We climbed Mount Sniktau. It was a morning of false starts. We had planned to go on another hike, one that involved driving up to Guanella Pass, a pass that just reopened after being closed for over a year due to an avalanche. Yikes. But when we got to the road for the pass, there was a sign that said it was closed from 8-11 and 1-3. This was about 7:30 am, and we knew we would have to be back to the car by around 12:30 to avoid being stuck there till 3. We decided to go to Sniktau so we wouldn't have to be rushed.
It was a good choice. First we spent about half an hour hiking on the wrong trail, and then we started out hike on the correct trail, up a steep "hill." A very steep "hill."
This picture does not capture the steepness.
If you read the description of the hike on the link above, it sounds pretty easy. But it's Rocky Mountain easy, which to people like me means it's still pretty hard. I had a difficult time on the beginning of the hike. Even though it's "only" 13,234 feet high (really, website author? "Only"?) I got out of breath pretty quickly. It's a crazy out of breath feeling, too, not like you have been running too long, just like you took about 5 steps and you can't catch your breath. But Dean was patient and we finally made through the first section of the climb, up to a point at about 12,500 feet of elevation. We hid from the wind behind some rocks, had a snack and enjoyed the view.
Then we got started on the second leg of the trip, to "point 13,152."
It was cold! And very windy.
We climbed along this ridge. It reminded me of a black and white cookie, which should give you a clue about how many times we stopped to eat a snack.
After the initial climb, the hike was much easier, even though we still had a climb. I think the beginning was so hard because I wasn't used to it. Once I got through the first climb I was more in the hiking zone.
These mountains are a winterscape. This is Torrys Peak, a 14er.
This is another shot of our trail along the ridge.
This is a view of interstate 70 from the summit. You can see the Eisenhower Tunnel, tiny from this view.
After another snack and rest at the summit, we made our way back down the rocky trail. On our return trip, we noticed tiny patches of wildflowers. Such a harsh place to live!
We got back to the car around noon, so we drove through the town of Dillon to eat lunch (delicious portabella and pepper cheese"steaks" and fries!). It's a lovely little town beside a lake, much warmer than the mountains so close by. See the avalanche paths on the mountain in this picture?
Despite the challenges, or maybe even because of them, it was a really nice day. It was great to hike with Dean without worrying about Amelia or listening to her make her Marge Simpson "get me out of this backpack" noise. (And this hike was definitely too cold and windy for her--plus she had a fabulous time with her Ewee and Inna). I couldn't post yesterday about the hike because I had what I deemed exposure exhaustion. The sun, wind, cold and elevation really take something out of you. But the feeling of being at the top of a mountain after a long climb is like nothing else. It's a kind of freedom. I am glad I have a partner whose idea of fun is climbing tall mountains, because otherwise I might not do it, and I would be missing out on something incredibly beautiful.
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