Restless Adventurer

27 - 28 Jun: Lost Creek Wilderness and Bison Peak (12431 ft / 3789 m)

This weekend I wanted to do some backpacking so I headed to an old favorite: Lost Creek Wilderness. It was somewhat last minute as I like to shop around for the best looking weather up to Friday night/Saturday morning. I longed for some woodsie backpacking and chose the Lost Park Trailhead. The plan was to hike up the valley through trees and meadows to Bison Pass and spend the night. The next day would depend on the weather but both Bison Peak and McCurdy Peak are nearby.

As you can see from the title of this post I visited the summit of Bison. I had seen pictures but they didn't really capture the fantastic rock formations or how vast the tundra area was. The photo is taken towards the summit although it might not be visible. I think it is just behind some of those rocks in the distance. No scrabling to this summit. It was a grassy walk.

21 Jun: Rocky Mountain National Park

This weekend I headed to Rocky Mountain National Park for some hiking. Unfortunately the place was packed. I didn't realize that it was Fee Free Day so it was a mad house. The trailhead I was headed to was full up so I decided to look for something else, but once I got deep into the park I was so put off by the crowds I decided to do a little recon from the car and check out the snow conditions on some future hikes and climbs. This means I finally did the Scenic Byway loop from Estes Park to Grand Lake and back to Denver. I made sure to stop of at Grand Lake Brewing Company while I was in town and pick up a growler of Plaid Bastard Scotch Ale.

The photo was taken from Horseshoe Park and shows the future destination hike of Mount Chapin (12,454 ft), Mount Chiquita (13,069 ft), and Ypsilon Mountain (13,514 ft). I'm waiting for Old Fall River Road to open and then I'll hike them from the high pass. I scoped the ridge out during the drive. I won't need snow gear so that makes things easier. Let's just hope I can make it down before the afternoon thunderstorms roll in.

10 - 14 Jun : TENTSURF 2009, First Annual North American CS Camp Out

I attended Couchsurfing's First Annual North American CS Camp Out, nicknamed TENTSURF 2009. It was near Fairplay which is 64 miles SW of Denver. It's a four day event hosted at American Safari Ranch. There was lots of partying but the turnout was only about 150 people out of almost 600 possible. That was disappointing but it didn't stop the good times. The event started on Wednesday the 10th for the small group of early arrivals, but like me most arrived Friday. That's my new screen tent to the right. (Super Clearance item at Walmart!) Go big or go home.

Besides meeting a bunch of people and partying, the CSer wedding was amusing and I went horseback riding on Saturday. Before I left the area Sunday I made a trip over to South Park City which is an open air early settler museum. I've driven by it a number of times and I'm glad that I finally had a chance to check it out.

Next year Tentsurf will be in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico, a place I road tripped a few years back.

7 Jun: Little Scraggy Peak

I guess I was still sleep deprived because I slapped off the alarm this morning and didn't get out of bed until after 10. I shopped around for somewhere with good weather and didn't have to look far. Little Scraggy Peak is a "9er" in Pike National Forest about 50 minutes away. I've been to that area before but not for several years. I could drive to a NF campground right below the mountain but there aren't any trails so it was a fun and steep navigation exercise. After a thousand feet the mountain flattens out. The summit was a pointy little crag with a really cool ramp to walk up. The photo shows the summit from another little lump of rocks. It looks like a vertical cliff but it can be walked up straight to the top.

Just like I did in my Three Sisters video last month, you can share the triumph of reaching the summit in my Little Scraggy summit video. :)