Mt. Evans, CO

Near the start of the hike

A brief rest before a steep climb

The scrambling was the most fun

Past the hardest part!

 

Victory!

Mt Evans July 25, 2014-day 2

We arrived at Guanella Pass Campground, which is near Georgetown, CO around 7:00P. We made dinner and set up camp. Everyone was in bag (bed) at 9:00. In the morning, we quickly ate breakfast of apple cinnamon bread, almond butter, yogurt, granola, and cherries. After breakfast and packing up camp, we drove to the trailhead and Wendy and I said goodbye to James, Christine, Amber, and Nicole as they set out on a 5-mile, 3100-foot elevation gain hike to the top of Mt. Evans (14,200 ft).

Wendy and I planned to hike around Echo Lake and drive to the summit to meet up with the happy hikers. As we hiked around the lake, Wendy and I had a fun conversation, prompted by this question: “Mom, if you were rich, what would you buy?” I turned the question back to her and she quickly said that she would buy the biggest sofa she could find so she could have the box. THE BOX. When I asked her what she planned to do with the sofa, she said she hadn’t thought about that yet.

After hiking around the lake, we headed to the summit. You can actually drive most of the way to the top if you don’t mind hairpin turns with serious exposure off the edge of an impossibly narrow road with no shoulder. Once we got to the parking area, we made the arduous ¼ mile trek to the summit. While we were up there, it snowed briefly. After hanging out at the top sharing some Jelly Bellys with Wendy, we decided to go down to the car to wait for the others. When they arrived, we exchanged stories about our day and got into the car to find a spot to make lunch. Ahead of us we have an overnight drive to get to Indiana Dunes State Park, not far from Gary, IN. The few people I have talked to who know the area say it is a bit scary. We are hoping for the best, both for the long drive and our next destination.