(Continued from the previous page.)

MORE VIEWS FROM THE DESCENT ON THE EAST ELBERT TRAIL

I took about as many photos looking back on my way down the east slope as I took forward and to the sides. I just wanted to confirm that I wouldn't want to ascend that ridge.

These photos are in descending order. You've already seen some others from this trail..

Looking back up:  several people are approaching the summit
(which is out of view to the left) and several are leaving.

Looking east toward the valley and the Mosquito Range

I'm going that-a-way down the east slope . . .

View to the NE ridge and beyond to the Fish Hatchery, Turquoise Lake, and Leadville

Two hikers ascend the east ridge as I go down it.

This trail is generally smoother than the NE one but there are still plenty of rocks.

Looking back up the trail

Some sub-alpine willow shrubs on the approach to the treeline

Back into the trees

Last view of the lakes

FLORA AND FAUNA

I saw a lot more alpine and sub-alpine flowers coming down the east side of the mountain than going up the NE trail.

The eastern face probably gets more sunshine. With the high snowpack during the winter/spring the vegetation certainly got plenty of moisture, too.

 

 

 

 

Note that there are more alpine wildflowers this time of year on the east face of Mt. Massive than Mt. Elbert. Massive's tundra is very wet on that side (Elbert's is much drier) and there are more streams along the way. The only trail I've used on Massive is the one going up from Halfmoon Road where it connects to the Colorado Trail (about half a mile farther down the road from the North Elbert TH.)

I saw lots of little ground squirrels and marmots above treeline on Mt. Elbert today, and some quail. I didn't get photos of them.

URGE TO KILL 

I had only one bad experience today – a kamikaze cyclist on the way down the east slope of the mountain.

The second hiker/runner who passed me near the top on my ascent on the NE slope -- he’s acclimating for a stage run through the Rockies -- walked with me long enough to shake his head about a young male cyclist hauling his bike up the NE approach below us!! The mountain biker's intention is reportedly to try to better his own “speed record” riding down Elbert (which means he's pulled this stunt before).

The runner didn’t know which trail he’d be riding down, but I assumed it’d be the one I was on toward Twin Lakes because the NE trail would be tougher to go back down (I know better than to say "impossible" because some idiot's probably already done it).

I was very surprised about this because I've never, ever seen a cyclist on either the NE or East trail up/down Elbert, only on the Colorado Trail -- but I believed what the runner told me and I appreciated the head's up.

Nice trail, gentle downhill when I first got into the aspens on the
East Elbert Trail but it quickly got more steep and rocky.

All the way down toward Twin Lakes I thought about that guy on the bike but it wasn’t until I’d almost reached the CT when he passed me. It was on one of the steepest sections of loose, rocky trail in the aspens -- kind of like the next photo on the right, below -- where it was much harder to see him coming that it would have been above treeline.

I just happened to be off to the side of the trail inching my way down in the soft dirt so I didn’t slide and fall in the loose stuff. I guess the cyclist saw me around the curve but I didn’t know he was there until he was right beside me (noise of leaves, focus on not losing my footing).

He didn't give me any warning and he had no way of knowing if I'd step back onto the trail in front of him.

He was screaming down that steep, curvy hill full of rocks and roots and he about scared the you-know-what out of me! I was not happy.

     

About 200 feet below me, right at the trail junction, he slid and fell off his bike. When I reached him he was standing up, brushing himself off. Too bad he didn't get hurt.

I asked him how many people he’s run over doing that and he just laughed and said he hadn’t killed anyone yet. I replied, “You think that’s funny? What if I’d been in the middle of the trail? I didn’t hear you until you were right next to me.” (No, I wasn't wearing headphones. I never do.)

He told me he can “stop on a dime” because his bike brakes are better than those on a car.

I looked at him like he’s nuts and said, “Yeah, I see how THAT worked out for you just now” (when he skidded and fell). He was not happy with the terse lecture I proceeded to give him. I did not acknowledge his purpose re: trying to set a PR for his downhill ride; the last thing I wanted to do was to encourage him to do it again.

Before I turned onto the Colorado Trail I asked him which way he was going – my way. I told him to go on, because I did NOT want him to be behind me again.

NO BIKES ALLOWED ON ELBERT!

Although I've seen cyclists riding up and down from the summit of Pike's Peak -- most of the grade is easier there -- this is the first time I've seen a bike on Elbert's trails.

I was in disbelief all the way back to the trailhead, wishing Elbert was in a wilderness like Massive -- bikes aren't allowed in wilderness areas for good reasons. (I won’t even go into the insanity of pushing a mountain bike most of the way up the steep NE approach on Elbert!)

Nor can I believe someone carried a CHAIR to the summit of Elbert today!!

Well, guess what I discovered while doing research for this entry???

According to this Forest Service web page, the South Elbert Trail -- what I've been calling the East Trail -- is in a wilderness area. No bikes are allowed on this trail.

I wish I'd known that when I saw this guy; I would have emphasized that and taken a photo of him for evidence. (I told you I am angry about it, even if it wasn't a wilderness area!)

    

Bikes are allowed on the section of the Colorado Trail (photos above) that I was using today between Halfmoon Road and Twin Lakes.

I've seen cyclists several times on this section of the CT but so far most of the ones I've encountered have been very considerate of other trail users. In addition, this part of the CT doesn’t have grades as steep as those on Elbert and riders can't get up to the high speed I witnessed today when I could have been run over.

Riding downhill, especially illegally and irresponsibly, is a big hazard to any other person (or dog) on that trail. There were at least twenty people ascending Elbert's east ridge when I was coming down today so it's not like this jerk thought he was the only one out there. He just didn't give a damn about anyone else.

Two hikers ascend Elbert on the east ridge as I descend;  Mt. Elbert Forebay
is the lake on the left and one of the Twin Lakes is on the right.

I tried not to let that incident ruin my day but the last five miles were less fun for me. I was still angry and a little paranoid about the cyclist turning around and coming back toward me.

He didn't. Apparently he was doing the Elbert Triangle the same way I was.

SUMMARY

I had just enough water for myself today (124 oz.) and had a great time except for the bike incident. I missed my little four-legged running buddy but I’m glad I didn’t have Cody with me or he might have been run over by that cretin on the bike.

I took over 400 photos and whittled (?) them down to under 300 when editing. As you can see, I used considerable restraint in what I included on these three pages -- only 61 pictures and two maps!  (I know some of you peruse this website primarily for the photos and I want to keep you coming back for more.)

View of Emerald Lake from the CT before I descended to the N. Elbert Trailhead

Jim didn’t enjoy his bike ride from the North Elbert Trailhead back to the camper very much. Halfmoon Road (FR 110) isn’t just annoying to drive in a truck, the "corduroy" is also very bumpy on a bike.

Jim said he’s glad he has front shocks on the Stumpjumper because the "hard tail" in the rear really is hard on a road like that!

He was also inadequately dressed for the cold; it was still in the 40s F. from 7-8 AM when he was riding. Thirteen miles took him just 65 minutes so he had the whole rest of the day to himself. I didn't get back to the camper until about 4 PM.

Next entry:  Where are we?? -- one of the perils of our nomadic lifestyle

Happy trails,

Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil, and Cody the Ultra Lab

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© 2011 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil