Toni and Gloria...

This weekend Nick's Aunt Toni and her cousin Gloria came to visit.



They drove up from Las Cruces and Alburquerque New Mexico on Thursday and arrived in Crested Butte on Friday morning. We had a great weekend pretty much hanging out...although we managed to get one of Toni's favourite
activities in - shoe shopping! Love that pink winkle picker...!




















We also managed to get some bar-hopping in...here we are at the bar in the Wooden Nickel on Elk Avenue in Crested Butte for Happy Hour on Friday afternoon!

















...as well as some sight seeing....Sat afternoon we drove up to Scholfield Pass and saw some of the Aspen turning and some great views of the back ranges...











...Saturday night turned into margarita and tequila night...which meant that we didn't get to Lake City as intended on Sunday! The weather wasn't great either though, so we decided to stay home and watch some football...the weather worsened during the day and by evening we had full on torrential rain...too bad for sightseeing but a good excuse for curling up on the sofa!!!



Here are Nick and Toni near Gothic on Saturday afternoon...



All in all, a great time was had by all...and we certainly appreciate all the Hatch Chile and tequila they brought us!!! Now we just have to go visit Gloria and Bob in Albuquerque next time we head down to Las Cruces so we can take back the bottle of Herradura tequila Gloria left and drink it with them and Toni! Salud!!!

Climbing Whetstone...all 12,516 feet!

...and it kicked my butt!!!! Not sure what the problem was, but this was definitely a hard one for me...Nick didn't think it was too bad, but we were certainly both tired when we got back to town!!!

Here is Whetstone form our Powderview condo in the winter (it's the highest one!!!)

The hike goes from the Ohio Creek Valley because private land on the Crested Butte side means there is no access. We passed the trail head at first as it wasn't marked, and had to back track to find it. The first mile or so follows the old Ohio Pass Railroad to a point where it looped around before climbing the pass. This wall is part of the climb up to the pass, I think.

Then it follows a fairly level path towards Whetstone (at least we thought it was fairly level on the way up..we changed our minds on the way back when we had to hike upwards again!). The hike is 12 or so miles long (and feels like more...) It follows a trail for a fair portion of the way, and you have pretty decent views of the mountain all the way through.

Eventually you have to strike off on your own to climb the last 2,000 vertical feet (seriously!). When we came out of the trees and had a clear view of where we were going, I almost had a heart attack (and it was justified!!!). We passed some deer on the way up and had some great views which improved the further in we got.

Here is a view of Whetstone from the trail.

After we cleared treeline, we pretty much headed up the ridge on the right in this photo.

This was the angle of the climb..no wonder I was having a hard time...Nick, Mr Mountain Man, on the other hand, took it all in his stride....! I did keep telling him that it was 45 degrees, but he didn't believe me...now I have proof!

It took us an hour and forty five minutes from clearing tree line to climb up the ridge. The first part was scrub like, the second was climbing up scree (or talus) depending on your definitions...rock in other words, at a steep angle!

I didn't dare look down and was not looking forward to the climb down!

Some of the rock we had to scramble over...!

This view is of Mt Carbon and Axtel, and back towards the Castles. We hiked past both on the way up.

And this is towards the west and the town of Crested Butte over the ridge at the top...

Here I am finally...all smiles! I knew I would make it, it was just going to take me a while...

Nick ventured further along the ridge than I did!

While we were up there, we saw some people cresting the pointed ridge in the background and start heading down...they were on the Whetstone Massif, but a little lower than us.

We also saw a small plane - it passed right over the top of us...Nick managed to capture some of it on the camera!!! It was amazing how low it was/or how high we were!

Surprisingly, we were higher than Mount Crested Butte! The horizontal road is the road into town, the vertical road is the one to Skyland where we live...we were only a little higher though than West Elk Pass (12,490)which we had climbed from Aspen a couple of weeks ago...it felt like a lot more

This view is over Crested Butte Mountain towards Aspen...

Coming down we saw a sure sign that summer is coming to an end...these were the first aspens we had seen changing...a week later, they are even changing here in town...and there are more every day...

The forecast for tomorrow (Monday Sept 10) is cloudy and scattered showers with highs in the 50s and lows on the 20s...the first freeze of the season (noooooo!!!!)...I think it will be a shock to the system...we have barely been out of shorts since we arrived in June...maybe now we can concentrate on getting that kitchen finished since we FINALLY have countertops that fit - I only ordered them at the beginning of June...long story which I will recount once we are finished!!!

Unfortunately, since we haven't sold one of the units, Hawaii and New Zealand will have to wait and we will have to be ski bums this year...rough life, huh? We have to decide which ski passes we want this week to get them at a cheaper price, but I'm not ready to start thinking about winter yet! So in order to delay it a little more, and since two of my jobs end at the end of September, we have decided to delay fall and head for Portugal!!!! We fly to Lisbon and 80 degree temperatures on October 2. After that we will head for London, and then Devon to visit my brother Steve and his family, Sarah, Isabella, Givit and DB. From there, Nick will head back to work, and I will spend a few weeks visiting family in Hull...after October/early November in Hull, fall and winter in Crested Butte will look great! Looking forward to getting the Lisbon, London and Devon photos on the blog...

Creede and Lake City Loop

Creede And Lake City Loop

Last weekend we decided to escape from our stressful routines here in Crested Butte and head out to the mountains...little did we know the weekend would be more stressful than staying in town...

We headed out on Colorado 114 to Saguache, which we have never driven down before. We have crossed it before though, when we were hiking the Colorado Trail. We decided to stop and relieve some memories...here's Nick at the point where the trail and road intersect before the trail heads up towards Cochetopa Canyon.The drive was much nicer than expected and we stopped so Nick could test the waters...no luck though! Saguache looks like it is starting to become a place on the map...some of the old houses have been fixed up, and there are a few for sale....at least it's not a ghost town like it almost used to be...not sure how the winters are there though! The old hotel in town was closed up and for sale...such a shame, it could be a really cool place to stay...maybe someone will buy it and fix it up one day before it falls into total disrepair.

I did find a couple of gardens full of hollyhocks as well...!

From Saguache we headed through Del Norte and South Fork, both of which were pretty uninteresting and headed along the Rio Grande for Creede. We stayed in Creede when we did the Colorado Trail, this time we just passed by, but I couldn't resist taking a photo of the pillars that frame the gorge in town.

We wanted to camp somewhere near Creede, but after driving along dirt roads on the opposite side of the Rio Grande for a while, couldn't find that perfect camp spot...so we headed further on up towards Lake City.

About 20 miles from Creede and 30 miles from Lake City, we headed up towards the Rio Grande reservoir. It's about thirty miles up a dirt road towards the crossing of Pole Creek and the Rio Grande - it was one of our favourite spots on the CT, and it didn't disappoint this time either...here was the view when we woke up on Saturday morning...

It hadn't been bad the night before either in the other direction when the moon was up...we could hear the coyotes howling in the distance, but fortunately they didn't venture too near...Nick also assures me that they aren't like dingos, so they won't snatch me out of the tent...!

The next morning Nick fished the head waters of the Rio Grande and I decided to relax at the campsite. It was a beautiful day and I cleared up the camp after the BLTs we had (yum, nothing better for breakfast when you're camping!), read and wrote some letters...it was just gorgeous and all was well with the world. When Nick got back we discussed how beautiful it was - especially since we were the only people in the campsite...and how fun it would be to own one of the cabins up here that we saw smoke rising from the night before...

As we had run out of firewood we decide to head down, pick up some supplies in Lake City and then head over to Cochetopa Creek for some Gold Medal trout fishing....

Unfortunately, it wasn't to be!!! Half way down, I heard a hissing noise coming form the back left hand tire - we had punctured and it was going down fast...our main concern was to pull off to the side so we could put the spare on...as I was walking around the truck to the back, I heard more hissing noises...the front right tire had was also deflating quickly....hmmm...quite the problem, since we only have one spare and are still 18 miles up a dirt road off a very quiet back highway 20 miles from Creede and 30 miles from Lake City...Nick tried to plug the front tire with fishing stuff, and we decided that we would have to try and reach the campsite further down, where hopefully there would be a camp host who would be able to help us out...hence the photo at the beginning!

When we finally arrived at the campsite (this was the state of the tire), the host, Jean Baker, said her husband Allen had some plugs but didn't know when he would be back. We decided to cut our losses and stay at the site...it was pretty nice and right on the river so Nick could fish..I got back to my new book (thanks Bob!) Ghosts of Spain, Travels through Spain and it's Silent Past....

When Allen got back they were able to plug the tyre that we had taken off and replaced and blow it back up...now we had to see if it would hold...

Had a delicious dinner of baked potatoes, grilled steak and green beans washed down with a bottle of red wine (boy do we know how to camp!!!)...just know that I will in future make sure I carry a can opener...good job it wasn't just me and a can of tuna in the wilderness...I think I would have starved...or bled to death!

Sunday dawned bright and clear and we had a visitor in camp. Not that he's used to being around people and food!

Fortunately, the tire had held. Allen was kind enough to give us a can of "fix a flat", so we added that for good measure and then set off as fast as we dared to try and reach the Lake City/Creede highway! Amazingly, at 10miles an hour on the rough dirt, we made it about an hour later...mission one: reach the highway - accomplished! We pulled on to the road and made it all the way to Lake City - mission two accomplished! Here we were able to find a garage that was open and that actually stocked our tires and had one in stock..yeah! We celebrated at the Italian restaurant with a glass of wine and lunch, and a walk around Lake City.

Lake City is an old 1870s mining town at 8,671 feet that still looks that way. It's on The Silver Thread Scenic Highway and the Alpine Loop, a four wheel drive loop that can take you to Silverton or Durango. The original Victorian houses are still there and so are the boardwalks. It's very quaint and we love wandering around.

http://ghostdepot.com/rg/mainline/marshall%20route/lakecity.htm

This time, in addition to the Italian restaurant, we found a garden that was open to the public. it was lovely and peaceful.

Time to test out the new tire and head back to Crested Butte....we reflected on the weekend with a margarita at Reuben's in Crested Butte South, finally able to believe that we were going to get home and not have to be towed from the middle of nowhere (the Rio Grande Reservoir) to the middle of nowhere (Lake City!) to try and find a tire...lessons learned this trip? Always carry tire plugs and "fix a flat"...and two spares if you can! It was a great weekend though, and Jean and Allen were lovely (as was the guy who fixed our tire in Lake city!). Unfortunately, we didn't get a photo of them, but they asked us to go and see them at the same camp ground next summer, which hopefully we will... we also didn't get photos on the way back of some of the views coming into Lake City..there is a gorgeous view at one point over Slumgullion Pass of Uncompahgre Peak. Have to go back sometime in the next few weeks as the leaves turn to get that one....

The Hike to (and from) Aspen

This weekend we hiked from Crested Butte to Aspen and back. For the sake of getting more photos on the page, I made them smaller - hope the effect is as dramatic as it was when I was taking them...let me know if you would like to see the originals...

The first day we hiked over East Maroon Pass in the Maroon Bells/Snowmass wilderness. The trail head is just north of Gothic, which is almost a ghost town about 8 miles north of Crested Butte.

This description of the hike is from the forest Service site, but we also hiked an additional half miles from the lower trail head:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/whiteriver/rangerdistricts/aspen_sopris/trails/ROGCBEastMaroon.pdf

Length: 14 miles one way (22.5km) Difficulty: Difficult

Trail Use: Heavy

Beginning Elevation: 9,580 (2920m) Highest Elevation: 11,800 feet (3596m)

Notice there is no mention of creek crossings...!

We left the truck at the trail head and started out...realizing after a very short space of time that we hadn't brought our water shoes and that we had to cross the creek more than once on the way up...! Here I am getting ready to cross for a least the sixth time, after Nick went first and went in...here he is with wet feet...we make a good team - I learn from his mistakes!!!

Judd Falls is the first notable site...and then the trail heads up...

After climbing for 4 and a half miles (very steeply at times) - you may not be able to tell from this photo, but it was VERY steep!!! - we ended up at Copper Lake. There were some great camping spots, so we will have to put it on the list for future back pack trips...

From Copper Lake we headed up and over East Maroon Pass at 11,800 feet...the pass was to the right of the one in the Copper Lake photo to the left... and very glad we were too that most of the climbing was done for the day!

10 miles to go, and almost all down hill!!!

That's why I'm smiling so much here as I reach the top of the pass!

Here's Copper Lake from near the top of the pass...

The views from East Maroon Pass were gorgeous. We came across a pack horse group who were out for 7 days...(judging by the amount of gear they had, they were eating and drinking well!)...they said the rain had been torrential the day before (it had looked ominous from Crested Butte) so we kept our fingers crossed and headed down towards Aspen and a cold beer...!!! (Funny how that seems to be a recurring theme in these blogs...bet there's a burger in there somewhere too....)

This is the East Maroon Creek Valley heading towards Aspen...I think Nick has it chalked up to go back and fish there one day - the valley was beautiful, but the creek was just perfect...gotta be lots of pesky trout in there just ripe for the catching...

I may have an issue with camping up there though...the bear that left this foot print in the middle of the trail was obviously a good size...

And this view is where East Maroon and West Maroon meet

We arrived at the trail head in Aspen about 7 hours after we left...the hiking comments we had pulled off the Internet said we may be able to flag a bus down on Maroon Lake Rd so we hoped we hadn't missed the last one as the road is closed to all other traffic....fortunately we found a very civilised bus stop with a bench...and shortly thereafter a bus came by and stopped...very handy!!!

The ride down into Aspen didn't take long and we checked into our (very expensive) hostel...laughed at the room which cost us over $100 for the night, showered and headed out to explore town (and grab that cold beer...)

Dad thought you'd appreciate this one...the view is a little better than the one from KC Stadium!!!!

Dinner in Aspen was very nice. We met some people Nick knew from Crested Butte, who also have a home in Aspen, Todd and Doreen. They treat us to a lovely meal at Rustica...the steak was delicious, the risotto and crab cakes were out of this world and the company was more than agreeable...a bit of an improvement on our usual burger and pitcher of beer!!! Thanks Todd - it was great!

The night took a turn for the worse when we got back to the hostel though...our room had a potent "very sweaty sock/wet dead dog/stinky blue cheese" smell to it which we hadn't really noticed in the few minutes we had been there earlier...but we managed to fall asleep in our single/twin beds. Then the guy next door (if the plywood panel separating the rooms could justify the term "next door") proceeded to have an argument with his family on his cell phone at 1 in the morning...they finally made up and he said he need to go to bed...we heaved a sigh of relief...then his phone rang again...Yankee doodle dandee or something equally annoying at 1.45 in the morning...and it was obviously a long lost friend..."Hi how ARE you?" ' Yeas, I'm great" etc etc...I'd had enough...got up, knocked on his door, and aked him to hang up!!!! Which, surprisingly, he did...sigh of relief, back to sleep...NOT! His room mate came in and they proceeded to gossip about their day...we may as well have booked a dorm room each -it would have been cheaper and certainly no noisier...

After a semi sleepless night, we decided spending another night in the place was not an option so we left the next morning to hike back and decided to save the extended tour of Aspen for later in the autumn when it's hopefully cheaper and we can rent a real hotel room for not much more! The sign in the hostel said the buses started running at 8 so we left a little earlier to try and hitch a lift up...and just missed a bus..apparently they start at 6...hmmm...not such a good start. We arrived at the Maroon Lake shuttle stop to find a hand written note taped to the post stating that the buses wouldn't start until 12 at the earliest today as it was the Aspen triathlon and the one day of the year the road was closed....hmmm...not such a good start.... Sure enough the road was closed to all traffic...well let's walk we said..."how far is it?" we asked a race official: "8 miles".

ACK!!! On top of the 11 we have to walk to get to the trail head on the Crested Butte side and then the 8 down the road back to the car...definitely not a good start. Fortunately Walter (in the t-shirt), Archie and George came to the rescue. Walter, who works for the Aspen police dept, was heading up the road to check on the race...he kindly gave us a lift all the way to the trail head and saved the day...don't think we could have stood that smell for another night...or listened to the phone calls of the guy next door...

This time we were heading over West Maroon Pass. we had been told it was more difficult than East Maroon, but also shorter and prettier. The forest service description is:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/whiteriver/rangerdistricts/aspen_sopris/trails/ROGCBWestMaroon.pdf

Length: 11 miles one-way (17.7 km) Difficulty: Difficult
Trail Use: Heavy
Beginning Elevation: 8,709 feet (2655 m) Highest Elevation: 12,500 feet (3810 m)
USGS Map(s): Maroon Bells, Snowmass Mtn.

One of the first sites is a perfect frame of the Maroon Bells from Maroon Lake...things were looking up...

and then there was a bit of a log jam in Crater Lake...plenty of driftwood there to keep you warm for the winter!

The trail wound up the valley, pretty steeply in places...but the views were worth it again...the Maroon Bells range was in sight on our right the whole time we were hiking...

As we veered to the right around Bellview Mountain, the pass came into view...

"Holy s*** we have to climb up there?" was the general reaction....or mine at least...Nick is still looking pretty happy about it all...you can't see from this photo, but we could actually see that there were people at the top...they must be mad!

Forty minutes later, there we were...it was one of the hardest climbs I have ever done...maybe I over did it on the risotto, steak, chips (french fries), profiteroles and wine last night (thanks Todd, it was delicious!)

The wind was howling at the top, so we bundled up and found some shelter so we could have a snack before we headed down towards Schofield Pass and Gothic (yeah...downhill!!!)

Here we are on the other side - hard to believe we were that high up on the photos above...the rock behind Nick (above) is the tower to the left above my finger on this photo...

Coming down to Gothic, the flowers were just gorgeous...we had heard they were amazing and were hoping to catch the tail end of them...we weren't disappointed...though the photos don't do them justice. The mountain side was just a wave of white, yellow, orange and blue.

We also passed a couple of ruined cabins for good measure to add to the atmosphere...

Even the view from Schofield Pass when we finally got back to the trail head was lovely...now I have to add the hike over to Crystal and Marble to my list!

Here we are at the end, 11 miles and five or so hours later...the tired eyes are a result of our neighbours last night, and the smiles are in anticipation of the cold beer and burger that awaits at the Avalanche, home of the world famous (well, Playboy famous) Avalanche Warning rum cocktail and my current place of gainful employment. I think Nick had a half pound burger with bacon, cheese, jalapenos and guacamole...hungry business this hiking lark...

And fortunately we didn't have to walk the additional 8 miles over Schofield Pass to Gothic. We managed to hitch a lift about a mile down the road (once we had climbed over the pass at 10,ooo and odd feet of course)...with some people from Crested Butte. They had a friend in the car who was visiting from Philadelphia...he happened to be English...and his sister lives in Hull and works for Social Services...so she no doubt knows my Dad...what a small world we live in!!!