August 9, 2007
Not many photos to share this month. Kept forgetting my camera for some reason. Here are the few that I have right now.
Our outdoor club had a float in the 4th of July parade this year. The original plan was simply to strap my kayak on top of Bob's truck. Somehow that got transformed into me sitting in the kayak and putting on a show of paddling along. It was a bit warm that day and I think I came out the better for my elevated position! I must admit I was a tad worried that Bob's foot would hit the brake a bit too quickly and send me down an asphalt rapid but, thank goodness, all went smoothly.
Later that day, I met up with a couple of guys from my Search & Rescue (SAR) group. We had a great idea to paddle down the Piedra River to the 4th of July party. Not one of our brighter ideas. I'll spare you the blow by blow stupidity that ensued. Suffice it to say that I ended up climbing hundreds of feet up the steep mountainside to get from the river to the forest road and, thankfully, hitch a ride to safety while my kayak, Lucille, was flipped and wedged onto a boulder in the middle of a rather gnarly rapid. Leo & Terry managed to paddle down in about six hours (we originally thought it would be a 2-2 1/2 hr. trip). Everyone was scraped and bruised and quite humbled by the entire experience. Terry and friend, Les, managed to rescue Lucille on the 29th. I wasn't sure I'd get her back but she's home, a bit battered and scratched but in good shape. And, No, I won't be trying that river again! at least not without an inflatable kayak!
We had family in and out during this time. Doug and Laura wheeled their way to Colorado to escape the seemingly endless rains in Texas. We did some sight seeing and visiting and they were able to scope out the area hoping to find some land in the general Colorado area. They headed home about the time Tom and Wade rolled in.
We played a lot of golf. Got quite acquainted with the courses here. Tom took photos. I'll see if I can get those moved over here. We went to Durango to see the Bar D Wranglers. That was a bit of nostalgia as we went to see them over 3 decades ago with family. They didn't let us down. It was quite entertaining and I can recommend the experience.
Ralph and I took a 3 day backpack on a section of the Continental Divide Trail. We started at the Lobo trailhead which is near the summit on Hwy. 160. As you can see, there was still snow as of July 10th. We came across patches here and there along the trail.
We had beautiful trail and vistas all along our 6 mile +/- hike to Spruce Lakes. The terrain varied considerably over that distance which kept the hike interesting.
We did a day hike up to a ridge which overlooked our camping spot. You are looking over the ridge the other direction in this photo. It was quite a climb. I believe I am at about 12,200 feet here. I was huffin' and puffin' to get to this overlook, I can tell you!
This is looking back toward the lake where we were camped. You can see it right of center about 3/4 way up the photo. I'm hoping to take in more sections of the Continental Divide Trail before too long.
July 14th I went on a training exercise with one of our other SAR fellas. The goal was to test our 24 hour emergency packs. My particular desire was to find out if I had enough warmth to be able to sleep at night while minimizing the weight I would have to carry. The answer was a resounding NO! We were hailed on first then the skies cleared to provide for a crystal clear, yes beautiful, and yes really, really cold night. Well, I guess my mission was accomplished and I now know I need more, more, more warm stuff in that pack.
It never ceases to amaze me how these mountains can kick your ass in a very short time. I see people heading up trails without any rain gear, warm clothing, food, and, sometimes, even water. We caution them but some don't listen. Those are some of the people we get to go rescue!
My final escapade to share is a multiple day outing to Silverton and Ouray. I took the RV and had comforts at night with lovely hikes during the day. The Highland Mary Lakes hike was beautiful and relaxed. I highly recommend it. The next day we went to Silver Lake. Now that was different. 2/3 of the hike was on broken rock switchbacking up the mountain to a slot with a heavy cable coming down through it which we used to climb up the slot. On top it was lovely green with a creek, falls, etc. We hiked to an abandoned mining area at Silver Lake with lots of interesting discoveries from the mining days. Can't recommend this hike as it was rather tough hiking the rocks without twisting an ankle but I'm glad I went.
Mom headed over to Hugoton, KS for the annual family reunion. She reports having a wonderful time and taking absolutely no photos! She supposes ditching the camera resulted in her being able to visit more and not think about what "would make a good shot." So I have no photos but she has some wonderful memories.
We are having what seems like endless landscape work done around here. We'll put in a few before and after photos when we get it all finished. I'm assuming that will be before the first snowfall but you never know when you're operating on Pagosa time! Until then, y'all take care and let us hear from you.
Our outdoor club had a float in the 4th of July parade this year. The original plan was simply to strap my kayak on top of Bob's truck. Somehow that got transformed into me sitting in the kayak and putting on a show of paddling along. It was a bit warm that day and I think I came out the better for my elevated position! I must admit I was a tad worried that Bob's foot would hit the brake a bit too quickly and send me down an asphalt rapid but, thank goodness, all went smoothly.
Later that day, I met up with a couple of guys from my Search & Rescue (SAR) group. We had a great idea to paddle down the Piedra River to the 4th of July party. Not one of our brighter ideas. I'll spare you the blow by blow stupidity that ensued. Suffice it to say that I ended up climbing hundreds of feet up the steep mountainside to get from the river to the forest road and, thankfully, hitch a ride to safety while my kayak, Lucille, was flipped and wedged onto a boulder in the middle of a rather gnarly rapid. Leo & Terry managed to paddle down in about six hours (we originally thought it would be a 2-2 1/2 hr. trip). Everyone was scraped and bruised and quite humbled by the entire experience. Terry and friend, Les, managed to rescue Lucille on the 29th. I wasn't sure I'd get her back but she's home, a bit battered and scratched but in good shape. And, No, I won't be trying that river again! at least not without an inflatable kayak!
We had family in and out during this time. Doug and Laura wheeled their way to Colorado to escape the seemingly endless rains in Texas. We did some sight seeing and visiting and they were able to scope out the area hoping to find some land in the general Colorado area. They headed home about the time Tom and Wade rolled in.
We played a lot of golf. Got quite acquainted with the courses here. Tom took photos. I'll see if I can get those moved over here. We went to Durango to see the Bar D Wranglers. That was a bit of nostalgia as we went to see them over 3 decades ago with family. They didn't let us down. It was quite entertaining and I can recommend the experience.
Ralph and I took a 3 day backpack on a section of the Continental Divide Trail. We started at the Lobo trailhead which is near the summit on Hwy. 160. As you can see, there was still snow as of July 10th. We came across patches here and there along the trail.
We had beautiful trail and vistas all along our 6 mile +/- hike to Spruce Lakes. The terrain varied considerably over that distance which kept the hike interesting.
We did a day hike up to a ridge which overlooked our camping spot. You are looking over the ridge the other direction in this photo. It was quite a climb. I believe I am at about 12,200 feet here. I was huffin' and puffin' to get to this overlook, I can tell you!
This is looking back toward the lake where we were camped. You can see it right of center about 3/4 way up the photo. I'm hoping to take in more sections of the Continental Divide Trail before too long.
July 14th I went on a training exercise with one of our other SAR fellas. The goal was to test our 24 hour emergency packs. My particular desire was to find out if I had enough warmth to be able to sleep at night while minimizing the weight I would have to carry. The answer was a resounding NO! We were hailed on first then the skies cleared to provide for a crystal clear, yes beautiful, and yes really, really cold night. Well, I guess my mission was accomplished and I now know I need more, more, more warm stuff in that pack.
It never ceases to amaze me how these mountains can kick your ass in a very short time. I see people heading up trails without any rain gear, warm clothing, food, and, sometimes, even water. We caution them but some don't listen. Those are some of the people we get to go rescue!
My final escapade to share is a multiple day outing to Silverton and Ouray. I took the RV and had comforts at night with lovely hikes during the day. The Highland Mary Lakes hike was beautiful and relaxed. I highly recommend it. The next day we went to Silver Lake. Now that was different. 2/3 of the hike was on broken rock switchbacking up the mountain to a slot with a heavy cable coming down through it which we used to climb up the slot. On top it was lovely green with a creek, falls, etc. We hiked to an abandoned mining area at Silver Lake with lots of interesting discoveries from the mining days. Can't recommend this hike as it was rather tough hiking the rocks without twisting an ankle but I'm glad I went.
Mom headed over to Hugoton, KS for the annual family reunion. She reports having a wonderful time and taking absolutely no photos! She supposes ditching the camera resulted in her being able to visit more and not think about what "would make a good shot." So I have no photos but she has some wonderful memories.
We are having what seems like endless landscape work done around here. We'll put in a few before and after photos when we get it all finished. I'm assuming that will be before the first snowfall but you never know when you're operating on Pagosa time! Until then, y'all take care and let us hear from you.
posted by Betsy Cotton | 1:38 PM
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