7/14: Dry Creek Campsite   Miles Today: 18.3 + ~5 round trip to Mt Yale Total Miles: 33.7

What a day, what a spectacular day! After a subpar beginning to the trip, I really had a strong day today, as well as some phenomenal views.

Things started off great, with a nice sunrise over Harvard Lake this morning. With that, I ate breakfast (mmm… Pop Tarts) and headed out on the trail. At first, things were going great, but when the first climb of the day arrived around mile 3, I was struggling again. I didn’t understand it, I have done this high elevation stuff before, but on this climb I just could not catch my breath. I struggled for the next three miles to the top of the ridge – along the shoulder of 14ers Mt Yale. My plan was to summit the mountain from here, but with over 2.5 miles and 3000 feet of elevation I wasn’t sure if I could do it.

But of course, I gave it a go. I dropped my backpack and donned my little daypack that I was carrying just for occasions like this one. There was no trail to the top, just a faint herd path that went up some impossibly steep terrain. More than a few times I let my poles dangle to get a hold of something and pull myself up.

And then, about a third of the way up the mountain, it happened. I recovered, I had found my lost strength! All of a sudden I was handling the climb like a Colorado pro. In fact, I even caught two guys from Colorado Springs who were working on the 14,000 footer list! I couldn’t believe it, I found my strength on one of the hardest climbs that I have ever done. I summited Mt Yale with Tim and Steve and was treated to a view unlike anything that I had ever seen.

According to Steve, you can see 31 of the 54 14Kers from this summit, and to look around I would believe it. Massive grey mountains dotted white with melting snowfields were everywhere. Harvard and Columbia were prominent to the north, while Princeton completely dominated the landscape to the south. As much as I was loving this view, I made sure not to stay up there too long. The lack of air does weird things to the brain, and I had no desire for a repeat of my Longs Peak adventure.

The trip down the mountain was fast, way too fast. I didn’t notice on the way up, but a good portion of the climb was on talus. While this loose surface holds OK on an ascent, it completely breaks apart on the way down. Put your foot on a solid looking rock and the rock breaks away! In essence, you are almost skiing downhill on loose rock and sand. It was fun and scary all at once, and just the kind of experience that I was looking for on this trip.

The remainder of the hike today was mostly uneventful. The trail followed some nice streams this afternoon, as well as hugged the flank of Mt Princeton. By far the coolest thing of the afternoon was the fields of wildflowers that the trail passed through. While they were far from “postcard quality”, I went through several fields littered with red, yellow, purple and white. It was quite a scene, and I look forward to more like it.

Anyway, my dinner is finished, the sun is low and my legs are weary. Time to climb into my tent, do a little reading and enjoy this perfect night by a wonderful mountain stream.

-Chomp

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