Humboldt Peak, CO
Friday, May 21 I had a three-day weekend off of work and Nina was busy with the last performances of her play, so I decided to take a short backpacking trip up in Colorado. It was still pretty snowy at altitude so I picked an easy objective. South Colony Lakes was a good choice because it wasn't a difficult hike but was a spectacular place to camp. If the weather turned out to be good and the snow agreeable, the option existed for an attempt on Humboldt Peak. I left Los Alamos at 6:10am on Friday and drove up 285 into Colorado. About 100m past the state line, I got pulled over by a cop for doing 70 in a 65. He gave me a written warning and sent me on my way. Whew! I haven't driven through La Veta pass since Robin and I were returning from our failed Humboldt attempt last year in the dense fog and ice. In the 50 degree weather and no snow (and daylight), it seemed much less menacing. I stopped for some pictures of the Blanca group and again for shots of the Spanish Peaks. I ate lunch in Walsenburg. Getting to the approach road was straightforward and the instructions in Roach were accurate. Once past the 2WD trailhead I quickly found the spot where Robin and I were forced to park due to the snow on the road and his lack of fitting chains. With the road clear and in good shape, I was able to get my Ranger another mile or two to the first stream crossing. At this point, it was only 12:30pm and there were only four miles of to get to the lakes. I decided not to push the truck any farther and just hike it since I had plenty of time. Immediately after my parking spot was the stream crossing, and the stream was considerably over-full. I had to get across it by standing on rocks that were only 6-12" below the surface and stabalizing myself with my trekking poles. It was a bit of an adventure with a 40 pound pack. Not 20 seconds after I got across, some guy came through with an ATV and forded the stream. He and his daughter were camping at the excellent campsite just across the stream. The road was clear of snow and would be easily passable up to the point where a major side stream joins the main stream. The side stream drains the main couloir on the southern slope of Humboldt. Where it crosses the road it is passable but there is a lot of water. Immediately after this crossing, however, the road was sacked in with a 4' deep snow bank that covered the road entirely for about 100'. I was able to walk without snowshoes all the way to the trailhead at the second major stream crossing. From here, I had to don the snowshoes and slog it. Having never been here, I had to guess where the trail was and this was somewhat of a challenge. The big snowy bowl below unnamed 13,161' showed signs of recent avalanche damage; there was pine shrapnel everywhere and lots of downed trees. The trees that were still standing had no branches below 15' or so. It took a long time to get up over the rise to Lower South Colony Lake without a trail, but eventually I found myself looking at the impressive south face of Crestone Needle and the mostly frozen lakes. Roach indicates that there is excellent camping around the lower lake, but with all the snow I couldn't see anything obvious. There were some exposed rocky areas and I managed to find one with a large enough flat grassy spot to sleep on. I pitched my tent here and went about making dinner. It was approximately 6:30pm. The water I filtered out of a small stream that fed the lower lake was some of the best-tasting water I've ever had. I wasn't sure how long it was going to take me to get to this point and get camp all set up, which is why I left so early. And because I didn't know the valley, I wanted to get here and find a camping spot while it was still light. In this sense, I was successful. However, I found myself at about 7:30pm with nothing to do and the temperatures dropping. I ended up going to bed at about 8:00pm while the sky was still light. Saturday, May 22 This was nice, because I woke up at 5:00am, well before my alarm, and felt fully rested. I managed to get breakfast made, more water filtered, and be ready to hike by the time the sun came up. I was hiking again by 6:10am. Initially I wore my snowshoes, but just long enough to get over to the other side of the lake (which involved crossing the stream on snow that didn't seem entirely strong). Once across I found a piece of exposed trail and stashed my snowshoes in a shrub nearby. From this point, the trail climbed up to the upper lake and was largely snow-free (because of its SW aspect). I had to cross snowfields here and there, but the melt pattern left them very coarsely textured and slipping wasn't a problem. The morning cold also left them hard and post-holing wasn't an issue. I was fine with no crampons, ice axe, or snowshoes. Being a slow hiker and not dealing well with steep elevation gain, it took me two hours to get to the saddle between Humboldt and Crestone. Part of this was also because I didn't see where the trail actually went up the slope and ended up bushwacking it up half of the way on loose tundra. Getting to the saddle was a big morale booster, however, and from there my pace quickened. I had ascended 1000' and had 1200' to go. The remaining trail was mostly rock hopping and relatively easy class 2+ stuff. I made it to the false summit in under two hours and from there it was just a couple minutes to the actual summit. The weather on the ridge and especially on the summit was not the "breezy" I was told to expect by the NOAA; it was sustained 40mph winds with huge gusts. I had to put on a full body suit of wind-proof clothing including a balaclava, even though the air temperature was warming up nicely. At the summit there was a nice windbreak and I sat down for a bagel and signed the register. As far as the register is concerned, I am only the fourth person to climb this peak this year. I took a bunch of photos and left the summit shortly, as the wind was really biting. The descent to the saddle took an easier route (it's easier to see the small segments of trail from above and plan a route accordingly). From the saddle, I was able to take the trail all the way down to the lower lake this time, which dramatically reduced the time it took. I got back to camp in less than two hours from the summit. I saw a marmot so large that I thought it was a small bear. There was one set of fresh footprints in the snow near my campsite but I couldn't see anyone they might belong to. I rested at my camp and made lunch, and while I was waiting for the mountain house to rehydrate, I saw three guys walk up from below and proceed up the trail towards the saddle. I had a hard time eating my lunch and some real nausea was setting in. This was mostly because I didn't have a very calorie-filled breakfast and didn't eat much on the trail. I need to re-think my food situation for hikes like this. Mountain House granola cereal breakfasts just don't do it for me. Once I had some lunch down, I packed up my campsite and started the trek out at 1:30pm. The three guys appeared to have come up the shorter trail from the basin below, so I decided to follow their footprints. Unfortunately, I lost them almost immediately and couldn't find any sign of the trial. I ended up bushwacking all the way down to the trailhead, which took forever and several changes between snowshoes and boots. Eventually I did make it back to the road and the 2.5 miles back to the truck were uneventful if a bit painful. My legs were complaining for having to carry the 40 pound pack around. I guess I'm not in very good shape. Regardless, I made it back to the car at 4:00. The campers at the stream crossing were already gone and there was no sign of a vehicle until I got all the way out to the 2WD trailhead where there was a minivan. I guess the three guys must have come in from there. In that case, they were making excellent time (or they started way before dawn). I got fast food in Alamosa on the way home and was back in Los Alamos by 10:30. Written by Mouser Williams on
2004.05.25
|
