Route Description: 8/13/01 (13 miles) Dad dropped me off at an unmarked road in the National
Park a few miles north of Grand Lake. Let me me mention here a huge thanks to Mom and Dad
for giving my thumb a rest and giving me rides and meeting me for resupply here and there
(especially enjoyed the home-grown Fort Collins garden veggies!) Headed west up the Bowen Gulch
Trail
then south to Bowen Lake. Then north over Cascade Mountain. Continuing along the ridge I
paused on an unnamed summit for a photo of clouds brewing over the range. Static electricity
began to crackle off of my camera's body! I ran down a talus slope all the way to the trees! As I
took my pack off and sat down in a light drizzle, thunder echoed from just over the ridge!
Continued on north over Bowen Pass and Fairview Mountain to Parika Lake to Camp. 8/14/01 (6
miles) The rain began last night and didn't look like it would let up. It did anything but.
Abandoned plans to hike the ridgeline over Mounts Cumulus, Numbus, Cirrus,
and Stratus (appropriate weather, I guess!). Hiked all morning in wind and rain along the Never
Summer Trail to a small lake in the Silver Creek Basin for camp. Ate and napped and even
stretched out in a half hour interlude of sunshine, then more rain. 8/15/01 (7 miles)
Partial clearing after a good soaking! Hiked east over Mount Cirrus on slippery, wet boulders.
Down to Lake of the Clouds and on to the Grand Ditch (all of the water in the creeks on the east
side of the range is diverted to the east side of the Continental Divide over La Poudre Pass via
the ditch!) Moseyed north along the ditch watching for trout to a trail over Thunder Pass. Down
to the American Lakes to camp. Met three young chaps from Ft. Collins. Pooled our resources and
talents for a entertaining evening. Watched the sun set on a towering thunderhead (which doused
us after we'd gone to bed!) 8/16/01 (5 miles) Woke up early to unsettled weather. Hoped to
hike some peaks, but my adrenal glands didn't feel up to being tested on the ridge lines.
Bailed north down the Michigan Ditch (same concept as the Grand Ditch only on the north side of
the range) to Cameron Pass. The weather cleared and I dried out my stuff at the picnic area,
awaiting resupply courtesy John W. Yule (Dad). Restocked and repacked inside mom's subaru
during intermittent rain. Made a break for it after what turned out to be the last wave of rain!
An omen for the upcomming Medicine Bow tour. Hiked north over the Diamond Peaks to Montgomery
Pass to camp. 8/17/01 (9 miles) Hiked north up the crest of the Medicine Bow Range over
rolling, grassy peaks in brilliant morning sunshine (I'd forgotten what it was like). Scared off
a couple of herds of elk, 50 and 100 animals apiece. Summited the crest of the range, Clark
Peak (12,951'), jogged west then continued north to an impassable stretch of ridgeline above
Kelly Lake. Down to Kelly Lake to camp. 8/18/01 (7 miles) North and back up to the
ridgeline. Another stellar day! Put on sunscreen for the first time since... North over the
Rawah Pyramid for some of the most interesting and challenging scrambling and route finding so
far this summer. Retraced my steps many times before finding a route I could shimmy down with
my pack on. Passed a group of Outward Bounders about to head up the Pyramid, then headed on to
South and North Rawaw Peaks. Fantastic scramble over the ridge looking west to the majestic
ranches of North Park and east down vertical slabs to ice fields and alpine lakes. Reached
camp at Iceberg Lake. 8/19/01 (11 miles) Back up to the ridgeline and north along the
Medicine Bow Trail. Lonely and desolate hike near treeline to Ute Pass and then down to
Shipman Park to camp. 8/20/01 (10 miles) South out of Shipman Park to Ute Pass. South east
on the McIntyre Trail, then northeast to Glendevy. Five minutes after I stepped out of the woods,
Mom and Dad rolled up in "Ru" (the Subi). What timing! A stop to check out the lodge, a burger
at Woods Landing, and a scenic and rainy ride through Laramie, Wyoming back to Ft. Collins.
8/21/01 (6 miles) Wasn't satisfied with my Never Summer tour and had a couple of days before
the Gore Canyon festivities so I headed back up to Cameron Pass. Hiked east and then south over
Iron, Thunder, and Lulu Mountains in unsettled weather to the American Lakes to camp. Napped all
afternoon in clearing weather, thinking perhaps I should be hiking. Beautiful, starry night!
8/22/01 (8 miles) Up the northeast knife ridge of Static Peak (luckily no static for me!) and
on to Mount Richthofen (12,951), the highest point in the Never Summer Range. Then further south
to Teepee Mountain for some exciting scrambling. Back over Richthofen, down its southeast
shoulder, north through Box Canyon Basin and over a pass back to American Lakes. Out to Cameron
Pass along the Michigan Ditch (watch out for moose!).
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