No mountains this weekend – the route was the Chicago Lakes Trail; we walked from Echo Lake to the upper Chicago Lake, and camped out in between. I got to break in the new gear I got for my birthday – a new backpack, courtesy of Glenn, and some new clothes – including toasty warm long underwear – from my parents. My birthday is this Saturday!
We got off to such a slow start on Saturday that we didn’t even start hiking until the evening. I think night-hiking is something everybody should do at least once in their lives. Your eyes play some pretty incredible tricks on you in the dark; I would step down preparing for a drop of a foot or more and find that the ground was level with where I was standing, or I would edge perilously along a slope only to realize with a probing foot that the “slope” was just flat ground.
We hiked for as long as we could without turning our headlamps on, but we had to give in when we got deeper in the forest. Our original intention was to hike to Chicago Lake and stay the night there, but Glenn was concerned about finding a good camp site when we were closer to the mountains, so we made camp on the edge of the Mount Evans Wilderness. Good thing, too, because camping near the lake would have been freezing!
I didn’t sleep well, but that was because of my own habitual sleeplessness rather than anything to do with sleeping outdoors. I’m getting better at this hardy-outdoorswoman thing. The next day we made it to the upper Chicago Lake, where it was so cold and windy, I forgot to take a picture. Oh well. Here are the pics I did get:
I’m finally noticing an improvement in my athleticism; all that walking up and down mountains is really starting to make a difference. I can hike faster and longer and use less energy, and those horrible uphill slopes are just gentle walks now. Vinson, here I come, ha ha.
We got off to such a slow start on Saturday that we didn’t even start hiking until the evening. I think night-hiking is something everybody should do at least once in their lives. Your eyes play some pretty incredible tricks on you in the dark; I would step down preparing for a drop of a foot or more and find that the ground was level with where I was standing, or I would edge perilously along a slope only to realize with a probing foot that the “slope” was just flat ground.
We hiked for as long as we could without turning our headlamps on, but we had to give in when we got deeper in the forest. Our original intention was to hike to Chicago Lake and stay the night there, but Glenn was concerned about finding a good camp site when we were closer to the mountains, so we made camp on the edge of the Mount Evans Wilderness. Good thing, too, because camping near the lake would have been freezing!
I didn’t sleep well, but that was because of my own habitual sleeplessness rather than anything to do with sleeping outdoors. I’m getting better at this hardy-outdoorswoman thing. The next day we made it to the upper Chicago Lake, where it was so cold and windy, I forgot to take a picture. Oh well. Here are the pics I did get:
I’m finally noticing an improvement in my athleticism; all that walking up and down mountains is really starting to make a difference. I can hike faster and longer and use less energy, and those horrible uphill slopes are just gentle walks now. Vinson, here I come, ha ha.
