000 feet. Then, Colorado has many of those.
Another from atop Mount Evans. You can see the road leading up to the summit in the bottom of the photo. That road is very windy and at times would require people to wait their turn, allowing one person going up to come around before the one going down would go, or visa versa. It was just too sharp at points for two to try it. You needed to be given a wide berth. This wasn't a road you'd want to take a large truck up.
This was taken the morning before I left, before the rain really became more than sprinkles, and after the day before's trip to Mount Evans. This is one of the little guys all about the campgrounds. One found the skillet I made my omelet in very interesting. I turned around from loading stuff in my Jeep only to see him on the picnic table in the middle of the skillet. Heh, cute little guy. They were all adorable. The groundskeeper's wife said she feeds them, much to her husband's chagrin.
That'll do it for the account of my trip. I hope that those who read through it all enjoyed it. Do please comment. I'm so tired of work and chores and more work that I'm really hoping for something more LJ oriented again, if just for a weekend. Do take care all, and thanks for reading.
-Just one addition. I found a site with quite a few pictures from the area I was in. This will give you an even broader perspective. Enjoy. http://www.robertbody.com/colorado/mt-evans/index.html