Photos:
http://www5.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2598439007/a=38054161/
Friday 10/30:
We had gotten hit by a big snowstorm on Wednesday, and it was still snowing. We were joining Paul for a Haunted Cabin trip for my birthday. We met up with the group, drove to the Hessie Trailhead, and suited up. The wind was rocking, as it usually is up there. It was very icy, with huge snow drifts. We started hiking towards the cabin through the deep snow. Some folks weren't as experienced, so we were helping them along. It's only a couple of miles to the cabin, so it didn't take too long to get there.
At the cabin, we shared food, drinks, tales of adventures, and ghost stories. Many folks stayed in the cabin that night; but since Jen and I were staying out longer than the others; we set up our tent outside. Mark and Adrianna did the same. It was a fun night, and very beautiful.
Saturday 10/31:
We got together with the cabin folks and made breakfast. Some folks packed up and headed out. I had loaned my hiking poles to one of the people, and found out that a section of the pole was missing. She had already left; and hadn't even told me. I was bummed, as I brought those so I could use them in the deep snow. Oh well, grin and bear it. We packed up our camp, and talked to the people remaining. Most were still heading back, but Mark, Laura and Adrianna were going to head up to Lost Lake. Jen and I talked about it, and we decided to join them (we had been keeping our plans pretty flexible.)
The five of us hiked through the deep snow up to Lost Lake, which was not as windy as it usually is. A pleasant surprise and a very nice day! We shared food and drink at the lake, and then all headed back down. Jen and I broke off at the King Lake trail, and made our way over to the Woodland Lake trail. The trail to Lost Lake had seen some use; but we were still using snowshoes. The King Lake trail saw less use; and the Woodland Lake trail was pristine. We had to break trail, and at spots, try to figure out where the trail went. At one spot, we wandered up and down a hill, back into a valley, a bit farther, then back up the hill farther, then back into the valley. We finally found the trail on the other side of the valley. I joked that we were breaking the Drunken Monkey trail.
We made it past the intersection with the Devil's Thumb trail, but Jen was getting tired; so we came back to the Woodland trail and set up camp there in a great spot we had seen. We relaxed for the rest of the day, had a nice warm dinner, chatted, and watched the sunset. I played with my camera, taking some long exposure shots and lighting up the trees with my headlamp. (See 20091031D1-81)
Sunday 11/1:
Jen and I packed up camp, and started heading out. We saw some other tracks that had stopped at our drunken monkey episode. Funny; that mistake likely gave us our solitude yesterday. We continued on and the King Lake trail had seen more travel; as did the Lost Lake trail. The Lost Lake trail was now packed down enough where we took off our snowshoes. Down past the cabin, it was wild how much snow had melted; and was still melting. One whole section of the trail was walking through a river; where just two days ago we were walking on over a foot of snow! When we got back to Boulder, most of the snow was already gone. Wild!
Hope you enjoy the
pics!
A.J.
Photos: http://www5.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2598439007/a=38054161/
Group Room (multiple albums): http://ajoutdoors.snapfish.com/snapfish