Mantrip
We returned from Mantrip this past Saturday night around Midnight. Mantrip was a week long Backpacking trip in Southwestern Colorado. 7 of us traveled to the Weminuche Wilderness to experience the God's wildness and the brotherhood of other guys. The Weminuche is the largest wilderness area in Colorado. The Wilderness designation means that there are no roads, no motorized vehicles, no bicycles. etc. The only way to experience it and explore it is either on foot or on horseback. At almost 500,000 acres, it is large and in charge. Additionally, the average elevation is over 10,000 ft. If you know anything about elevation & mountains then you know that 10,000 ft is high... translation: not much oxygen. We covered around 32 miles in 5 days, including 7 miles on the Continental Divide Trail above treeline.
There were 7 of us - me, Chris Tucker, Eric Roa, Cass Harris, Eric Sullivan, Stuart Sullivan and Rhett Pierce. We started out on Sunday and hiked into the Fisher Creek drainage, camping alongside Fisher Creek. It was a beautiful spot - a big subalpine meadow with a lively bubbling creek. We arrived in camp around 3:00, so that gave us time to set up camp and play in the water for a while before dinner. There's nothing quite like dunking your head into ice cold water after a sweaty day of backpacking.
Monday brought more of the same - hiking further up into the Fisher Creek drainage towards the Continental Divide. We alternated between thick, lush, old forest and wide open flower-strewn meadows. The meadows at this elevation in the mountains (between 10,000 and 11,000 ft) are carpeted with thousands of wildflowers including Cinquefoil, Timid Daisy, Colorado Mountain Bluebell and others. We experienced a good amount of rain and hail throughout the day. Near the end of our hike, we had to climb around 700 ft in about 1/2 mile - quite a climb. After slogging out this climb, we crossed over a ridge to see our destination - Goose Lake. This was a large, beautiful lake flanked by 12,000 and 13,000 ft peaks. We set up camp, cooked dinner, relaxed around the fire and collapsed into our tents.
Tuesday, Rhett Pierce and I got up early (6:00 a.m.) to attempt a summit bid of the one 13,000 ft peak adjacent to Goose Lake. We hiked past the 13,038 ft unnamed peak (we named it "Parkey Peak"), then ascended the back side. The weather looked a bit threatening, but once we reached the summit, the clouds broke and the sun warmed us as we enjoyed spectacular 360 degree views of mountains in every direction. We could even see the Sangre de Cristo range to the east, which is over 80 miles away. We relaxed and snacked on the summit for a while, placed calls to our wives (we both got their voice mails), then descended back to camp in time for lunch with the guys. That afternoon, we went a little wild, making spears of every kind in a vain attempt to spear one of the enormous trout swimming around in Goose Lake. Chris actually knocked a fish out of the water. We cooked it up and each had a bite at lunch along with our tortillas, peanut butter and honey. The rest of the day consisted of more spear fishing, naps, dinner, fire and sleep.
Wednesday morning, we awoke at 4:00 a.m. for an "alpine start." We were planning on spending most of our time above treeline and exposed along the Continental Divide Trail. The Rockies are such big mountains that they make their own weather, and afternoon thunderstorms are very common after noon. That means that you don't want to be above treeline and exposed after noon - that could lead to being struck by lightning. Since we weren't interested in dying any time soon, we got up early so that we would be back down into the trees in time for any afternoon thunderstorms that might occur. We hiked up past Little Goose Lake, then up a steep face to South River Peak. Again, those 360 degree views of mountains in every direction. Eric and I took our packs off and scrambled up to the summit of South River Peak at 13,149 ft. It looked easy on the map, but was actually a very difficult scramble because of the loose rocks. We enjoyed the summit for a few minutes, signed the summit register, then scrambled down to the trail - this was actually very difficult and quite harrowing. After rejoining our compadres, we hiked along the Continental Divide Trail (this is a national scenic trail that spans over 3,000 miles from Mexico to Canada along the Continental Divide). for about 7 miles. The views were spectacular and the weather held nicely for us. We decended from the divide along the Sawtooth Trail to Goose Creek. We arrived around 3:00 p.m., and most of us crashed into our tents for a nap. All of us but Eric Sullivan, who fished and caught two nice trout for us to have with our dinner.
Thursday, we hiked along Goose Creek down the Goose Creek drainage. Downhill all day can really take its toll on your knees and ankles. When we made camp that afternoon, we were all pretty beat. That didn't stop us from fishing, attempting to spear some more fish and playing around camp. Chris actually caught a nice sized rainbow trout that was a nice treat along with our dinner.
Friday, we hiked (mostly uphill) back to our trailhead. I arrived at the van around 9:45, with the other guys soon following. Sitting in a cushioned car seat after hiking for 6 days is like heaven. After a long wait in construction over Wolf Creek Pass, we made it back into Pagosa Springs to clean up, grab some cigars and eat steak at the Ole Miners Steakhouse - a Mantrip tradition. We stuffed ourselves on steak and dessert, then went back to our hotel to relax by the Piedra river while puffing on our stogies. A long drive home on Saturday and we were home.
Another week in the mountains. It was extremely rejuvenating for me. I can't describe what the sights and smells do for my soul. There also nothing quite like making your body work hard to climb up those mighty mountains for the views. It is an extremely rewarding experience. Also, spending it with 6 great guys makes it a real treat. I love how relationships are forged out in the wilderness. Our talks around the fire were deep and challenging. Our goofing off in camp was loads of fun. I don't think I've laughed that hard in years. I also am awestruck by how amazing God's creation is and how it continually points to His greatness.
I'll post some pictures after I get them developed (ah... someday to replace my SLR with a digital SLR...)
There were 7 of us - me, Chris Tucker, Eric Roa, Cass Harris, Eric Sullivan, Stuart Sullivan and Rhett Pierce. We started out on Sunday and hiked into the Fisher Creek drainage, camping alongside Fisher Creek. It was a beautiful spot - a big subalpine meadow with a lively bubbling creek. We arrived in camp around 3:00, so that gave us time to set up camp and play in the water for a while before dinner. There's nothing quite like dunking your head into ice cold water after a sweaty day of backpacking.
Monday brought more of the same - hiking further up into the Fisher Creek drainage towards the Continental Divide. We alternated between thick, lush, old forest and wide open flower-strewn meadows. The meadows at this elevation in the mountains (between 10,000 and 11,000 ft) are carpeted with thousands of wildflowers including Cinquefoil, Timid Daisy, Colorado Mountain Bluebell and others. We experienced a good amount of rain and hail throughout the day. Near the end of our hike, we had to climb around 700 ft in about 1/2 mile - quite a climb. After slogging out this climb, we crossed over a ridge to see our destination - Goose Lake. This was a large, beautiful lake flanked by 12,000 and 13,000 ft peaks. We set up camp, cooked dinner, relaxed around the fire and collapsed into our tents.
Tuesday, Rhett Pierce and I got up early (6:00 a.m.) to attempt a summit bid of the one 13,000 ft peak adjacent to Goose Lake. We hiked past the 13,038 ft unnamed peak (we named it "Parkey Peak"), then ascended the back side. The weather looked a bit threatening, but once we reached the summit, the clouds broke and the sun warmed us as we enjoyed spectacular 360 degree views of mountains in every direction. We could even see the Sangre de Cristo range to the east, which is over 80 miles away. We relaxed and snacked on the summit for a while, placed calls to our wives (we both got their voice mails), then descended back to camp in time for lunch with the guys. That afternoon, we went a little wild, making spears of every kind in a vain attempt to spear one of the enormous trout swimming around in Goose Lake. Chris actually knocked a fish out of the water. We cooked it up and each had a bite at lunch along with our tortillas, peanut butter and honey. The rest of the day consisted of more spear fishing, naps, dinner, fire and sleep.
Wednesday morning, we awoke at 4:00 a.m. for an "alpine start." We were planning on spending most of our time above treeline and exposed along the Continental Divide Trail. The Rockies are such big mountains that they make their own weather, and afternoon thunderstorms are very common after noon. That means that you don't want to be above treeline and exposed after noon - that could lead to being struck by lightning. Since we weren't interested in dying any time soon, we got up early so that we would be back down into the trees in time for any afternoon thunderstorms that might occur. We hiked up past Little Goose Lake, then up a steep face to South River Peak. Again, those 360 degree views of mountains in every direction. Eric and I took our packs off and scrambled up to the summit of South River Peak at 13,149 ft. It looked easy on the map, but was actually a very difficult scramble because of the loose rocks. We enjoyed the summit for a few minutes, signed the summit register, then scrambled down to the trail - this was actually very difficult and quite harrowing. After rejoining our compadres, we hiked along the Continental Divide Trail (this is a national scenic trail that spans over 3,000 miles from Mexico to Canada along the Continental Divide). for about 7 miles. The views were spectacular and the weather held nicely for us. We decended from the divide along the Sawtooth Trail to Goose Creek. We arrived around 3:00 p.m., and most of us crashed into our tents for a nap. All of us but Eric Sullivan, who fished and caught two nice trout for us to have with our dinner.
Thursday, we hiked along Goose Creek down the Goose Creek drainage. Downhill all day can really take its toll on your knees and ankles. When we made camp that afternoon, we were all pretty beat. That didn't stop us from fishing, attempting to spear some more fish and playing around camp. Chris actually caught a nice sized rainbow trout that was a nice treat along with our dinner.
Friday, we hiked (mostly uphill) back to our trailhead. I arrived at the van around 9:45, with the other guys soon following. Sitting in a cushioned car seat after hiking for 6 days is like heaven. After a long wait in construction over Wolf Creek Pass, we made it back into Pagosa Springs to clean up, grab some cigars and eat steak at the Ole Miners Steakhouse - a Mantrip tradition. We stuffed ourselves on steak and dessert, then went back to our hotel to relax by the Piedra river while puffing on our stogies. A long drive home on Saturday and we were home.
Another week in the mountains. It was extremely rejuvenating for me. I can't describe what the sights and smells do for my soul. There also nothing quite like making your body work hard to climb up those mighty mountains for the views. It is an extremely rewarding experience. Also, spending it with 6 great guys makes it a real treat. I love how relationships are forged out in the wilderness. Our talks around the fire were deep and challenging. Our goofing off in camp was loads of fun. I don't think I've laughed that hard in years. I also am awestruck by how amazing God's creation is and how it continually points to His greatness.
I'll post some pictures after I get them developed (ah... someday to replace my SLR with a digital SLR...)
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