Another robust 4-pack of mountains are under my belt! Driving out to Steamboat Springs, I had to deal with awful heat and even more awful insects. The temperature rarely got below 100, which meant the temps in my car were somewhere around 120. Ugh! In fact, the driving is the most draining part of these hikes. The above picture is on the summit of Mount Zirkel, a 17 mile epic that goes through the fabled Mount Zirkel wilderness. It's a beauty of an area! The huge, impressive mountain behind me is called "Big Agnes", leading one to believe that her namesake was every bit as imposing in human form.
Hahn's Peak above is a shorter trek but still very enjoyable. This was the hike my parents sponsored--the picture I'm holding is of their Bassethound, Sophie (don't worry Mom and Dad, I have better shots of the shot than this one!) I'm standing in an abandoned fire watch tower which offered amazing views of the Steamboat Area. Since I started the hike in late afternoon, I literally ran to the summit, which is why I'm "glowing" in the photo.
Fools Peak may be my favorite summit so far! This hike was sponsored by Paul Retrum, who requested I carry Col. Leslie "Hap" Haphapablap to the top (nerds amongst you may note he's actually Max Rebo of Star Wars Cantina fame. Even nerdier nerds will know what "Haphapablap" is from). I tried to do my best Lion King imitation here, though Haphapablap doesn't really have armpits by which he can be triumphantly hoisted. This hike was a quality scramble in some remote territory, good stuff-- and I avoided the dastardly and dreaded east-blowing storms (a rare but deadly phenomenon out in Colorado, where everything blows in from the west).
One nasty note: when I camped at the trailhead for Fools Peak, I "foolishly" put my tent in the one spot of shade at my site--which also happened to be right next to a nest of "bee-wasps". I lived my cousin Marc's worst nightmare, getting stung 3 times by these weird insects, which resemble a yellow jacket but with grey and black stripes instead of yellow and black.
The last of my hikes was a ridge-linked thriller, Peak One and Tenmile Peak. Here's a silly shot of me on Peak One, the first of the summits. Again it was hot, but mercifully no bugs!
And finally, a contrived but cool picture on Tenmile Mountain (showing the ridge to Peak One behind me). I admit it: I wanted you to focus on my Whalers hat. Tenmile is a rarely visited peak and I got a first hand look at Colorado's oceanic past: a patch of rocks hid dozens of eons old seashells from a long gone era! I took a few pics and left them there for the next brave hiker to tackle this intimidating ridgewalk!
