Bear Lake to Milner Pass to Bear Lake.

If memory serves me correctly, Dan and I discussed doing the Continental Divide traverse as described in Fosters book in 2013, shortly after we met.  It sounded like a pretty big day hiking wise.  While doable with two people, it would require both to drive to Bear Lake to drop a car, then to drive to Milner Pass, then to drive back to Milner Pass to pick up the car upon completion of the hike.  And then back home, or to where ever to collapse in a heap of tired.

Of course, the years in between have sort of redefined "big day" to both of us.  As usual, over the winter when I can't get out as much, I start mapping on Caltopo.  "What if?" "How far can I really go in a day?" "Could I connect all these peaks together?"

While long, it didn't look too crazy, with mileage in the low 30's and an elevation gain of around 9000 feet.  Well, maybe that's a little crazy!

I started out from Bear Lake just after 6am.  There were a few other cars in the parking lot, and a few people getting ready for hikes.  As I thought, I encountered snow on the trail from the Dream Lake lookout up to around treeline, then a large patch above treeline below the final climb to the summit of Flattop. 

Snow on the trail, easy to navigate without traction, and able to hold full body weight.
I made the summit of Flattop in 1:30, a new pr.  I was moving well thus far, but there was still a good distance to go.  I stuck to the Tonahutu Trail as it started to drop on the west side before cutting off across Bighorn Flats. 

Going over there.  Way over there.
While the climb up Flattop is a few thousand feet, the climb from Sprague Pass up to Sprague Mountain marked the first major climb in my mind.  It's about 1000 feet of gain in a mile, and most of that is above 12000 feet.

Sprague Mountain.

North from the summit of Sprague.
I was just under three hours in and feeling good, with approximately one quarter of the mileage under my belt.  I knew there wasn't much technical terrain in front of me, with the worst being between Chief Cheley and Mount Ida, but I wouldn't be back below 12000 feet for real until nearly 2.5 miles past Mount Ida.

Longs and points south from Sprague. 

Above the Onahu basin.
Mount Eleanor comes and goes fairly quickly, with a short but avoidable scramble to reach the top.  I was the last registered ascent from last year.  Staying up on the ridge from here on brought pretty easy terrain, with a little talus hopping near the high point SE of Chief Cheley.
Another few hundred feet of gain, and I was on ranked peak 12820/Liberty Point, between Chief Cheley and Cracktop.  I stayed on top and followed the ridge to Chief Cheley Peak.  It's on talus with just a touch of scrambling to reach the summit.
And then, down.  I was still feeling good, but this mile was my slowest of the day in each direction.  I think it was a combination of the loss/gain, terrain (class 2 but rocky and a little loose), and elevation.

Mount Ida from the saddle. 

Looking down to the gorgeous Gorge Lakes basin.  Highest Lake was still largely encased in ice, with the others largely melted.
As I approached the summit of Ida, I heard some voices and called out so I wouldn't startle them.  Due to poor planning, I had run out of water on Chief Cheley.  Since these guys had come up from Milner Pass, I asked if they encountered any ambient water near where we were on that side.  I had a filter and tablets, but just needed something to filter or tablet!
They said no.  For the first time in my hiking life, I became that guy and asked if I could have some water if they had some to spare.  I hate that guy!  My main concern was not hydration, as I knew I'd have all I could drink in several miles, but nutrition.  I'd need some moisture to get those bars down.
They were able to help out with about a third of a liter.  Enough to keep me going.  To Sean and Zion, thank you so, so much.  It will never be forgotten.

Bighorn on the other side of Mount Ida.
The trail high up isn't very distinct, and I also dropped down in search of a puddle I could tap into.  I was able to find water off trail in about 20 minutes, and filled up a liter or so.  Just enough to keep me going until the more available water in the Milner Pass area.
I ran most of the downhill, passing several people going up.  It seemed like it was too late to be heading up above treeline, but the weather forecast was great, and here I was about to do the same.
Arriving at Milner Pass was a bit of a shock.  Lots of cars and people, and yes I did get asked to take a photo for a family in front of the Continental Divide sign, and did so happily. 

Selfie at the sign.
I used the restroom, disposed of empty food wrappers, stretched, and was back enroute to Bear Lake.
I encountered a family on the way back up I saw on the way down.  "Didn't we see you coming down?"
"Yes, but I'm being motivated today, though I'm regretting that now."
"Well, I'm sure you'll make it."
"Thank you," I said.  I should've told them were I was going back to!

Beauty on the Mount Ida trail.
But the beauty was deceptive.  It was super windy, enough that I was getting blown uphill off the trail at times.  While the weather looked good, I could see it was raining to the west of me, in the area of the Never Summers.  Of course, since it was so windy, the rain was blowing almost sideways and hitting me.  I put on the rain jacket.
And then came the graupel.  I got cold quickly.  I passed one of the people I saw going up when I was going down and asked if she would give me a ride back to the east side.  She said yes.  I said I was going to continue to the summit and see if it got better.  She asked if I wanted to just go back with her.
I almost said yes.  I was quite cold, and despite my plan to easily hike this side, I was now running to keep warm.  We parted ways and I continued on, finding a rock outcrop soon after which allowed me to get out of the weather and put on the tights I had with me.  I was able to warm up quickly and continue, but this marked the start of a fairly hard period.  I was pretty down on the situation and got into a bad/sad/upset/negative mood that lasted all the way to the second summit of Sprague Mountain.

Inkwell Lake melting out.

The view south from 12820.
The weather had cleared, and I was not precipitated upon again.  The wind even dropped a little.  However, my mood did not improve, and the idea of trying to move quickly did not appeal at all.  As I was finding, the downhills on the way back generally tended to be steeper and/or rockier, and therefore more of a challenge to actually run. 

A slight variance on the route on the way back had me find this bone.  No other remnants were seen in the area.  It seemed like a strange place to find a single bone, above 12400 feet.  Obviously it got there somehow.
I was thinking highly unpositive thoughts while slogging back up Sprague Mountain.  The expletives were flowing free from my mouth, and I am not normally one to use them.  My cursing became so creative I established combinations so futuristic they have never been heard by human ears before, and won't be first linked in writing for at least another 50 years.  I will refrain from publishing them here, but when you hear them in 2067, I was the originator. 
Why was I here?  What was the point?  Again, I was feeling no joy, only misery.  When I got back home, I was going to write a strongly worded letter to the management (which I suppose is myself; the letter must have been lost in the mail).
But the tides turned at last.

The second summit of Sprague Mountain, with Hayden Spire prominent.
I'd been signing into the few registers I found (Sprague, Eleanor, and 12820) with my out time, and now I added my back time to the final one.  I had about eight miles to go, and it would be pretty easy relatively speaking, with no major gain.  I ran out of water again, but I knew I could fill up at Eureka Ditch.  And I'd spend a whole mile and a half below 12k as I met the low point on Bighorn Flats.
As I climbed the Flattop Trail early in the morning, I found myself excited to run down it.  It was rocky and technical.  Of course it occurred to me it would be fun to run it back, as long as I still felt like running, that is!

I've been finding Elk parts on Bighorn Flats for a few years, and finally found the skull this time.  Sprague Mountain in the background.
Back on the trail I felt like I was flying.  I jogged much of the stretch from the time I met the Tonahutu trail up until the final climb back up Flattop.  I ate a snack as I started to head down, and then picked the pace up.  I was determined to beat my time up the peak, and set a goal of an hour to do so.

Sunlight on Longs from the Emerald Lake overlook.
I had to stop a few times to take some clothing off, as things warmed up.  And I wasn't so motivated to move quickly through the rocky parts.  But I was able to put a good effort in, and finally rejoined the Fern Lake Trail, then the Bierstadt Lake Trail.  I was almost there!
I didn't see anyone until I got back to Bear Lake, which was still teeming with tourists.  I wonder how I must look to them, wild eyed, dried salt and sweat on my face, nose red from rubbing.  Was it clear that I'd been out for the entire day?
I told myself that I needed to tell someone what I'd been up to, and decided I'd talk to a ranger when I arrived, if one were still there.  To my disappointment, they'd already left for the day and I quickly became another one of the many people at the trail head.  I was successful in the descent, logging 1:06.  It certainly could've been faster, but after this day, I was satisfied with that. 
Now I finally felt it- the elation of a long day spent in the mountains.  The original planning months ago, and the final planning the week before.  The training and getting stronger as time went on.  Encountering some tough times during the day and persevering.  The setting a difficult goal, and meeting it.  Over the day I experienced the entire range of human emotion, and it wasn't always positive, but back at the car I felt happy.
Link to hike map/GPX on Caltopo.
Bear Lake to Milner Pass to Bear Lake (distances as part of the hike):
Flattop Mountain, 12324 feet: 4.1 miles, 2874 foot gain.
Sprague Mountain, 12713 feet: 8.4 miles, 3263 foot gain.
Mount Eleanor, 12380 feet: 9.6 miles, 2930 foot gain.
12820/Liberty Point: 11.2 miles, 3370 foot gain.
Chief Cheley Peak, 12804 feet: 11.5 miles, 3354 foot gain.
Mount Ida, 12900 feet: 12 miles, 3450 foot gain.
Milner Pass, 10759 feet: 16.9 miles, 1309 foot gain.
Mount Ida: 21.9 miles, 2141 foot gain (from Milner Pass).
Chief Cheley Peak: 22.4 miles, 2045 foot gain.
12820/Liberty Point: 22.7 miles, 2061 foot gain.
Mount Eleanor: 24.3 miles, 1621 foot gain.
Sprague Mountain: 25.5 miles, 1954 foot gain.
Flattop Mountain: 29.9 miles, 1565 foot gain.
Bear Lake, 9450 feet: 34.39 miles, 1309 foot loss.
As a whole, this day covered 34.39 miles with 9503 feet of elevation gain.  It took me 13 hours, 11 minutes, and 43 seconds.  It certainly could've been faster, and it would be fun to try again.  There is some easy scrambling between 12820 and Mount Ida, but the main difficulty is the extended time above treeline.  Strenuous+.

Friends old and new- Gorge Peaks via Milner Pass th.

We're in the middle of a two day rain storm, which is good because we need it, but bad because it's happening on my days off!  Needless to say, I enjoyed sleeping in somewhat this morning instead of hearing the 3am alarm go off, yet my heart still aches for the mountains.  In the end, all I can say is oh well and hope next week is nicer.  

But last week!  We had a 10% chance of storms predicted after 2pm, and you know what that means.  An all day outing!  My vote was cast to climb all the Gorge Peaks in one day, exactly 364 days after I'd parked at Rock Cut and dropped into Forest Canyon to do what became the hardest hike of my life- Gorge Lakes.  I was joined by my friend and oft companion Dan, fresh off a 34th place finish at the Leadville 50.  I was wondering if I'd be able to keep up!

July 22nd is also a memorable day for me for unfortunate reasons.  It was the day that a friend lost her battle with breast cancer in 2010.  One again, this day was in her memory.  Just like last year, it was a spectacular and memorable day.

Starting on the west side gave us some great views of the Never Summer Range catching the first rays of sunlight that caressed our area of the earth on this day. 

South Specimen and Specimen Mountains(I think).

We talked on the way up and worked out a plan.  First we'd hit Jagor Point, and then proceed to Ida through Terra Tomah.  We'd keep an eye on the weather along the way of course, since the only bail route is really turning around and heading back.  We'd identified two of the big gains of the day, the first between Ida and Chief Cheley, and the second (and more serious) between Cracktop and Julian.
Much to our surprise, we came upon our first person of the day relaxing on some talus before we hit Jagor Point.  She said she'd intended to go as far as Cracktop, but felt ill so turned back.  At least someone got up earlier than us!

We left the pretty well beat in unofficial trail and walked over to Jagor Point.  Looking down on these lakes and Rock Cut brought it all flooding back.  The exceptionally difficult bushwhack, the waterfall exiting from Arrowhead Lake, the Bighorn I'd see above Inkwell Lake, the erratic, the rainbow cloud, getting back to the truck late, and seeing the sun both rise and set in the same day.  The memories of a friend, the memories of my own battle with cancer. 

Looking over to Terra Tomah Mountain and Mount Julian. 

And Cracktop through Mount Ida.  There was still some ground to be covered.

Getting from Jagor Point to Mount Ida wasn't very difficult at all.  We simply went in the general direction of the trail until we hit it and continued on.  But now the fun was about to begin, with a 600 or so foot loss and regain to get to Chief Cheley Peak.

Jagor Point as seen from Mount Ida.

Timber Lake in a beautiful basin. 
The loss and gain went uneventfully, and we soon found ourselves on Chief Cheley Peak.

Over looking Highest Lake, which was alot more melted last year.  I can now tell you the easiest way to get to this lake is to drop down the 3rd class ridge from Chief Cheley Peak.  That will certainly be alot less difficult than making your way here from Rock Cut or Forest Canyon Overlook.  This lake was the place where I said a few words in memory of Liberty last year.

Looking along the ridge to Cracktop.  This was all relatively easy second class, and while Cracktop and Chief Cheley are both named, they are unranked, with their parent high point being point 12820, which is the high point of this ridge.  Of course it looks alot less spectacular than either, which is probably why it doesn't have a name.  May I propose Liberty Point?

Looking down to Inkwell Lake and Arrowhead Lake from the ridge.  Inkwell Lake was so crazily blue it was hard to comprehend. 
The next major difficulty of the day lie ahead of us when we topped out on Cracktop.  We faced around 300 feet of elevation loss on third class terrain, followed by 500+ feet of gain on second class talus to get to the summit of Mount Julian.  This proved to be one of the most fun and interesting parts of the day for both of us. 
Looking at the ridge, we decided to stay on the top as we could, and find our way through a fractured system of ledges and gullies on the climbers right or south side of the ridge. 

Navigating the ledges. 
This proved to be a fun exercise as these things often are.  This was third class by the path of least resistance, but up to fifth if a more direct route was taken.  Some breathtaking exposure here and there kept it interesting. 
As Dan said, this is not beginner third class.  Alot of route finding was needed and the difficulty was rather sustained the whole way through.  Longs Peak via the Keyhole may become the comparison I'll use the most, but that is blazed the entire way, with a definitive crux in the chock stone at the top of the Trough.

Looking down to Azure Lake, Inkwell Lake, and Arrowhead Lake. 

Nearing the end of the third class section.  We stopped and got our poles back out before continuing up to the highest point of the day, the 19th highest peak in RMNP, and the third highest 12er, Mount Julian.

Looking back toward Cracktop and the difficulties of the ridge.  Even when we hit Terra Tomah, the day was only half way over.  We'd still have to find our way back.
There was a small cairn on top of Mount Julian, though the register (the only one we'd find this day) actually lie in a crack below the true high point.  As you may surmise, this peak doesn't see many summits- probably in the 10-15 a year range.  One of my favorite, perhaps all time favorite, register comments was found here- #SWAG from a girl who'd summitted with a large group two years ago.  I left my usual name, city, blog address (thanks for visiting if you happened to see it), and a nice message for Liberty. 
We wound our way though second class talus and the webs of those nightmarish looking alpine spiders to make our way up the last few hundred feet to the summit of Terra Tomah Mountain.  While it looks pretty spectacular and daunting when viewed from the north east, from this side it is nothing more than a gentle hill covered in grass and a ton of Alpine Sunflowers.

Rock Cut from Terra Tomah.  I reminisced on last year and told Dan about seeing Rock Cut from Highest Lake.  There it was, only 4.something miles away.  I could see cars and people over there.  Yet I knew I was very, very far from done.  I knew how much effort it had taken me to get to this high alpine lake and how much it would take to get back.  It was certainly one of those times when the mental aspect of hiking comes into play.  Your body can be very fit, but at times you need that sound mind to know you can get back. 
As we hiked over the day we'd talked about this, and I named two days in particular when I got very close to my breaking point.  And I remember very vividly having to sit down, feeling my muscles trying to jump through my skin as I did, giving myself the 'you can do this' talk.  Taking on a bunch of food and water to make sure I'd have the energy.  Counting steps on the way down.  I kept getting startled by people standing along the trail, only to look and find out it was a tree or rock and wondering, while my heart was pounding, how I could have mistaken a tree for a person.

Stones Peak and Longs Peak, Pagoda, Chiefs Head, McHenrys...

This is what the true high point of Terra Tomah looks like.  On the way back, I noticed you can see this point from Trail Ridge Road if you look closely. 

Dan in contemplation of Mount Julian.  Since we didn't need to resummit, we simply contoured around below the second snowfield from the top. That worked out pretty well and gave us only a little bit of loss on the other side.
Going back up over third class to Cracktop proved to be quite fun once again.  There was one place where we went around on the way down because we couldn't see what lie below us.  Now I was able to see it and it looked like it would go.  In the end, I found myself doing a body jam in a chimney while applying a finger lock to a crack.  In short, this was fifth class climbing, and it would have been easier and quicker to just go down the gulley and back up. 

Dan navigates the third class...

I captured a close up of some Alpine Sunflowers on the west side of Cracktop.

And another spectacular view of Inkwell Lake from above.  We saw a few Bighorn on the north side of this ridge, and they were the first of many we'd see on the day.

Unfortunately, it was around this time that my camera decided to stop working properly.  But I can report that we made it back to Chief Cheley, and then to Mount Ida, where we scared a woman standing on the summit.  Going back down, we saw a ton of cairns but none of them seemed to mark a definite trail.  In fact, we never did find a trail until farther down, though at this point of the day, neither of us could remember if there'd been a well defined trail past Jagor Point.  I can tell you there was one up until there at least.  We also saw herds of Bighorn Sheep, far more than I've ever seen combined.  This might be a prime place to see them, along with Mummy Mountain, on which I have seen several.

We saw a few more people on the way down, with the frequency increasing the closer we got to Poudre Lake.  I walked over and dipped my fingers in the lake to cross that one off the list.

Here is Poudre Lake in some weird sort of camera malfunctioning soft focus.  

Back at the car, we took a few minutes to get snacks and drinks out.  I finished off four liters of water over the day.  And then back in the car to make the traffic filled drive back to Estes and then down to home.

This day was just what I was looking for.  The great weather afforded us a long day above tree line, saw us climb no fewer than seven 12ers, both ranked and unranked, and served as a spectacular way to remember an old friend and spend some time with a new one.  

This is certainly a long and difficult day anyway you cut it.  I'd say even up to Cracktop it isn't that bad, but be prepared if you go beyond.  The only real 'bail' option here is heading down into Forest Canyon, and believe me, that is much more difficult than simply turning back.  Plus I have no idea how one could make it back to Milner Pass from there.  The third class ridge between Cracktop and Mount Julian is definitively the crux, requiring route finding and the ability to execute the moves over some exposure.  I would certain say this section is more technically difficult than what you'd find on Longs, so make sure your ability and comfort level is up for the challenge.  And like Longs, this is a climb, not a hike.

As we were walking back to the car talking about how great a day this was, Dan said, "I am glad there are other people in the world who like doing this kind of stuff."  Well, me too.  I look forward to sharing a 6 pack of Snark soon! 

Gorge Peaks via Milner Pass th:

Jagor Point, 12632 feet: 5.1 miles each way, 1874 foot gain.  Second class.  Moderate+.

Mount Ida, 12900 feet: 4.7 miles each way, 2122 foot gain.  Second class.  Moderate+.

Chief Cheley Peak, 12804 feet: 5.3 miles each way, 2046 foot gain.  Second class.  Strenuous-.

Point 12820/Liberty Point, 12820 feet: 5.6 miles each way, 2062 foot gain.  Second class.  Strenuous-.

Cracktop, 12780 feet: 6 miles each way, 2022 foot gain.  Second class.  Strenuous-.

Mount Julian, 12928 feet: 6.7 miles each way, 2170 foot gain.  Third class.  Strenuous.

Terra Tomah Mountain, 12718 feet: 7.4 miles each way, 1960 foot gain.  Third class.  Strenuous.

Poudre Lake, 10758 feet: thirty second walk from parking, 0 foot gain.  Easy-.

This whole hike: 14.7 miles round trip, 5785 foot gross gain.  Third class.  Strenuous.

In loving memory of Liberty Rebekah Dagenais.  October 9, 1980- July 22, 2010.