07/13/01:
Oh, joy! Friday the 13th. Well better today than yesterday. I had a follow up Gastroscopy yesterday and am glad it wasn't today. I went in as an outpatient and they knocked me out and stuck a TV camera down my throat to see how well the bleeding gastric ulcer has healed. Then the doctor disappeared so I have to go back one more time at the end of the month to find out what happened.
And, after 3 1/2 months I'm out of Utah. I drove 4-5 hours to just past the Mesa Lakes region in the Grand Mesa National Forest in western Colorado. I stopped off to visit the Colorado National Monument on the way in but didn't find any camping and the nearby state park wanted $18 per night (gag!) so I kept going. I may try again when I return to Utah for the doctor's visit.
Grand Mesa National Forest is in the western part of Colorado. It's the world's largest flat top mountain (whatever that means) at 50 square miles. It averages 10000 feet, has 300 lakes, ponds and puddles and 700? miles of designated trails. It's usually 25-35 degrees cooler than neighboring towns down below.
07/14/01:
Last night was in the 50's, maybe the 40's. At 10000 feet I wasn't able to breathe too well. Every time I'd start to doze off I would be short of breath so I didn't get much sleep. The rains came just as I was getting up this morning and lasted till well after noon. Although still in the 50's, the sun came out long enough for me to bathe and then clouded over again.
I took a short walk down the forest road I'm camped on. The dirt road is fairly steep so I had to plan how far to follow it down. I would much prefer climbing at the start of a walk or hike. That way when I decide I've had enough I can turn around and coast back.
07/15/01:
Another rainy day. This morning the rain was very heavy with some small hailstones. Last night had some of the same. It's been cold too, in the 50's. I've had a jacket on all day. Took a longer walk, 15 minutes out and 20 minutes back. Found a small lake/pond at the bottom of the road. Didn't want to stray too far from home with those mean looking clouds.
07/16/01 Hiking Mesa Lakes Shoreline Trail:
Temperature in the 50's, bright sunshine, 10-15mph wind. So off I went to do a couple of shorter hikes in the Mesa Lakes area. The first one I found was the Mesa Lakes Shoreline Trail, 1.5 miles long, presumably around Mesa Lake.
Mesa Lake is a very pretty lake with lots of small interconnecting coves. As soon as I got on the trail I saw a sign for Deep Creek Trail and a little further on a turnoff for the Lost Lake Trail. The Shoreline Trail follows Mesa Lake through spruce, fir and aspens.
Aspen are the favorite food of beaver and I saw some evidence of them but nothing recent. Then I saw a couple of little critters swimming around and they certainly had the look of beaver. I didn't see any lodges but did see many sticks and branches jammed among one section of rocks in the water.
The trail seemed to end at the Mesa Lakes picnic area. At least I couldn't find where the trail continued and it did seem about 1.5 miles. So I retraced my steps.
Hiking Lost Lake Trail:
When I got to the Lost Lake Trail sign I turned on to it since it was only another mile. A steady incline brought me to South Mesa Lake after 1/2 mile. This is another pretty lake. Here, surprisingly, I found 7-8 fishermen not catching anything. Another 1/2 mile of incline brought me to Lost Lake which I guess isn't lost after all since I found it. It's the least pretty of the lakes I've seen in the area.
Deep Creek Trail:
It was still short of 11am when I got back from Lost Lake. So after taking a break I headed up the Deep Creek Trail. Why it's called Deep Creek I dunno. I didn't see any creek at all. Since the trail leads to the top of Grand Mesa, maybe it should oughta be called the Grand Mesa Trail... Duh!
The first of the 2.5 miles is a gradual incline through heavy spruce and some aspen. After passing through a meadow with lots of orange and purple flowers in bloom, the last mile picks up 400 feet in elevation. At the rim is a great view of miles of spruce forests below and mountain ranges beyond.
Near the top I found a couple of fresh piles of what I took to be bear scat. They looked like doggie doo but twice as much and they were black. Black bear, black scat? Who knows? A lot of deer tracks too but not much else besides a ton of chipmunks.
07/17/01 Hiking Forest Road 254:
I wanted to do the West Bench Trail today but the gate to the ranger station and trailhead were still closed at 7:45am. Not wanting to wait I went over to the Jumbo Reservoir (pond), parked the truck and crossed CO 65 to FR 254. Forest Roads can go for miles and miles and I've seen a lot of wildlife on them. This one appeared to go near several small lakes and ponds, at least on the map.
The temperature's in the 50's again, the sun is bright again, a 20mph wind is blowing again and I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, again. 100 feet up the road I watched half a dozen young marmots scurry for cover as mom chirped a warning. A marmot is about the size of a ground hog and looks pretty much like one too. It anything they're shorter and squatter and have a fatter tail.
After a short ascent the road turned down and down and down. Of course my main thought was I'd have to be coming back up again. It wasn't long before several large boulders blocked vehicles from continuing. I went around them and found more rocks and dirt piled in the road and then came to complete washouts. I kept going and eventually came to an overlook of CO 65. I'd only seen one pond on the way and things didn't look promising so I turned back for the long uphill climb.
I saw lots of deer tracks in the mud and had to fight off large mosquitoes. They were the size of model airplanes and sounded like them too as they dive bombed at me. I drove around a little after that. All of the meadows are in bloom with red, purple and orange flowers. Very pretty. I found Land of Lakes overlook which, after a short climb, presents a look at half a dozen lakes in the spruce forest below.
Island Lake is about 1.0-1.5 miles long and has a tiny little island with a couple of spruce trees. It also has a campground and narrow little road dropping several hundred feet to the lake. Sure enough, on the way back up, here come a couple of pickup trucks pulling ATV trailers. The upper part of the road has enough room for two cars to pass. But we weren't on the upper part. The middle part barely has enough room for one car. So I backed down, very, very, very slowly. I finally got to a spot wide enough for one truck to go around me and then I went around the other. Halfway back up, here comes a car with two little old ladies. The driver was crazy. She wanted to go right around me and I had to hold her off as I backed down until there was enough room.
07/18/01 Hiking Crag Crest National Recreation Trail:
Another thunderstorm last night with lots of boomers and lightning. Pretty close too, maybe 3-4 seconds between lightning and thunder. It seemed every time I moved my arm to close a window, grab a flashlight or whatever, the sky would light up. Made me think I was causing the lightning.
This morning in the 50's, bright sunshine and 10mph wind. At least with all the spruce and aspen there's plenty of shade. While driving around yesterday I found the West Trailhead for the Crag Crest Trail, a 10 mile loop, and decided to do that today. The trail led into a spruce and fir forest at a gradual incline. Boulders were strewn everywhere but the trail itself was pretty clean.
The trail followed the base of a craggy bluff for a ways with a pond and a small lake on the other side of the trail. I didn't see any, but heard several marmots chirping away at me. Soon the trail crossed over into rockslides and the switchbacks started as the trail got steeper.
45 minutes brought me to the Cottonwood Lakes Trail turnoff at 1.5 miles. It was still 5 miles to the East Trailhead where I would begin the loop back. The trail started at 10500 feet and I was soon at 11000 feet. The mosquitoes made sure any break you took was a short one.
While this was all very pretty I didn't know what made the Crag Crest Trail a National Scenic trail. While I was on top of a bluff, the trail had to be 20-50 feet from the rim to keep dummies like me from falling off. But then I got to see where the crag and the crest came in.
Walking through a meadow, I could see nothing but sky ahead. When I got to the edge I could see for miles and miles. Spruce forests many hundreds of feet below me. Many lakes scattered throughout the forests. Distant mountain ranges. And there was the crag.
It looks as though at some time in the distant past a crack or fissure appeared in the earth's crust and molten lava poured out. When surrounding areas eroded away, the lava crag was left, rising 100's of feet above the valley floor. Now there was no doubt in my mind why this has been declared a scenic trail. As I stood there gawking, three younger women were coming off the crag with arms and legs pumping and talking up a storm.
The trail followed along the crag. Sometimes on one side, sometimes on the other but most of the time directly on top. When on top, it was total exposure. Steep slopes and cliffs fell away to valley floors way below on both sides. At places the trail is very narrow so it would be difficult for two people to pass each other. A misstep would send you off to a long unstoppable tumble. The wind was blowing and it was cold too.
Black clouds appeared as I was halfway along the 2 mile crest and I knew I wasn't in a good position if the lightning started while I was so exposed. The last peak on the crest measured 11300 feet, the highest I've ever climbed at. I said climbed at because I didn't start at 0 feet. This was only an 800 foot rise in elevation from the trailhead which was at 10500. I've been reading it's advised average people only climb 1000 feet a day when they're over 9000 feet. I'm still working my way up to average.
I started my descent about 11am. 20 minutes later I was at the bottom of a bunch of switchbacks thinking I was now ready to begin the loop back. Not quite, that was 1 1/4 miles away yet. When I did start back I was dismayed to see the trail ascending again. My legs weren't ready for that.
The three women I'd seen on the crest came zooming by again from the other direction, arms and legs still pumping away, and still talking up a storm. Hubbies were probably sitting out on a lake guzzling beer and not catching fish. A mile or so on the way back the trail was re-routed for some reason. And of course the direction was down. When it turned back up I got the distinct impression I was going the wrong way. And the black clouds were moving in. And I thought I might be lost. The GPS, however, said everything was OK. I was going in the right direction.
I passed through a bunch of summer homes and kept going. Eventually I came out on a road and finally figured I was on CO 121 at Alexander Lake. I might not be lost but I had certainly lost the trail. The GPS now said I had two miles to go. The first mile was along Alexander Lake and past Ward Lake, all up hill. Eventually I got to the junction of CO 65 and the Visitor Center. My butt was dragging so I took a break and then continued the .75 miles to the trailhead, all up hill. At least I didn't get rained on.
The many ponds and lakes I passed added to the overall enjoyment of the hike.
07/19/01 Colorado National Monument:
Today was break day. OK, I ran out of munchies and drove 50 miles to Grand Junction to get them. Then I drove another 12 miles or so to Fruita to visit the Colorado National Monument. This is a 25 mile drive from Fruita back to Grand Junction, passing along the rims of several canyons with great views of the canyons, cliffs, bluffs and some unique rock formation.
I made a wrong turn back in Grand Junction and ended up in Fruita again. This was no big deal because I wanted to check out Horsethief Canyon for a put in to the Colorado River. That didn't turn out too well because the actual put in was on the other side of the Colorado. I didn't bother to check that out because the Colorado River at this point is a brown, unattractive river 100-150 feet wide with a 2.5-3.5 knot current. I thought it would be going through a canyon which would be cool but instead it was just 4-5 foot mud banks.
The temperature got up into the 80's and the sun was really bright with no shade which made things unpleasant for me so I headed back up to Grand Mesa National Forest in a hurry. Here I guess things were 15-20 degrees cooler.