St. Vrain and Meadow Mountain.

It's been a little while unfortunately.  The test I had been studying for for months finally came this week, and I am happy to say that I passed and I am now a Certified Sommelier according to the Court of Master Sommeliers.  This is a huge weight off my shoulders and I am now looking forward to enjoying the Colorado summer as much as possible.
Also unfortunately, I had to make this hike twice due to weather conditions.  I went for it the first time about a month ago, and after losing the trail in heavy packed snow, headed for the most visible high point.  This of course turned out to not be Meadow Mountain.  But when I figured out where I was and needed to go, I could hear thunder from over the mountains.  I was right at tree line and decided to sit tight and see if I could figure out which way the storm was moving before continuing or heading back.
After ten minutes of waiting, it looked like it was coming directly towards me, so I hastily headed back down.  I did get snowed on a little bit, nothing too bad.  But after my experience of getting caught in a full on pouring down rain, hailing, lightning strikes right near me thunderstorm, I couldn't risk it.
A few weeks later I got up early, and with a better idea of where I was going, headed out for these two peaks.

In the beginning...
This is an interesting hike as the vast majority of your day will be spent in Roosevelt National Forest and Indian Peaks Wilderness, with only brief forays into RMNP.  The southern boundary of RMNP actually intersects both of these peaks.  To get here, take Route 7 to Allenspark.  Turn west onto business route 7.  Look for Ski Road on your right.  Turn onto it and stay on it for about a mile and a half until you reach a fork.  At this fork stay right for another half a mile or so and you will come to the trail head parking.  The road is a little rough after the fork, but I did it in a Ford Focus and your car can make it.
The trail starts out nice and easy, heading through some aspen and pine.

 

Some early views...

On my first attempt, I felt like I hit snow rather quickly.  At this point all I needed was gaiters though.  Two weeks ago there was significantly less snow, and I am sure alot has melted since then even.

 Storm clouds rolling in over Meadow Mountain, and time to get going.

 

Looking back down to the plains on my way down.

  Two weeks later I saw the moon set over the peaks to the south of Meadow Mountain. 

Again, I hit a spot where the trail just disappeared in snow.  I followed the creek up the hill, and since I now knew where I was going, I kept on in the right direction.  I decided I would summit St. Vrain Mountain first, and hit Meadow Mountain on the way back.

The first glimpses of RMNP from the saddle between the two peaks.  Mount Copeland visible.

Just a little farther in and a great view of seven peaks over 13000 feet.  From left to right- Mount Copeland, Isolation Peak, Mount Alice, Chiefs Head Peak, Pagoda Mountain, Longs Peak, Mount Meeker.
I stopped at what you might call the base of St. Vrain and put my snowshoes on.  From what I could see, it was still pretty much covered on its south and east exposures.  Going up wasn't too bad really, and the snow might have made the going easier as there was little bush to contend with or rocks to scramble up.  It is pretty steep any time of the year, gaining about 700 feet in the last .6 of a mile.

Looking into Indian Peaks Wilderness from the summit of St. Vrain Mountain.

West along the ridge connecting to Elk Tooth and Ogalalla Peak.

Panorama Indian Peaks to Longs Peak.

Close up of the massive eastern flank of Mount Copeland.

The bowl formed by Mount Alice and Chiefs Head Peak.  I spent alot of time wandering around in there last year.

Pagoda Mountain, Longs Peak, and Mount Meeker.  Dragons Egg Rock visible, and it looks like Sandbeach Lake has melted out entirely.
I headed back down, trying to glissade here and there, but the snow had gotten too soft and I was stopping myself.  However, going downhill in snowshoes over mostly packed snow is still pretty fun and slidy, and I reached the trail in no time at all.  I headed back down, and when I reached an appropriate place, I took off up Meadow Mountain.  This felt a little harder going up as the snow was melted for the most part and some scrambling was involved.

Hello down there!  The view to the east from Meadow Mountain.

Yours truly enjoying the view.

I made this cairn in the windbreak on top of Meadow Mountain.

It was easy to refind the trail once I was above it and could see where it was going.  I was actually pretty near it most of the way up.
Of course I made good time on the way back down.  I felt like I made good time on this entire hike, and though I can't remember exactly now, I feel like it took me only in the six hour range to get both of these peaks and back.
I definitely liked the view afforded of Indian Peaks Wilderness.  It might be fun to spend some time there this summer.  And the views of RMNP are great- you can see the entirety of Wild Basin laid out before your eyes.
Meadow Mountain (11632 feet) and St. Vrain Mountain (12162 feet) via St. Vrain Mountain Trailhead:
Meadow Mountain: 3.7 miles one way, 3142 foot gain.  Moderate plus due to elevation gain.
St. Vrain Mountain: 4.8 miles one way, 3672 foot gain.  Strenuous minus due to elevation gain.
Combine both for a longer strenuous minus hike.
Snowshoes or traction devices may still be desired to tackle St. Vrain Mountain. 

Dragons Egg Rock via Hunters Creek

The past week brought me some fun and some misfortune.  It all started on Friday.  The subject of my wine study group was Burgundy this week, one of my favorite regions.  I brought along a 1995 Dominique Laurent Vosne-Romanee 1er Les Suchots.  Amazing stuff.
After this I wanted to go mountain biking before heading back down to work.  I started at Heil Ranch on the Wapati trail, planning to ride up it to Ponderosa, take a right there to Wild Turkey, take a left on Picture Rock, turn around at the bottom, and return.  All was going according to plan until I my front wheel washed out going down Picture Rock and I crashed hard.
I landed on my right side, abrading my elbow pretty good.  I thought I hurt my leg also, but the main worry was my head.  It was one of those crashes where you feel your head snap against the ground, and my ears were ringing loudly.  My helmet looked ok, in fact I cannot see any impact on it, but I know it is time to replace it.  I had to sit for about fifteen minutes for the ringing and nausea to go away.  Not fun.  Then, when I got up, my leg hurt so much I thought I might have broken it.
I sat back down and assessed the situation: It was four plus miles down Picture Rock, plus probably 6-8 more on the road to get back to the car, or I could just turn around and take it really easy and ride back.  I could stand and put some weight on my leg and since I had fallen like this before and felt a similar but less intense pain, I felt like it was ok to proceed.  So back up and then down I went.
I was majorly sore the next day, but felt progressively better on Sunday and Monday.  So I decided to go for it.
I tried to get to Dragons Egg Rock last year, on a very long day that took me to Keplinger Lake.  I went east from the lake and made my way to the massive south facing flank of Mount Meeker.  I headed around, but I had two problems.
The first was that navigating the drainage between Keplinger and Meeker took me a tremendous amount of time.  The second was that I wasn't even sure where Dragons Egg Rock was or what it looked like.  The book said it is defined as a single closed topo loop on the south side of Meeker, but this was right where the page joined another and I couldn't tell what to look for in the crack of the book.
Later I looked it up at home, and while I could find very little information about it (like a picture- see below for one), I could see on a better topo where I should have been.  I didn't get to it, but I did get pretty close- I would guess I was less than half a mile from it.
I started out at 808am on April 10th from the Sandbeach Lake trail head.  My research into possible ways to do this hike led me to two different routes.  In the end, it made more sense to me to stay on this trail until I hit Hunters Creek and then follow it up.

Hello dear deer.
The trail was completely dry and in great shape up until the summit of the moraine.  From here until Campers Creek I hit intermittent snow.

Snow on the trail.
It was pretty well packed and completely walkable in hiking boots only.  From Campers to Hunters it was consistent packed snow.  Again, I did not use any traction devices here, and the trail was quite easy to follow.

Stopped at Hunters Creek for a snack.
I strapped on my snowshoes here and started to follow Hunters Creek up.  Stay on the east side of the creek, and if you do happen to do this once the snow has all melted, there is an unofficial trail here that follows the creek up.
Here the going got difficult as the ground gets somewhat steeper and the snow was not packed at all.  I kept looking north to try to determine where I was in relation to Mount Meeker.  For a long time all I could see was trees on a steep hill side above me.  I continued on until things started to look like this...

The first signs of Meeker and the first sight of my goal of the day.
Once I could see Dragons Egg Rock, I basically struck a path toward it.  I would intersect with the couloir near the bottom and follow it up.  In retrospect, I don't think this was quite the right way to go, though in one area where the snow had melted completely I did find what looked like a trail.  There were some steep hills in worsening snow conditions, and I feel like I should have stayed along Hunters for a little longer before heading north.  But live and learn.

The south face of Meeker, close up on Dragons Egg Rock.
I was noticing my lack of conditioning so far this year, along with some pain from my hip post crash.  Along with mushy snow, my pace slowed to a crawl.

Looking down into Hunters Creek drainage from the south face of Meeker.

Are we there yet?

Closer still, and the cliff face right in the middle is Dragons Egg Rock.  There is significantly less snow than last year.

Taken in June 2011 (I think), quite a difference.

A pretty neat thing to take in is how large Meeker really is.  Once you reach the base, it literally takes up the entirety of the view to the north.

Looking south with Copeland Mountain and Mount Orton visible.

 

I was expecting the couloir to be full of snow and to be able to glissade down.  No such luck, though I guess it did make the ascent easier.  Here I stayed on the tundra to the right of the snow.  When I got close to the cliff face, I carefully crossed the snow and then made my way west along it.  I turned North and summitted the feature from the north side.  This is where you will find the only second class on this hike.  

I feel it would be entirely possible to ascend by continuing on the east side of the feature, but this would give you some talus to work through and this is where there was still heavy and steep snow that I descended through.

Sandbeach Lake from way above.  Still looks pretty frozen, but should be melting quickly.

Indian Peaks Wilderness and points south from Dragons Egg Rock.

Looking into the heart of Wild Basin- Mount Copeland, Ouzel Peak, Mahana Peak, Isolation Peak.  Frankly, this view made the entire hike worthwhile. 

Yours truly on Dragons Egg Rock at 12200ish feet.

 

Continuing up the couloir could be a fun but lengthy way to ascend Meeker.

 

Panorama looking south.  What a view!

Despite the general lack of snow, I did try to glissade, and it worked kind of in places.  But eventually I decided it was taking too much effort and not worth it, so I moved back to the tundra and continued down.  

I mention that on the way up I felt as though I didn't take the best route.  On the way down I stayed in the couloir the whole way.  I think this was better- the rise seemed like it would be more gradual, and there was less snow and bushwhacking to contend with.  If you do this hike, I would advise to stay along Hunters Creek until the view north looks something like this..

 

You will come to a more open area that looks like this.  From here, head on up.

 

Here is what it looks like a little bit higher up.  Much more manageable terrain.

 

Dragons Egg Rock.

Once I got near Hunters Creek, I was hitting enough snow to put my snowshoes back on.  Now it was afternoon, and the snow conditions had gotten worse.  I was constantly post holing, and slogging through melted snow was not fun.  But eventually I did make it back to the Sandbeach Lake trail.  

I took off the snowshoes here.  The trail was about a foot of hard packed snow in the middle, but when I happened to veer off that, even by a few inches... post hole.  Well, it was not bad enough for me to put snowshoes back on, and my hip was feeling a little better not wearing them, so I continued on. 

I saw this newly broken tree right next to the trail.  It looked pretty neat.

This tree is on the Sandbeach Lake trail pretty close the the trail head.  It looks like it should be in front of a haunted house or something.  

I finally made it back to the car after a long day at 707pm, giving me eleven hours for the day.  I think with improved conditions in the summer and self, I would be able to knock a few hours off this time.

This is a pretty fun and challenging hike, with a great view at the destination.  I think it would be easier to do once all the snow melts out.  

This feature was named by RMNP ranger Jack Moomaw (for whom Moomaw Glacier was named) in 1921.  Why Dragons Egg Rock?  I guess we will never know.

Dragons Egg Rock via Hunters Creek:

5.5 miles one way, 3860ish foot gain.  Strenuous+ due to elevation gain and snow particularly after leaving Sandbeach Lake trail. Summer conditions would take this down to strenuous or strenuous-, but there is still significant gain in the last 2.something miles.

Bluebird Lake in the Winter.

I had quite an adventure in the park this week, obtaining my only goal for the winter: Bluebird Lake. Here is some music to set the scene. Click play and listen while you read along.

I got up at seven on Saturday, March 17 and was on the road by seven thirty. I arrived at Wild Basin around eight thirty and got my stuff together and started out. I noticed on the drive up that there wasn't much snow still around. In the park that is a different story.
The day was very warm and the mile walk from the winter parking to the main trail head went by pretty quickly. Soon enough I had my winter jacket off and a lighter jacket on, and soon after that only a long sleeved shirt.
Thunder Lake trail was in pretty good shape. Packed snow most of the way up and therefore pretty well delineated through the trees.
Thunder Lake trail.
Cascades in passing.
In fact, it wasn't until I passed Calypso Cascades that I put crampons on. I didn't put my snow shoes on until I hit the intersection for Bluebird Lake trail, which was in much worse shape. Someone had went before me at some point and I was following their broken trail until it stopped, where I presume they turned around and went back. I looked at my surroundings and decided I needed to go up. And I did.
Soon I was on top of the hill and in the 1978 forest fire area that the trail heads through. Without any trees to block the sun or wind, the trail was completely bare and visible in many places.
Copeland as seen from the Bluebird Lake trail.
Trail completely visible. Tanima and Alice in the background.
Here I was able to take off the snowshoes and walk for awhile. That was nice. Once the snow cover started up again, it was pretty difficult to tell where the trail was precisely. I just did my best to think like the trail and figure out where it would be. I guess it worked!
The sign marking the split for Ouzel Lake, buried.
I took this picture to show the effects of wind on the snow. It is hard to tell from the perspective, but the snow here is about ten feet deep.
The entirety of Copeland seen from Bluebird Lake trail.
I was thinking that once I got past the forest fire area and back into some trees, it would be pretty easy to pick the trail up again. No such luck. The next time I 100% knew I was on the trail was only after I got to the lake and got back on the trail to head down. My familiarity with the area helped me out alot here. It is weird to have most visual references gone completely, and to have to rely solely on the surrounding peaks to guide you.
By this time I was approaching afternoon, and the snow conditions were deteriorating rapidly. The nice crust that could support my weight was melting, and I was at times post holing through to mid-shin or deeper. This, along with the lack of a definite trail, slowed my progress enormously. Of course, being off the trail gave me the opportunity to see some neat things, like this floating tree...
Ohh, magic!
More steep snow. After passing the Ouzel Lake junction, you gain around 1000 feet in the next 2ish miles.
This is how most of the afternoon looked. I would look up these steep snowfields, assess the snow pack and curse, rest briefly, and then head up. This was the first time I used my snow shoes on really steep stuff, and they performed admirably. I had my ice axe in hand so I could self arrest in case I did slip and fall, but my feet didn't slip once on the way up or down.
As I got closer to the lake and higher in altitude, the snow firmed up quite a bit, even in full sun.
I stopped for a rest and some food before tackling this slope near the lake.
Oops, got my finger in there. This was taken slightly east of the lake, looking down at the spot of the previous photo.
These pictures don't really capture the scope of it, everything covered in snow and steep snow at that. More than once I found myself thinking 'this is a place where you definitely don't want to fall, because it is a long, long way down'. If you do venture up to some of these higher lakes in snow, an ice axe is a necessary tool. I had it ready in case I fell, and found myself using it to help keep my balance.
I was looking at my surroundings and decided that I was north of the trail proper, and that when I did hit the lake, I was going to be on the north side of the outlet. Soon enough, I was there, and much to my surprise, I was actually south of the trail by maybe 500 feet.
Bluebird Lake!
I walked over to where the trail ends, set my bag down, and took my snow shoes off. Time to take some pictures.
Copeland as seen from Bluebird Lake.
Panorama of the bowl, surrounded by Copeland, Ouzel, and Mahana.
Ouzel Peak seen from the outlet of Bluebird Lake, a picture I have taken every time I have been to the lake.
And yours truly at Bluebird Lake, 10978 feet.
It took my five hours to get here, a bit longer than the three hours or so I remember it being in the summer. I was in better shape then, and didn't have to deal with snow or trail finding. And it was a tiring five hours. Since this lake is en route to some of the higher lakes and peaks in the area, I have been to it a number of times, and usually feel quite chipper when I arrive there. Not today!
After taking in the sights for a little, I had to turn and head back. Here is where the fun started! Since I was wearing snow pants and had my ice axe, I was able to glissade down some of these steep snow fields! Glissading, if you don't know, is basically skiing without skis or sledding without a sled in my case. I would just kneel down, get the tip of my ice axe in, release my weight from the snowshoes, and off I'd go!!! I had one that was so perfect I wish someone was there to see or film it, and I actually ended up on my feet at the bottom of the hill! Like a boss.
Looking back up on the way down.
Chickadee Pond.
A bridge above Calypso Cascades showing two feet or so of packed snow.
I was almost back to the summer trail head when I ran into the first people I saw during the day.
Summer trail head melting.
I got back to the car around 530, giving me a nine hour day. By comparison, I can do this hike in five hours or less in the summer (though of course, that doesn't account for the additional two miles to go to and from the winter parking). One thing that I learned on this hike is to make sure you have sun block! I thought I had some in my bag. It was only when I arrived there that I discovered I didn't. Here is what I looked like that evening.
Pretty red. I am peeling alot today. It is a mistake I won't make again!
Since I have done this hike several times now, I must say the difference in difficulty between summer and winter is enormous. Even during the summer, I would say this is a moderate plus to strenuous hike. Add in an additional two miles of distance, plus some gain, plus a total lack of a trail, plus snow conditions, and you have a very strenuous hike. I was thinking on the way down that this was one of the harder ones I have done.
I would also recommend against doing this hike in the winter if you have not done it before in the summer. There are very few visual clues as to where you are going, and if you don't have a good idea of that, I could see trouble. There are many steep snow fields to complicate things, and a fall down one of these without the tools and knowledge to stop yourself could end in serious injury or death.
That being said, if you are an adventurer and have the skills, tools, and fitness, do this hike!
Bluebird Lake in the Winter:
7.4 miles one way from winter parking, 2478+ foot gain. Strenuous+.
Snowshoes, ice axe, extra water, and sunblock required.