Three days of active meditation in the Cloud Peak Wilderness

You probably know I moved to Boulder, Colorado for a Master's/PhD program in environmental engineering - hydrology and water resources. If you weren't privy to the nitty gritty details, my buddy Dave and I moved all of my stuff August 3-5 using my parents' trailer, and then returned to the Twin Cities after a long day-hike at Chautauqua Park. Afterward, I spent the weekend with my folks in Bayfield, WI seeing folk and blues shows at Big Top Chautauqua, cycling Madeline island, enjoying all-you-can-eat Lake Trout, and foraging for berries (blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries!!!) I needed to drive my Toyota Corolla to Boulder, along with my camping gear and a few miscellaneous items. I didn't want to drive through Nebraska again, so I decided to drive through Wyoming and stop in the Big Horn Mountains! I had hiked the Cloud Peak wilderness with Troop 67 in August 2005 - 10 year anniversary! My buddy from Bozeman was talking about coming along, but I later found out he had to work, so I was a lone wolf! (I think this journey was meant to be solo anyway, sorry mom)

Monday, August 10:
Left Saint Paul, MN around 4AM and arrived in Buffalo, WY around 3PM. Aside from nearly getting mowed down by an old woman who didn't check her blind spot, the drive was pretty uneventful. Highway 16 (AKA the "Cloud Peak skyway") heads right into the mountains outside of Buffalo. I cruised winding mountain roads through thick pine forest, spotting the occasional elk, until the landscape became more rocky near the Gallatin formation, a giant rock spire rising from a jagged ridge carved by the Tensleep creek. The road began to descend steadily and then I noticed a sign "leaving Cloud Peak skyway..." Uh oh - missed my turn! It was fine, only a 10-minute detour through majestic scenery, but I got stuck behind a giant RV going 10mph and just about melted the brakes on the poor Corolla... After much confusion, I found my route, a ~20 mile dirt road punctuated with boulders just waiting to destroy your suspension. Battle Park is mainly a campground for horse folks - apparently they drive their trailers up there for weeks on end and go on trail rides during the day - not a bad life. I met some nice folks at the trail head - a Dad and his two sons - they had too much food so they unloaded some celery and green onions on me. I whipped up a zucchini and celery curry with ginger, green onions, and coconut cream, very cleverly adding much more water than I normally would since the soup would boil, and I needed to consume lots of liquids to facilitate my acclimation (8,000 feet). I knocked out two birds with one stone, sipping the warm broth late into the evening.

The combination of leaving home after a great family trip up north and heading into the mountains solo made for a rough transition. Since I had been living with the folks all summer, it almost felt like I was moving out all over again... My mom sent me off with some tasty blueberry pie - it just about killed me to eat it.

Tuesday, August 11:
I woke up at the crack of dawn and hiked from the Battle Park trailhead to Lake Solitude, where I lunched, rested, and bathed. Of course, as I climbed out of the water I noticed a crew of hikers at the lookout on the other end of the lake, oops! I climbed steep ridges, forded swift streams, and ran into the elusive elk and clumsy grouse. I continued on past Lake Solitude up and along Paint Rock creek and then found myself where I had camped with Troop 67 in 2005, on a sloping boulder-strewn meadow overlooking a wide drainage fed by a cascade. I headed up and around the cascade and found myself a grassy draw on which to pitch my tent - the ideal base camp for Cloud Peak tomorrow. I am very content backpacking through mountains surrounded by rocks, streams, lakes, and forests - the peaceful incline and descent keeps the body moving and the soul alive. I covered many miles before noon and spent the afternoon relaxing at 10,000 feet. Much insight was gained from many friendly trail folks, in groups of 1 to 8, the most common being couple + dog. I was asleep in the tent before the sun finished setting.

Wednesday, August 12:
Today was an insane day - in fact, mothers and the faint of heart should probably skip to the photos. By about 10AM I had climbed Cloud Peak (13,167 feet), which is really just a pile of rocks with a great view. In true adventure fashion, I wanted to make a loop out of my day instead of going out the way I came. So I followed a route that I thought was marked "Primitive trail" on the map - turns out that symbol is actually the county line (very subtle difference, I discovered this fact later in the evening). In addition, I had heard other hikers mention that they were heading to Bomber Mountain and Florence Pass, through which this "path" traveled. From Cloud Peak, I saddled my way over to Bomber Mountain (12,840 feet), where I followed a ridge and then climbed down through Florence Pass. Along the way, I came across the debris from a plane crash - the scene was too eerie to stop and take pictures. Here is the full story for your information - crazy! The terrain wasn't anything I hadn't been doing before - just more barren boulder fields to cross - however, by the end of the day my feet were very tired of rocks. In retrospect, this may have been a foolish decision given that I was solo - I was taking extreme caution with each step, but all the same, a loose boulder could temporarily immobilize me. Anyway, rest assured that I got a lifetime's worth of barren boulder bush-whackin kicks and will not be seeking out similar terrain. That's not to say I won't be back in the mountains soon! I'll just stay on the trail. I hiked a couple more miles from Florence Lake to Misty Moon, ran into some scattered showers, set up the tent quickly and kept everything dry. The sun came out briefly! I stretched out with tree pose, sipped from the LifeStraw®, and snapped some photos. Sounds of thunder up near the peaks - glad I'm not up there!

Thursday, August 13:
I hiked back to the car by about 10AM, headed back to Buffalo, spoke with the friendly ranger, and then made my way down I25 to Boulder, Colorado! I hit some gnarly traffic near Fort Collins (rush hour), ate the obligatory post-wilderness Chipotle, and spent the evening hanging out with the new roommates.

Overall, I think three days of solitude and reflection in the mountains was a great transition into my Boulder experience. My standards for comfort are extremely low, so just about everything is an improvement - bed, espresso maker, running water, crock pot etc. After days in the wilderness, I'm 100% ready to hit the books in a more urban setting (still minutes from the mountain adventures). In other news, I'm all about my LifeStraw®! Obviously it's part of a larger water strategy (including boiling and iodine) - I use it to get my fill when the trail weaves toward a stream, or when I'm camped for the night. It definitely requires a good amount of suction, so if you just had your wisdom teeth removed, seek other options! I didn't experience any altitude-related effects throughout the adventure, so I think it's time for some 14-ers!