Is it me or a World War One flying ace atop Jasper? That cool mountain in the background is Mount Neva, for those who care!
This hike/climb is yet another hidden gem deep in the Indian Peaks wilderness. Jasper is one of the rare climbs in my book that requires honest-to-goodness bushwacking through dense pine forests--hooray for GPS! After leaving the trail (a nice symbolic gesture), I worked my way through the woods to a "secret" lake in a high basin. Because it is not named, I'm going to call it "Xanadu Lake" after my feline compatriot. Who knows, maybe the name will stick?
There's a plane wreck at the south side of this lake, a small orange airplane that has been dashed to pieces. It's always a little sobering seeing stuff like that but at the same time it reminds you one needs to have respect for these mountains. You climb past it on the way up the snowy slope to the summit (in the picture below, the rock at the top of the snowfield is a false summit).
Because of the realtively low elevation, the top has flowers and grass on it--a nice touch! On the way down, I got to experience the LASER GLISSADE! See, the snow on top was soft N' mushy, but underneath was ice--needless to say, I rocketed down the snow slopes ala Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Yee haw!
Again I beat the bad weather and had a great solo journey into the unknown! Next up: either Pacific or Crystal Peak (I'll be hiking them both and the winner makes it to the book!)
