Tentative Peak-Bagging Trip next Summer

“I'm not sure how to get from Snowmass to Capitol without a real long hike

start at siberia lake, which is just above little gem lake, and head north by northwest for about 2 miles

its about 2 miles of off-trail trekking, about 5 total (from geneva lake). i thought with the low mileage, we could do it, even if the off-trail part is tough. ive been trying to get info at 14'ers.com, but so far i havent gotten much useful info, except for some camping info at snowmass.

if this is not a feasible plan, we can just go back to the old plan, just replace crestone needle with another peak that can be done in 2 days. maroon fits that bill, and is a class 3, like the needle. any objections to that plan?
last edited: 9/30/07 6:07:00 AM”

“It's your world bro, I'm just livin in it...

hopefully long enough to come home from this trip! LOL!”

“i don't know anything about this area so i am at the mercy of your research, crash. god help me.”

“I like the Maroon/Snowmass/Capitol idea cause there's backpacking involved. So the idea is climb Maroon (not North Maroon) and go over West Maroon Pass to Geneva Lake?

I've always wanted to climb Snowmass from Geneva Lake - sounds gnarly though. I'm just saying don't make plans to travel off-trail in that area unless you know it's an established route. The pass north of Siberia Lake looks doable on the map, but that doesn't mean it is. People on summitpost will know.”

“ive talked to people on 14'ers dot com. going off trail from siberia lake to capitol lake is not a feasible plan for us. it could be a fun dayhike, but stupid and dangerous in full packs.

the new plan is to replace crestone needle with with maroon, everything else stays the same, unless someone has a better idea”

“And the short climb up the Needle on solid knobby granite is a lot easier than the long, steep, crumbling slopes of the Maroons.”

“gotta pack light. part of the challenge”

“Sounds cool. The Sangre de Cristos are a bit out of the way. But I bet you would like Kit Carson Peak as much as the Needle.”

“careful on the maroon bells: its made up of a softer type of rock than most mountains on colorado. just a word of caution is all, dont let it stop you. go for it!”

“All on this trips should grab one of the CO 14er guide books (Roach and Dawson are the classics) and get an idea about what we are in for. 14ers.com and summitpost have some great pictures.”

“I have roach. unfortuneately, its on the other side of the planet right now
last edited: 10/03/07 3:10:12 AM”

“when you get home you will be opening packages for a month.”

“Well, I just bid for my primary vacation in the middle of August. The actual dates are slightly flexible though.”

“...not as dramatic when viewed like this... more like a highway.

”

“red x's are very un-dramatic”

“It was a pic from whiteblaze of Mt. Katahdin where you could see the "Knife Edge" from Pamola Peak. There are two kids (one waving at the camera). I just thought it was funny. It didn't have anything to do with anything.”

“There's a nice little scramble down into and out of the Chimney Notch just past that point.”

“yet again, I'm left scratching my head and saying "what?"”

“careful, at the rate you are going you'll make a bald spot.”

“LMAO!

it's gonna happen anyway eventually. LOL!”

“i dont think the katahdin knife edge looks all that scary. but it would be a lot of work, and an enormous pain in the butt if you were hauling a full pack”

“i think of the knife edge as being like mahoosuc notch, except at the top of a mountain instead of below it. both are a mile long, and take a couple of hours for the typical hiker to negotiate, due to the rugged terrain”

“did you read the somewhat recent issue of backpacker bag on the 14ers? nice maps, writeups, etc. the pics were great.”

“was it the mountains issue?”

“yep. i just read it last night. it as a cool read after having read this trip plan.

the article on that criminal on the AT that got arrested was a pathetic piece of writing... very poorly written and the topic was altogether unremarkable. it was like something you would expect from a high-school student except not as well organized as that.”

“i thought that the guy that the article was about was pretty pathetic. kept claiming to have reformed and found god and all, but it never took much to lure him back into his old ways. telling people that he was "saved" was just another part of his scam”

“pathological liar. these type never regret anything unless they get caught. then they act like they regret everything. in the end the only thing they ever really regret is not their actions but the social ramifications of getting caught. the dangerous ones are those with enough charisma that they can cruise through a kind-hearted culture (like hikers on the AT) and not get spotted for what they are: social jackals in sheep's clothing.”

“Not certain I'll be able to join you for the whole trip, but I can try and meet up for at least a little.

You guys are going to have a great time. :)

At the very least, dinner would be good. ;)”

“Right on! By then you will know all the best beer halls right?”

“All sorts of micro-breweries in the area.

Of course, Roam Around would be much more versed in that area than I. ;) He's lived there much longer than I, after all.”

“Oh man, could I go for a good pint of IPA right now. I would sleep for a week...”

“Ok. Got my vacation set up for the 9th. Just gotta finish some gear purchases and I'll be good to go!

This is screwy. I'm in the middle of filling out my yearly self evaluation, and planning this thing with my boss right over my shoulder. LOL! Ya, I deserve a raise! LOL!”

“alright. let's etch it in stone, then

saturday, august 9 to saturday august 16th

airfares pretty cheap right now. 162 with taxes indy-denver roundtrip”

“Flight reservation
Fri, Aug 8, 2008
Departs 8:50am, Arrives 9:29am
Northwest Airlines 325
Indianapolis, IN to Denver, CO


Sun, Aug 17, 2008
Departs 4:00pm, Arrives 8:25pm
Northwest Airlines 324
Denver, CO to Indianapolis, IN”

“i also reserved an SUV from hertz. comes to $48 per day, and we will be using it for 8 days, or $384 divided by however many people will be riding in it
last edited: 1/11/08 6:33:10 PM”

“i have asked for the time off at work but prolly won't know until next week.”

“Hey Jim! are you still thinking about driving out?”

“i don't think we're going to need more than one group vehicle. roam, doolittle, and i believe precision are only going to be part-timers, so they will be in their own vehicles. the only ones who will be out for the whole week are crash, jim, mg, and toejam. the vehicle i reserved has room for 5. i'd rather cut down costs, and either take jim's truck, or the rental. in other words, if jim drives, and he has enough room, i'll cancel the rental”

“sounds good to me.”

“I know Roam put this out there for you guys and I will too (because I can't remember who I had the conversation with). If anyone needs to borrow a shower or a floor (and I might even have a couch by then!) on either end of the trip, feel free. I can probably also arrange a shuttle if you can't get a flight worked out to Crash's schedule.

It'll give you a little more leeway on the backside of the trip. Or if you wanted to come out a day earlier (definitely don't plan any later than what he posted), I can get you to the airport to meet up with everyone the next day, for acclimation purposes.

Just sayin'.
last edited: 1/12/08 3:27:14 PM”

“hey doo! how much of the trip do you think you'll make? i think roam said he's going to do the saturday and sunday to climb elbert with us. i think you guys should try to do capitol with us. even if you could only get friday off work, you could drive to capitol trailhead after work and hike in the 6 miles to meet us in camp. itll be summer, so daylight hours will be long. you might have to do some night-hiking before you get finished, but it would be SO worth it”

“I was actually thinking about that, Crash. I may be able to take off early on Friday and meet ya'll at Capital Lake. It'd be nice to share a campfire with you, if only for a night. :)

It probably won't be dark until around 9, so I'll have plenty of daylight to get in the 6 miles. :)”

“take off early thursday, skip work and climb capitol with us friday”

“Perhaps I'll even hike in with ya'll on Sat and spend the night before you climb Elbert.

I will probably hike out on Sunday morning after ya'll are gone (assuming you make an early start up Elbert).

I intend on getting out as much as possible this summer.”

“theres no hike-in for elbert. we'll be car-camping. so you could easily climb elbert with us and be home for your sunday night knitting circle
last edited: 1/12/08 3:55:52 PM”

“Perhaps. I'd love to. But I need to see how my PTO works out. Sick time goes against my vacation. :p”

“

climb capitol with us, doo and roam! itll be EPIC!”

“LOL!

You're such a dork. :p

Okay, then I'll plan on attempting Elbert with ya'll.”

“He looks like he has a wedgie. :p”