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Start Time: 9:45AM
Summit Time: 1:30PM
End Time: 4:30PM
Who: Just me
I left Boulder at around 4AM. A little after 5AM I got over Kenosha and discovered to my chagrin that 285 was closed due to a jackknifed trailer truck. Winds were insane all morning throughout the day and there was a little glaze of ice over the HW too. Watched the sun rise sitting in traffic with my car rocking in the wind.
By 7AM I was finally nearing BV when a damn deer ran right out in front of me. I swerved and braked and skid, but the bastard still broke my windshield and dented up my passenger-side frontend. Guess she (doe) probably got the worse end of the deal though...
At least the car was still driving OK.
I was thrilled.
BTW, they say access to N. Cottonwood TH requires 4WD. Not so! I brought my mountain bike, only to discover that I didn‘t need it. About 2 miles up Chaffee County 350 you hit a pretty nasty section. I saw someone bottom out on this just a few weeks ago when we did Harvard. You can avoid this section with some careful maneuvering through the private roads to the north (I got the tip from some locals watching me struggle to avoid as much biking as possible). Head back down the road and go north as soon as you can. Go north a few minutes, then turn west when you can and follow the roads "uphill". I think the road might be "Main Range Trail". There are a dizzying number of intersections. if you stumble across "Creek Run" you‘ve found the way. It skirts all the bad parts of Chaffee County 350 and drops you just before Silver Creek TH. I made it the rest of the way just fine in my Focus. Thanks to those nice folks that pointed me in that direction! Sorry for not posting better directions. I got lost on my way in and on my way out trying to navigate all the intersections. Be warned! It might be faster to park and walk up
By now I was damn determined to get this peak. 5 hours after heading out from home and I‘m just now on my feet...
Quite a bit of snow on the trail this morning.
Columbia!
The slopes of Columbia were just as bad as advertised.
Trekking poles were key! I‘ve been carrying mine on my back the last few weeks and I‘d almost forgotten why I bring‘em.
Got some great views of Bear Lake and Harvard today.
And got some great practice punting marmot!
Looks nice and warm, doesn‘t it? The wind didn‘t come out too well in these pictures somehow...
Can‘t complain about the bluebird though.
Victory!
Harvard
Belford & Oxford
Yale
Time to go down... I descended that talus/scree field like a lead balloon. Trekking poles - once again. I actually kind of enjoyed skating and skiing my way down. Only took a nose dive once...
I was amazed how warm it was back at treeline when I got down. All the snow was gone and it felt like August again all of a sudden. Strange how September varies.
It was well worth it!
Estimate to undo the deer damage is $2900 (covered though)
To top things off 285 was closed again on the way home for a different accident! Had to cut up HW9 through Breck to get back to Boulder.
All in all - 17 hours from my doorstep and back again.
What a day!
PS Thanks to those that reminded me that it is in fact a crime to miss out on a 14er for one weekend. If I hadn‘t listened, I‘d have spent the whole day on the couch watching TV with an undented car sitting in the garage with an uncracked windshield.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
Okay so can we stop being mean to the animals? Sorry about your car, but don't blame the deer and I hope you were kidding about punting Marmot- I love those guys! Nevertheless you wrote a good report.
I swear I meant no personal offense to the deer when I hit it - just sorta happened. Don't worry I didn't punt the marmot either - I went for a field goal...
This year the only other solo trip I've done was Shavano/Tabeguache. Both trips where I was solo I felt pretty comfortable on my own. There were others on the trail FWIW.
Glad to hear that you pressed on despite that deer trying to stymie your plans. Those deer think they rule the world. I hope at least you were able to get a nice cut of meat for your troubles.
I did this peak solo a few weeks ago as well, but ran into a bit of weather. I dont' think I captured the wind very well either.
Yikes, that hail looks like trouble from your trip, Patinator.
No cuts from the deer (she was alive), but I did eat a burger later that day...
I thought Columbia was an OK day out. I sorta wanted to do the traverse over to Harvard, but didn't feel the need since I got Harvard recently. The talus/scree wasn't all that enjoyable either...
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