Stardate 2019.022

Cambria Bluffs

2018... The Good The Bad And The Now What?
Lizardly greetings!

The Good...
A very brief 2018 summary follows. I wish I could blame the lack of blog posts on traveling the globe, but I can't. Now that I'm semi-retired — as of 11 days ago — I hope to do a better job posting. I certainly need the writing and grammar practice.

Off we go! January 2018 started with a lack of snow, allowing for mountain biking Front Range trails well into early winter.

Post fall rut and everyone was back to being friends.

April deposited us in California for a wedding. We visited two of our favorite coastal towns — Morro Bay and Cambria. Much of the coastal California Lupine was 3 feet in height, much taller than back in Colorado.


Cambria


Cambria


Mom eventually got junior out of the water.


Morro Rock dominates the view from the southern end of the bay.


Northern half of Morro Bay marina


Mid-July took us to 14,150-foot Mount Sneffels, my favorite 14er.

The Bad...
After a miserable summer progressing in body tremors and the "need" to crawl out of my own skin, I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in early fall. A decent med coupled with my long-time existing, and active, lifestyle has brought me back to life, and I hope to chronicle "things" a bit via this blog.

September and available food-nuts brought out foraging bruins.


The boys are back in town and waiting for the girls to arrive...


Mountain snow arrived in October. Lower elevation mountain biking was sublime well into December.


An eerie harbinger of what came in November.

The Now What?
Take out Parkinson's Disease with extreme prejudice. I will make a great Parkinson's enemy!

Thanks for reading! I wish you all cheery and exciting 2019!

Adios

Stardate 2018.710

29 August 2018
Do I Have Enough Derailleur For Life's New Gearing? Why Yes, I Do!

Mid-afternoon August 29th, my life changed course forever—I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. Things could have been much, much worse!! As such, I'll continue living out a good life. Things will just be slower. My days of aggressive cycling and mountain climbing are most likely on the decline.

Take note, Parkinson's, I make a good enemy! I'll post more on my new "adventure" as I learn and experience more. Fall colors are appearing; how ironic. Stay tuned!



13,809 ft Dallas Peak

Wow, it's been almost a year since I last posted. I'll try to change that. I need to get back into writing anyway. Snowcatcher and I didn't get into the high country this year as much as we usually do. Nonetheless following are some July pics from the north San Juan Mountains.



L to R: 13,819 ft Teakettle Mountain, 13,686 ft Cirque Mountain, and 14,150 ft Mount Sneffels

The East Fork Dallas Creek is a jewel. However, the area has been discovered and can be quite busy. Pre-1990 only 2 or 3 impromptu parking spots were available. Room via forest clearing has been created for at least 50 vehicles.


Three climbers enjoying the summit of Mount Sneffels before weather moved in.

I've summited Mount Sneffels on several outings. I've climbed the standard southern route as well as the deeply inset Snake Couloir snow route on the north face.



An old zig-zag sheep fence along East Dallas Creek brings in some southwest nostalgia.

Later gator!

Adios

Stardate 2016.699

Teakettle before it lost its spout (July 1993).



Tea Time
Once again I’ve a bit of summit fever today. I'm not sure why. The good weather riding and mountaineering season edges up the difficulty stick over the next several months. Often, as difficulty increases, so does the fun meter. Maybe my subconscious is trying to tell me something. Who knows! Nonetheless, while perusing old photos and trip reports, I started reminiscing about a favorite summit, an itty bitty summit that comfortably allows only two climbers. That alone warrants a cup of fine tea.

Teakettle Mountain sports an elevation of 13,819 feet, ranking 98th in elevation in Colorado. Peaks on the 100-highest list are known as Centennials. Teakettle holds the number two altitude slot in the Sneffels Range, an east/west sub-range of the northern San Juan Mountains. If you have traveled Colorado's Highway 62, Teakettle is one of the numerous points serrating the sky in the rugged row of summits shadowing the highway between Ridgway (no e in this Ridgway) and Dallas Divide.


Teakettle (left) and Potosi Peak (13,786 ft) touching the sky in June 1993.

The igneous rock in this region provides a glimpse into the Lower to Middle Tertiary Periods, dating 20 to 70 million years ago. The prehistoric volcanic activity was widespread and violent. From many vantage points, Teakettle is aptly named. However, during the 1998-1999 winter, the spout fell off. Teakettle is one of several Centennials that are technical by their easiest route.


Teakettle's airy summit; Potosi provides the backdrop.

Tidbit: The monarch of the area is 14,150-foot Mount Sneffels, probably my favorite 14er to climb, especially the deeply inset snake couloir poised on the north face. The name Sneffels originates from the Jules Verne classic Journey to the Center of the Earth. In 1874, while crossing Blue Lakes Basin, directly below Mount Sneffel’s southwest face, a member of the Hayden Survey compared the high basin with the hole in the earth in Verne’s classic. Dr. Frederick Endlich, a scientist with the survey, exclaimed, “There’s Snaefell,” in regards to the Icelandic mountain located in the vicinity of the hole (Bueler, 1986). Having spent numerous days in Blue Lakes Basin, I can vouch that not only is it a delightful hole, but arguably harbors one of the finest wildflower displays in the state. It’s a magical place to lie and watch peaks and clouds spar with each other.


Majestic Mount Sneffels (left) rises above Blue Lakes Basin in fall.

Teakettle was first climbed in 1929 by Rolfe and Alonzo Hartman. Yet, by the mid-1970s, Teakettle was one of the few peaks with only several pages of names in its summit register. In fact, its neighbor Dallas Peak (13,809 ft, rank 100), did not entertain a third ascent until 1976 (Bueler, 1986). I didn’t find the technical portion to be difficult; it’s a short one-pitch hop onto a tiny summit — a tiny 3- by 7-foot summit. The overall climb consumes time; the rotten volcanic rock covering very steep slopes can be tedious at best. Hence, a serious undertaking from a weather and potential rockfall standpoint; there are no easy bail points. We were blessed with a blue bird day.


Todd, my climbing cohort, gives some context to Teakettle's handle hole.


Until we meet again...

Adios

Literature Cited
Bueler, William M. 1986. Roof of the Rockies: A history of Colorado mountaineering.
Cordillera Press, Inc. 251 pp.

Stardate 2016.375

The Sangre de Cristo Range

The Last Of Our Trip
This is the last post for my California trip. From the canyons of southeast Utah, we flew northwest across southwestern Colorado and its finest mountain range — the San Juan Mountains. In the pic below, Lone Cone (12,614 feet) welcomed us back to Colorado. Lone Cone is the western-most major peak in the San Juan Range. It's also Colorado's western-most 12,000-foot mountain.



Southwest Colorado's sprawling San Juan Mountains reach for the sky. There are even more peaks to the left and more peaks to the right. The ski runs of Telluride may be seen in the lower right.



The summit of 14,150-foot Mount Sneffels (rank #27) is my favorite 14,000-foot peak in Colorado. The peak is almost dead-center in the following pic. The band of snow running off its summit is the upper portion of the Snake Couloir, one of the state's finest snow climbs. The section is hidden from view. I climbed the Snake many, many moons ago and should go climb it again. Here's a link to my Sneffels blog post.




Western Colorado's Ridgway Reservoir (no e in Ridgway) will soon be collecting lots of runoff.




We like to road cycle the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River area. The north rim road is visible.




Blue Mesa Reservoir also is gearing up for the spring runoff.




Here's the southern end of the Sawatch Range.



This is the northern terminus for the Sangre de Cristo Range. It's hard to tell here, but the Sangre de Cristo Range runs south all the way to Santa Fe, New Mexico.



A landmark of the Front Range, Pikes Peak towers to 14,110 feet (rank #30). The peak was named after Zebulon Pike of the Pike Expedition in 1806. In 1893 Katharine Lee Bates wrote America the Beautiful after a visit to the summit and taking in the view.




The great plains of America meet the suburban sprawl of the Front Range.




Parting shot: A race to land.




Thanks for reading!

Adios

Stardate 2015.627

Yankee Boy Basin

Day Three of our wildflower fest found us in four-wheel drive wrou, wrou, wrouing up to phenomenal Yankee Boy Basin. The only downfall: it's a very busy basin full of 4x4s crawling toward thinner atmosphere. Words don't really describe the flowers here. This is one of the few alpine regions capable of giving the wildflowers of the Crested Butte area a run for their money. When Yankee Boy Basin flowers are at peak, it's amazing. We hit it very close to peak

The alpine tundra and sentinel peaks are not bad on the eyes either. I think the San Juan Mountains are Colorado's finest alpine peaks; Yankee Boy Basin touches only a tip of them. Enjoy the pics.

The scenery kicks into high gear in lower Yankee Boy Basin.



As we inched up the mountain side, views began to open up. In the far upper left, the summit block of Mount Sneffels (14,150 ft, rank #27) is just visible. The peak in the upper left is Kismet (13,694 ft, no rank). The upper right peak is Cirque Mountain (13,686 ft, rank #155). Cirque actually has two summits. Note: Kismet is not ranked because its connecting saddle with Mount Sneffels has less than 300-foot drop in elevation. Kismet has what is known as a soft rank.



Larkspur
Delphinium nelsonii
Crowfoot family



Rock Groundsel (I think)
Packera werneriifolia
Aster family



During the late 1800s, some regions of the San Juan Mountains underwent a fair amount of mining. Access into the many areas is the result of mining. However, the mountain range is vast, and much of the San Juans remain primitive, especially the South San Juan Mountains.



Clouds swirling about Kismet predicted afternoon monsoonal rain.



The high saddle between Teakettle Mountain (13,819 ft, rank #98) and Potosi Peak (13,786 ft, rank #113) is more difficult to reach than it looks. The rock up high is loose and often resting at the angle of repose. However, sometimes the rock is worth the care required to navigate. Teakettle is one of the finer alpine climbs I've done. Its coffee table-sized summit was a hoot.



The following pics are from previous trips and used to present Teakettle Mountain and Potosi Peak. The spout succumbed to gravity and snow during the 1998/1999 winter. The second picture is of the tiny summit.





Upper Yankee Boy Basin is home to 13,694-foot Gilpin Peak (rank #149). Crossing the saddle between Gilpin and Sneffels will deposit you into the spectacular Blue Lakes Basin.



Potosi Peak touches the clouds at 13,786 feet (rank #113).




More Yankee Boy to come. Check back.

Adios

Stardate 2015.616

Snaefell – More or Less

Day Two of our wildflower trip found us in the Mount Sneffels area, high up East Fork Dallas Creek at the Trailhead for Blue Lakes and Blaine Basin, both potential staging areas for a climb of Mount Sneffels from the north. The standard route is on the south side. Normally, we ascend to Blue Lakes. However, we chose Blaine Basin this time around because I had not visited it for a while. I hadn't been in Blaine Basin since May 1994, when I climbed Sneffels via the Snake Couloir route. Everything was still snowbound at that time.

In the background, 14,150-foot Mount Sneffels (state rank #27) plays hide-and-seek with the cameraman.



We're in the middle of the monsoon season in Colorado. The southwest mountains are especially affected by the monsoonal flow. In a nutshell, lots of water and thunderstorm activity. As a result, we stayed below treeline. Despite the wet, we did get some moody photographs. I hope you enjoy!

The red "berry" actually is a non-evasive gall. Inside the gall resides a mite or a wasp, I'm not sure which in this case.



Colorado's state tree is the Blue Spruce. They are very blue this year.




Golden Aster
Heterotheca fulcrata
Aster family



13,041-foot Walcott Mountain played with a silent, mystical mist throughout most of the day.




Alpine Groundsel
Ligularia amplectens
Aster family


Help! Do you know what this bad boy is? I think it's a saxifrage of some sort.




Geranium
Geranium richardsonii
Geranium family




Bedstraw
Galium septentrionale
Madder family




Dusky Beardtongue
Penstemon whippleanus
Figwort family




Mountain Bluebell
Mertensia franciscana
Borage family




Nodding Ragwort
Senecio bigelovii
Sunflower family



A bridge now exists. However, there was a time when crossing East Fork Dallas Creek could be a task during spring flows.




Monkshood
Aconitum columbianum
Hellebore family



A monastery of monkshood waves in the background. Monkshood is one of my favorite flowers. They can be quite thick (hence my monastery label) and reach heights of six feet of better.



Mount Sneffels is in there somewhere. Mount Sneffels, along with a handful of adjacent peaks over 13,500 feet in elevation, can create its own weather.



Thanks for visiting. Our next stop is Yankee Boy Basin; a high, flower-smothered gem on the other side of Mount Sneffels. Stay tuned.

Adios