Days 83 and 84 - Glacier Two Medicine

After a full day spent taking care of chores back home, writing my Yellowstone posts and dividing out my food supply into 500 calorie packs, I drove north to Glacier's Two Medicine area. I arrived around dinner time to light crowds, ideal sunny weather and awesome mountain peaks set around long and slender lakes.

The next morning, the ranger told me the path to Cobalt Lake and Two Medicine Pass were mostly clear, so I set out, first around the south side of the lake to a peaceful lakeside clearing, then through an ancient-feeling forest, to two tumbling waterfalls, through a meadow, then up a steep trail along a stream to Cobalt Lake.

I ran into a nice guy named Matt, originally from Boston but on a grad-school rotation in nearby Bozeman. Matt had set up his tent on the side of a snow bank overlooking the lake- a lovey camp. After chatting for a bit, I continued up the snowy but easily passable trail to the ridge of Two Medicine Pass. The wind picked up dramatically once I crested the ridge, keeping a steady 40 mph pace and gusting up to 60 mph. My heart rate picked up as well: it felt like hiking in a hurricane, along a ridgeline with huge mountain views in all directions, it was awesome and scary! The ridge was very wide so I was never at risk of being blown off, but still I took a few photos and came back down.

I ran into Matt on the return trip home and learned that his tent poles had snapped during a gust of wind-- powerful winds today. I planned to attempt a harder and snowier Dawson Pass route tomorrow and hoped the wind would settle down.

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Day 41 - Escalante Coyote Gulch

This one or two night Coyote Gulch hike was an easy test of my newly learned navigation skills. Anxious to get started I awoke at 545 just as the sun was rising. I followed an obvious landmark, a tall thin spire called Chimney Rock, northwest to Hurricane Wash (a drainage running into Coyote Gulch). After a couple of hours of walking up over and around slick rock, I entered the famous Coyote Gulch. The walls around me raised up, darkened and th water flow increased--like nature hinting at the scenic beauty ahead. The normally crowded Coyote Gulch was fairly empty on this early Thursday morning, giving the canyon a very peaceful and quiet feeling-- fragile almost. Down steam, I ran into the famous Jacob Hamilton Arch and then thirty minutes further-- the Coyote Natural Birdge. Both were beautiful due to their see through the wall character, but both would be overshadowed in my memory by the Stevens Arch tomorrow. Pics. By 1pm, I had hiked for six hours...

Day 62 - Colorado National Monument

Established as a national monument early in 1911, Colorado NM is known for its high canyon "rim road" and sandstone spires of Monument Canyon. The canyons of west Colorado are pretty--as they have more green trees and shrubs than the more famous Utah canyons. This gives them a more alive feeling, although the sandstone spires were formed many thousands of years ago by erosion. Rim Rock road curves up the the top of the canyon cliff, goes through several round tunnels and is lined with scenic viewpoints. The best views were in he Monument Canyon section, and included in sequence, the Coke Ovens, The Kissing Couple (behind my head), and the most famous of all: Independence Monument, the tall spire in pic 3 and viewed from the side in pic 4. The original promoter and caretaker of the park, John Otto, was the first person to climb Independence Monument and now it's a climbing right of passage. Every July 4 climbers ascend and mount an American flag at the summit. Fun! ...

Day 57 - Rocky Mountain National Park

Ever since I decided to go west for my big trip, I had dreamed of high mountain lakes with snowy peaks arching in every direction, with chilly air making every moment crisp, and with clear skies bringing all into perfect focus-- pure bliss. Today was the first of many great mountain lake days to come. Hiking here was far easier here than in the San Juans because the snow was packed down on the trail, but I brought my mini crampons for the downhill. I made it safely past a narrow ridge with narly black peaks across the gorge (pic 1), then up to Mills Lake (pic 2) then Jewel Lake then the Loch (pic 3) then down before the afternoon rain started falling. I hiked around some lower, more accessible lakes but the sky was now overcast and pictures no good. I drove up the open portion of the Ridge road amid a very light dusting of snow before heading back to camp for dinner and bedtime. I did manage to capture some fine Elk grazing in a meadows on the return trip and a g...

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