Sunrise on Capitol Peak. Colorado, 2016
Yep, I’d certainly agree with Mystic Mountain Master Gerry Roach! (Although I have yet to climb up the infamous bowling alley they call the “Hourglass” on Little Bear…)
And, yes, Capitol Peak was this last weekend’s (Sunday/Monday) big project.
For me personally, there are three aspects which make this mountain one of the most difficult of the 14er summits I have done so far:
- The long approach. You’ll need to backpack in to the foot of the peak (unless you are an incredibly fit marathoner/scrambler and can suffer the entire enchilada in one looong day).
- The difficulty of the route-finding and the rock scrambling from K2 to the summit and back to K2.
- The mental strain of staying laser-focused for 4-5 hours on sometimes sketchy and gravelly-loose rock, with some ultra-spicy exposure, at elevations above 13,000′.
So, save this one until you have honed your “cat feet” to an edge as sharp and fine as Capitol’s famous “Knife Edge”.
Even though I haven’t finished all the 14ers, I am still going to go out an a very narrow and exposed ledge and call this my all-time favorite of Colorado’s big mountains. But…since I still have 17 summits to go, I reserve the right to adjust that statement slightly. I have a hunch I probably won’t change my mind…
For this rather serious mountain, going solo didn’t seem to be particularly wise, so I teamed up with Brad, an experienced 14er climber, otherwise known as “Mountain Ninja” (and appropriately so!). He is currently only 18 summits away from finishing all 58 peaks for a second time and has done a fair number in winter, so my only worry was whether I could keep up with him!
Also, he had been up Capitol before, so his navigation skill through the talus and rock-snow gullies at black cat-dark 3a.m., and his navigation nose up the puzzling scree and exposed rock ledges on Capitol’s imposing southeast face, were to be be most welcome. Indeed, I found him to be a delightful and very positive-karma kind o’ companion–and extremely fit for such adventures. Thanks for a great trip, Brad!
For the full report, along with a mini-mountain montage of images…
Trip Report: Capitol Peak (14,130′) via K2 at Sunrise
Route:
From the Capitol Creek Trailhead at 9,420′, we initially hiked in to Capitol Lake via the “Ditch Trail” variation on Sunday (August 14), camped, then climbed the “standard” (and stomach-churningly classic!) Class 4 Northeast Ridge Route the next day. After summiting, we returned to camp, rested a bit, then packed up, and hiked out. This is probably one of the most common ways of climbing Capitol, the Queen of the Elk Range. [NOTE: Brad, with energy still to burn upon our return from Capitol’s summit to Daly Saddle, took a detour and explored the ridge up toward Daly Peak. It supposedly goes at Class 3, but in the limited time he had, he couldn’t find a route that he was comfortable with (being solo), so returned to camp unsuccessful.]
All told, then , the climb of Capitol amounted to covering 16-17+ miles on feet, hands, knees, and butt in around 28 hours, with a total elevation gain (and loss) of around 5,600′. So, come prepared to focus, focus, focus…and have sore feet!
Timeline:
We left Boulder a tad before 11a.m. on Sunday, August 14, and were hiking up the Capitol Creek “Ditch Trail” by 2:30p.m., arriving at Capitol Lake by 6p.m.
The next day, we woke up at 2:00a.m. with the idea of making K2 for sunrise. We left camp at 2:40a.m. under the light of our headlamps and the faint reddish glow of a rapidly setting and oblong three-quarter Moon.
In 35-40 minutes we were on Daly Saddle and at the end of what counts as a “normal hiking footpath”.
In the ink black of pre-dawn, Brad’s GPS navigation, worked like a charmed charm and we were sitting atop K2 at 5a.m. (luckily with almost zero wind!) with the first indication of sunrise beginning to paint pastels on the eastern horizon beyond the Sawatch Range. We sat atop K2 all the way through sunrise (scheduled for 6:23a.m. that day) and finally departed toward the Knife Edge and the Capitol massif itself at about 6:30a.m.
We managed all the difficult scrambling steadily, if not always elegantly, and were on the breathtaking summit perch by around 8:30a.m.
Leaving the summit at 9a.m., we were back at Daly Saddle about noon and I made it slowly (snapping pictures of flowers) back down to camp just before 1p.m. (while Brad made his attempt on Mt. Daly).
We left camp at 2:30p.m. and were back at our vehicle at 5:45p.m.–so not a whole lot faster than our ascent time to the campsite.
Total hiking time: about 17+05, which includes all rest/photo stops and Brad’s Mt. Daly detour. En route time up to Capitol Lake was 3+30, down from Capitol Lake, about 3+15. Time from the Capitol Lake campsite to the summit was 4+20 (I subtracted out the 1+30 we sat atop K2), and summit back to the lake (for me, with lots of stops) was 4+50. As always, YMMV depending upon season, weather conditions, snow conditions, and your fitness level.
Weather Conditions:
Most excellent! For the hours we were vulnerable up on Capitol’s ridge and summit, the thunderstorm threat was zero as was the wind. Only during our hike out, after about 3:30p.m., did the weather begin to threaten with a few low thundery rumbles and some raindrops coming from a mottled gray sky.
The temps were comfy for hiking in and out of the basin–maybe low 80s at the start to 70-ish at the lake. I was plenty warm during the night in my ancient Holubar greasy fart sack from the early Cretaceous Period (1980s) and inside a bivy sack.
The only time I was uncomfortable was the 1 1/2 hours we spent awaiting Mr. Sol atop K2 (perhaps temps just below freezing?). Luckily there was no wind and it was bearable, or we would have sought shelter in some cozy granite armpit below that exposed high point for sure.
Trail Conditions:
If you are headed out on this adventure yourself, you are probably fairly experienced and have surely already perused the beta on 14ers.com and in Gerry Roach’s 14ers “Bible” so I’ll just highlight what we encountered which might be typical of an ascent of Capitol in full-on summer conditions…
–We used the “Ditch Trail” as described at 14ers.com and that seems to be the most popular way to go. It avoids an annoying 400′ climb up to the parking lot from Capitol Creek Valley at the end of the return hike.
–Yes, there certainly are bevvies of bonny bovines (with their accompanying excretions of varying consistencies) on the hike to Capitol Lake, but (for me, anyway) it didn’t distract too terribly much from the beauty of the place. For those less tolerant, you can relax in the knowledge that cattle aren’t permitted over the last couple of miles into the higher basin–and, yes, you immediately do notice a tenfold increase in the lushness of the vegetation there–spectacular!
–If you can score Campsite #6 on top of the small forested knoll just north of Capitol Lake, goody for you as it probably has the nicest views of a spectacular area–Capitol Peak itself, Capitol Lake, and Capitol Valley to the north. If weather looks threatening, maybe go for a campsite lower down the knoll.
–Lucky for me, Brad served as guide in the pre-dawn darkness as we hiked over Daly Saddle and then across the cliffy scree and boulders behind Capitol’s northeast ridge. Brad had the GPS track loaded in his device and we made good time through this area. If you don’t have a guide, a GPS track, or aren’t familiar with the route, a good idea would be to plan on hitting Daly Saddle at first light to help with your navigation. Our faster-than-anticipated progress led to sitting for a long time on top of K2 in the cold semi-darkness awaiting the sunrise. There are worse places to be, though, for such a celestial event. Not too many.
–Does the Knife Edge give you chills just thinking about it? No worries, mate, Capitol presents you with both a pre- and a post-Knife Edge for a warm up and warm down (so it works both directions). No one ever told me about those! Advice: Don’t look down!
–The Knife Edge can actually be quite secure if you use the embarrassingly awkward “equine method”, although some parts of the edge are literally sharp enough to cut you a new one.
–Don’t think it’s all in the bag after the famous Knife Edge The rest of the route will keep you intensely focused, I assure you. The exposed scrambling is unrelenting–all the way through to the final summit ridge to the tiny summit. It never lets up. If you find yourself on hairy Class 4 or even Class 5 rock, look around, there is probably another way that is “ledgy-er” and easier. The cairns do help, but some might lead you astray here and there.
–From K2 to the summit and back to K2 you will be very much “in” the present moment (much like meditation…namaste!). Just don’t let down your guard on the boulder-hopping back to Daly Saddle–it would be easy to trip or twist an ankle there.
Photography Issues:
–I elected to try a heavier load on this trip, so I hauled along my Nikon D800 body, two lenses (24-70 f/2.8 and the 70-200 f/4) and my big tripod. That’s around ten pounds of extra weight, along with overnight gear and a 3 1/2 pound bear canister. I also carried my tiny, but very capable, Sony RX100iv. I did trim two pounds by leaving behind my 14-24 f/2.8 wide angle lens (which I later sorta wished I had on a few occasions, but I managed without it).
–The idea was to carry the heavy gear and tripod all the way up to K2, then just carry the little Sony from there to the summit. I ended up leaving the Sony behind on summit day, so carried my D800 and the two lenses all the way to the summit, only leaving the tripod behind on K2. A big thanks to Brad for hauling my tripod from camp up to K2 and back down–ah, the strength of youth! That was 3 1/2 pounds off my back during some tough hiking. (Interestingly, Brad also carries a Sony RX100 on his mountain adventures. It is definitely a quality lightweight choice.)
–Had I carried the small Sony to the summit, it would have been around my neck and shoulder–thus ready for a shot at nearly any time. With my big Nikon, I had to keep it in my day pack while scrambling, so I missed some nice shots as a result. However, when I did pull out the big Nikon, especially with the 70-200 telephoto, I was pleased to have it. So, some food for pensive mastication…
–The photographer always wishes for spectacular clouds to make his/her landscapes more interesting. On the other hand, the poor, suffering human bean climbing up the precarious slopes of Capitol Peak always wishes for nary a cloud in the sky so as to avoid any chance of getting speared by Thor during the slow high altitude ascent. So, I am always conflicted on these trips. On this outing, given the seriousness of the climb, I was willing to sacrifice quality photography for a safe adventure, and that is what we got–good, clear, boring weather. Our photography from K2 at sunrise is, therefore, pretty, but nothing extraordinary…but, then, we were never in any risk of being fried like a Monty Python parrot by 10 million volts from the sky.
–The L-bracket on my Nikon started to come loose whilst shooting sunrise from K2. Of all the damn times! The camera was just flopping about on the tripod mount like a loose tooth. Brad then reminded me of the multiple capabilities of my Swiss Army knife and, sure enough, problem solved. Still, make sure to tighten up all the screws, nuts, and bolts on your tripod, L-bracket, etc. before a critical trip.
Unusual Events/Comments:
–Check the rules before you go. Fires were prohibited at the campsites. A free, but obligatory, hiking/use permit was available at the trailhead. Bear canisters might also be required depending upon Yogi activity.
–People count: On our way up to Capitol Lake on Sunday, we saw some 20-30 folks headed down the trail. On our way down from the lake on Monday, we saw many fewer headed up, maybe only a dozen. Was that because it was a weekday, or was it because of possible worsening weather? On summit day, there were, perhaps, 20 of us on the upper mountain headed up and down, strung along various sections of the route. This helps when analyzing route finding options as you can watch folks ahead of you make their decisions (not always good ones!), but it can also be the cause of unwanted rockfall, so be extremely careful when climbing below another party and avoid that situation when possible.
–After Daly Saddle, enroute across the east side of the ridge and up to K2, and in the dark, we crossed one snow gully for which we donned microspikes for the 20 steps or so that were required. The snow was very hard in the early morning, so it was the safe thing to do. On the way back down, though, in the light and relative warmth of day, we saw that all the snow fields were completely avoidable with just very minor deviations–or you could just cross the now soft snow with your normal hiking boots.
–Watch the forecast carefully before committing to this trip and get on the trail to the summit as early as possible. You are exposed to the potentially fiery hell of the deranged elements for an extended period of time once you are past K2 and retreat could become impossible or at least shit-your-pants difficult if things get wet and there is electricity in the air. Watch the weather patterns come and go in the days and weeks prior, then jump on it when you have an obvious good weather window based on a couple of forecasts. Once on the mountain, don’t go past K2 if you see any thunderbumper potential at all.
–The bugs were not pure torture as I had read in other reports for this time of year. But, insect repellent was still quite useful for the few fly and mosquito squadrons that were still around.
–Keep an eye on Mountain Ninja at 14ers dot com as he is close to completing a second round of climbing the 58 Colorado 14ers–and he has already completed the longer list of 73 named 14er high points. If you get a chance to hike with him, do it. He is in great physical shape, very knowledgeable about all things mountain, and fun to be with. His company made this epic trip up Capitol Peak doubly enjoyable for me (and he carried my tripod and loaned me microspikes!). Hopefully, I can join him for his 14ers “Round Two” Finisher.
–Oh, and, once more…Don’t look down!
–[Additional SAFETY NOTE, added, November of 2017: Upon descending from the summit pyramid, do NOT under any circumstances attempt to deviate down the north side of the ridge with the idea that you could avoid the Knife Edge and make it back to Capitol Lake more quickly and more directly. You can’t. There were three fatalities this season when three hikers tried to do just this (and a total of five fatalities this summer alone on the entire mountain–a tragic record). The North Face is steep, loose, extremely dangerous, and eventually you will get cliffed out. There is NO route down this side that does not require the use of technical rock climbing skills and gear. Be warned!]
—Colorado 14er Senior Challenge summit count: 41 of the basic list of 58 (p. xxiii in Gerry Roach’s 14er “Bible”, Colorado Fourteeners, 3rd Ed.); 49 of the long list of 73 (pp. 347-348, with South Wilson added, also in Roach’s “Bible”.
Selected Images:
We were all smiles heading out. The Ditch Trail starts at the far end of the parking lot–and don’t forget your free, but mandatory, permit! Don’t ask me what the oil and anti-freeze is all about:
Trailhead, “Ditch” Variation. Capitol Lake Trail, Colorado, 2016
The first 1.2 miles along the flat ditch is quite pleasant, with occasional glimpses of the objective to keep the heart all aflutter:
Along the Ditch. Capitol Lake Trail, Colorado, 2016
Farther along the ditch, the 13er Mt. Daly hoves into view to the left of the majestic Capitol Peak:
Cumulus Over Capitol. Capitol Lake Trail, Colorado, 2016
All the flowers we saw during the trip looked a little rough around the edges–it was getting late in the bloom season. Still there were plenty out and about at most elevations to add some extra cheer to the hike:
A Splash of Yellow. Capitol Lake Trail, Colorado, 2016
At about 1.2 miles, you will leave the ditch behind and start a gentle climb into and among the members of a large aspen nudist colony:
Through the Aspen. Capitol Lake Trail, Colorado, 2016
This would surely be a spectacular hike in the fall, under a canopy of golden aspen:
Aspen Colony. Capitol Lake Trail, Colorado, 2016
There were plenty of these slow elk, or evidence thereof, along the first four miles of the trail:
Bovine Photography. Capitol Lake Trail, Colorado, 2016
They all seemed to be pretty accustomed to the parade of strangely formed and colored human beans who constantly pass through their grazing territory (as well as to the flies):
Bessie 417. Capitol Lake Trail, Colorado, 2016
Pay just a little attention here. You will have just walked through a downhill section of a half or three quarters of a mile or so when you get to this clearing. If you stay right, you’ll hang with Bessie and the gang. Instead, go left and cross the main creek (which you may need to wade). This marks roughly the halfway point (of a 6.7-mile walk) to your upper campsite at Capitol Lake:
Main Creek Crossing. Capitol Lake Trail, Colorado, 2016
At this point, with maybe two miles to go to the lake, you leave the cattle behind and the vegetation immediately becomes more lush. It’s effectively a cattle “wall” and I am sure He With the Golden Hair made the cattle pay for it, too:
Passing the Cattle Wall. Capitol Lake Trail, Colorado, 2016
This is what I mean by “lush”. How much would it cost you to hire a professional to duplicate this exact garden in your backyard? Who says wilderness isn’t valuable!
Lush High Country Garden. Capitol Lake Trail, Colorado, 2016
Brad strikes a karate pose to defend the log bridge from the approaching Black Knight. What a beautiful valley!
Ninja Crossing Guard. Capitol Lake Trail, Colorado, 2016
Across golden meadows, we approach the Capitol Lake campsites in the late afternoon:
Lazy High Country Afternoon. Capitol Lake Trail, Colorado, 2016
We elected to go to the upper grouping of campsites–better views. The best of them was site #6, but it was already occupied, so we settled under the pines in this spot…with tomorrow’s adventure looming high overhead:
Campsite. Capitol Lake, Colorado, 2016
This northwest facing wall of Capitol Peak is massive!
Capitol Peak Detail. From Capitol Lake, Colorado, 2016
As the sun drops toward the west, we stroll around the area soaking in the grand scenery. This is Capitol Lake with the summit of Capitol Peak towering almost 3,000 vertical feet above. The bump on the far left of the ridge, with a bit of blue sky above, is K2, where the difficulties begin. Most of the standard route cannot be seen as it is on the opposite side of the mountain. There is apparently also a 5.7 route that roughly follows the smooth buttress on the right, under the lone cloud:
Late Afternoon. Capitol Lake, Colorado, 2016
An abstract view:
Textures, #2. Capitol Lake, Colorado, 2016
Another abstract with some wonderful light playing across the wildflowers and the landscape:
Last of the Afternoon Light. Capitol Lake, Colorado, 2016
It is easy to be all smiles in a place as heavenly as this! And no, Brad hasn’t put on weight–I think it is an extra water container he just filled at the lake. Far below is Capitol Creek Valley extending out to the north, from whence we came:
Brad, Portrait. Capitol Lake Basin, Colorado, 2016
Another valley view, as the shadows begin to creep up the mountainside:
Basin Landscape. Near Capitol Lake, Colorado, 2016
The setting sun turns the mountain orange. A few clouds would have really helped out the photography in this case, but you take what you can get. Those trees in the foreground serve as slightly bizarre testimony to the harshness of the winters up here:
Sunset. Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
Now, on to the following day…Since we were in the dark all the way from camp, over Daly Saddle, and around the backside of the ridge you see above, I don’t have any photo documentation of the route on the east side of Capitol. I also didn’t photograph that section in daylight on the return either–so, you’ll just have to figure it out yourself!
The scene at first light was actually considerably darker than this. With the magic of post-processing, though, you can see a lot more through the camera’s eye. On the left side of the image, you can actually see two headlamps from parties headed up to Daly Saddle from the campsites near the lake. The obvious pyramidal peak is 13,297′ Mt. Daly. The distant valley with the many human lights is the one that runs between Glenwood Springs to the north (left) and Aspen to the south (right). All those folks far below in their cozy beds at this hour just didn’t know what they were missing!
First Light from K2. Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
Up there, under the constellation of Orion, in that Dallas-bound aluminum tube arrowing along at Mach snot, you can almost hear the ice cubes falling into the plastic cups…Meanwhile, far below, we jump up and down to keep warm as we await the sun:
Orion Flight. From K2, Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
Looking away from the coming dawn, the landscape is still quite dark. On the far left is the 14er Snowmass Mountain (and “North Snowmass”). Capitol Peak looms on the far right. The connecting ridge is appropriately called Satan’s Ridge and has seen but a small handful of traverses–by folks who vow never to repeat the dangerous feat:
Pre-Dawn View of Satan’s Ridge. From K2, Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
Those must be the high peaks of the Sawatch Range in the far distance. Can anyone help me with peak identification here? Peak I.D. apart, it was just a pre-dawn blue-beautiful scene:
Blue Horizons. From K2, Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
With more light comes more detail in our surroundings. Here, you can see most of the Elk Range, with Snowmass Mountain the closest big mountain on the right. Those are the Pierre Lakes below:
Pre-Dawn View of the Elk Range. From K2, Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
A close-up view of Snowmass Mountain in the odd non-light of pre-dawn. The closest of the summits is “North Snowmass”. Behind Snowmass and to the left is 13,841′ Hagerman Peak, one of Colorado’s “Centennials”:
Pre-Dawn Portrait of Snowmass Mountain. From K2, Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
Mt. Daly was looking elegant, with one remaining strip of snow high on its southern backbone, supposedly a Class 3 hike but with somewhat difficult route finding along the lower half of the ridge as Brad later discovered:
Pre-Dawn Portrait of Mt Daly. From K2, Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
Had there been much wind at all, K2 would have been unbearable as there was almost no shelter to be had, but the air was almost dead calm. We were up there for over an hour and a half watching the show:
Awaiting Sunrise, #2. K2, Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
Finally, the giant plasmic meatball makes its grand entrance. If The Photographer’s Ephemeris is accurate, that should be the hump of Quandary Peak just right of the sun. The secondary sun just below and to the right is a characteristic of the lens–call it a “double sunrise”:
Double Sunrise. From K2, Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
Finally, a sunrise worth waiting for…but the rest of the climb and the summit awaits! You can see the famous Knife Edge section just left of my right elbow:
Sunrise Atop K2, #2. Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
Some filtering of the light by the clouds led to a more subtle “first light” on Snowmass:
Gentle Sunrise on Snowmass Mountain. From K2, Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
Coming down K2 toward the Knife Edge was perhaps one of the more technically difficult sections, but it luckily wasn’t as awfully exposed as other areas on the mountain:
Downclimbing K2. Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
I won’t say how much of the Knife Edge Brad actually walked (your secret is safe with me!), but I will offer that he did considerably less “horseback riding” than I did to get across. Even to stand up at this point would be a wet-the-pants move for most:
Walking the Tightrope. Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
We were the first party up to K2 by a couple of hours, but then other groups started to catch us as we made our way along the ridge. That high point is K2 and you can see a figure standing on the jagged ridge on this side of the big gap below K2. The ever-present Mt. Daly is off to the left:
Mt. Daly and K2. Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
What a tremendous perspective on the entire Elks Range! Here, I have identified all the 14er summits–all of which I have now visited:
The Elks Range. From Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
That’s Brad on the arête scoping out a possible route. The two others are part of a group of three that joined us along this last section. We actually ended up retreating from the arête and climbing the gravelly gully going up and right before eventually moving left and gaining the final ridge:
Working Up the East Face. Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
Now on the summit ridge, Brad photographs the valley and Capitol Lake, some 2,700′ below. The low point between Mt. Daly and K2 is Daly Saddle. After climbing up from the lake and crossing Daly Saddle, the route contours around behind the ridge (out of view here) and then eventually climbs up to K2, the high point on the right:
Summit Ridge View. Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
A closer view, with labels for the orientation-impaired:
From Whence We Came. Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
Ontop of it all with some new-found friends, also from Colorado. That is a Which Wich sandwich bag Brad is holding. For those not in the know, a photograph of yourself on top of a 14er with a Which Wich bag gets you a free meal. Brad may be the first to climb all 58 Colorado 14er summits with a Which Wich bag–yeah! (That’s almost three weeks of free food!)
Which Wich On the Summit. Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
Here is a daylight view of the entire hellish ridge between Snowmass and Capitol–for those wanting a real challenge:
Satan’s Ridge From Above. Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
I would estimate perhaps 20 folks were trying for the summit on this Monday and, as far as I know, they all made it–including a couple of teenagers (with adult supervision) doing their very first 14er! Capitol as a first 14er, now that is impressive! In this image, a telephoto shot from the summit ridge, you can see two human beans on top of K2 and two others between K2 and the Knife Edge:
Humans on the Ridge, #2. Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
That’s Jenny from Breckenridge above with one of her climbing companions below. With several people in the same area it was nice to exchange info on which route was the best. Beware of falling rock, though!
Posing Atop Near Vertical Rubble. Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
Maybe I was too tired, but I apparently took no photos from about K2 down past Daly Saddle. So, no visual intel for you about that scree and bouldery (and sometimes, snow) portion of the route. Coming down out of a world of so much rock, it was nice to see green again:
Capitol Lake View. From near Daly Saddle, Capitol Peak, Colorado, 2016
While I took my time with my camera, Brad was up above searching for a Class 3 route up to Mt. Daly’s summit. It apparently is a trickier climb than other trip reports had led him to believe as he came down without finding a reasonably safe line for a guy on a solo mission. The slopes to Daly Saddle were a raucous riot o’ color even if the flowers were suffering from a bit of late-August droop:
The Valley. Capitol Creek area, Colorado, 2016
With the cumulus building, we packed up our gear at the campsite and headed back down the trail toward bovine boulevard and, ultimately, the frenetic uncivilization of loud human beans:
Under Threatening Skies. Capitol Lake Trail, Colorado, 2016
Lush, I say, lush…Until the next trip into the wilds of Colorado. Can you find not one, but two insects among the flowers? (Probably not if you are on your mobile phone screen.)
Still Life. Capitol Lake Trail, Colorado, 2016
At the halfway point creek crossing, Brad elected to wade across, having low-top hiking shoes. I managed to get across with my high-top boots on, but just barely, and got a bit muddy in the process. Earlier in the year, this is surely a roaring torrent:
Cold Feet. Capitol Lake Trail, Colorado, 2016
A few raindrops fell during the hike back, but the heavens never spewed forth anything like a deluge. On the Ditch Trail, this is one of the last views we had of our adventure as we neared the parking lot. What a mountain! (Remember: Don’t look down!)
Capitol Peak Portrait, #2. Capitol Lake Trail, Colorado, 2016
11 Comments
Dan,
Your write-up inspired our trip this year. We’re on our way back to IL from our adventure right now.
I just re-read the article and enjoyed it even more now recalling those views and the sense of accomplishment in completing this amazing climb.
BTW-Your pictures are better than what my iPhone was able to capture. 😉
Beautiful write up!
Magnificent photos!
Thanks, Angelica! Good luck on your climb–assuming that’s why you read my trip report.
A comprehensive write up and some great shots there Dan.
Thanks, Michael! Glad to see you back on the rock. DanJ
Stunning photos Dan. What a documentation of this trip. Dana
Thanks, Dana! Hope you are up for Handies next year–my finisher!
Amazing report, Dan! Thank you for capturing the memories so well. It was a ton of fun climbing with you, and I look forward to our next adventure!
Thanks, Brad! My Mom was just as glad as I was to go on this trip with you (see comment below from Beverly)!
OMGosh, what a journey. This is undoubtedly one of the scariest and profound climbs you have done. Never do any of these solo! Glad your buddy, experienced 14’er could be there with you. Wow! Just incredible! And here I thought the DIA was a big deal for me last week!
Sending love!
xoxoxox
Thanks for reading! Yes, for the difficult ones, I will always go with someone…no worries!