(Continued from the previous page.)

TERRAIN CHANGES

So far, the trail has been very shady.

After it climbs above the creek at about 11,000 feet elevation it goes in and out of groves of pine trees and aspens, separated by sunny meadows. Now I had views of the west side of Mount Hope to my left (I've never seen that side) and Twin Peaks and Rinker Peak to my right:

Part of the western flank of Mount Hope

 

The eastern side of Rinker Peak is colorful.

A couple miles from Willis Lake I came to a large rock fall on the side of Twin Peaks:

 

 

 

 

It took me about ten minutes in each direction to cross those rocks. Sometimes I could walk fairly easily on large, flat rocks but other times I had to pick my way carefully over jagged edges.

If I’d had a clue re: the number of rocks on this trail I would have worn my ankle supports. That was the only rock slide I encountered today but the trail remained mostly rocky from there to the lake: 

 

However, even more than the rocks, a bigger obstacle after the rock slide was all the over-growth along the trail in the last two miles. I didn’t have my convertible pants legs zipped on going up, but I put them back on for the descent because my legs (and arms) were getting so scratched up.

I had trouble pushing through and/or getting around some pine trees but the main problem was the willows – numerous large patches of shrubs that were so high, dense, and/or wide that I often couldn’t see where the trail went:

 

Sometimes leaves near the ground obscured my vision and I tripped over roots or rocks I couldn't even see:

 

I just had to forge on through some of the patches because I had no clue where the trail had been before the foliage got so overgrown. I even had trouble finding the trail on the other side a couple times.  

What a mess! This trail obviously isn’t maintained like the Colorado Trail and Continental Divide Trail, which are both located in this general area. 

SUMMER FLOWERS

There were more and more flowers the higher I got and the less dense the shade became -- same as going up to Hope Pass, one gulch to the east. I took these photos in roughly ascending order:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There weren't any masses of flowers in meadows as thick and colorful as those below Hope Pass.

One of the most interesting scenes I passed was this old cabin and another beyond it at about 11,500 feet:

 

 

I reached the end of the pine trees as the trail climbed above the first little lake in the high basin. You can see the treeline in the next photo, which looks back down the trail from farther into the basin:

Low-growing willow shrubs and alpine flowers continue growing to the back of this sunny, enclosed basin at 12,000 feet and above:

Photos continued on the next page:  more views in the basin and going back down the trail 

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