The summer of hiking is almost over. After a "clean up" hike of Mount Alice tomorrow (which I tracked last October and need to revise the GPS tracks of the lower portions), I'm headed to East Beckwith Mountain in Aspen to complete my hikes. This week I had an incredible push, driving in a downpour to the Sangre De Cristo Range to get Eureka Peak and Mount Adams, followed by a "casual" ascent of Longs Peak.
Eureka was an interesting hike. Because I had no good information on it, it was a bit of a shot in the dark. The big downside for this hike was that the access road is pure 4x4, making what could have been a 5 mile hike a 15 mile epic. Luckliy I had a good day and the summit (as well as the two subsidary peaks you climb over to get there, Mount Yahoo and Hermit Peak) was a wonderful experience.
On the same day I climbed Eureka, I backpacked 6 miles to the base of Mount Adams, giving me 21 miles for the day! In the solitude of the Horn Lakes basin, I shuddered as I looked at the imposing east ridge of Mount Adams. As I ascended the next morning to point 13,325 (an unnamed 13,000 foot peak that shares a saddle with Adams), I beheld the ridge I proposed to climb. It looked...very difficult.
However, the ridge is a master of secrets and with the right series of moves, it became an enjoyable ascent--topped off with an amazing summit! Because she never quite specified what she wanted me to bring up (a bag of catfood maybe?) I brought a cool postcard my sister sent me from Heidelberg, Germany to the top of Adams! Sorry it wasn't kitty grub, but I think she'll like the picture!
And as of Sunday, the writing begins...
