Saddle between St. Vrain and Meadow Mountains , 10-18-2010

It was a fairly straight forward hike to the saddle at 11,000 feet. This is a very nice trail. It only had patches of ice and a light dusting of snow. Unfortunately there were no waterfalls or water features along the way (except of the snow kind).

Again, I had something following me in the rocks and timber to the side of the path. Probably a clan of ground squirrels related to the bunch living near Pawnee Pass. They must have some kind of telegraph or satellite that let’s they pass messages that Jeff is around. ;-)

I took out my trekking pole in the event they decided to ambush me for my apple granola bars or my Sasquatch Beef Stick I brought for snacks. I’d give up the bars without a fight. But I’d get in a tussle for the beef stick.

I came upon some bobcat tracks. Looks like the kitty was following one of the ground squirrels. From the condition of the tracks it was pretty recent; missed the cat by an hour or two at the most.

I had to break trail about ten times or so due to the snowdrifts along the way. I wasn’t sure if my hikers were water repellent enough to stay dry. They got damp and cold but not soaked. And they dried out pretty fast that afternoon.

At the saddle I ran into my first snow field of the season. It was up to my calves and I didn’t want to scramble in this up to the top of the mountain. It was too risky for me being alone to attempt the climb either peak in the ice and snow.

On the way down I met a man in shorts with his dog climbing up the trail. He seemed pretty enthused, asked about the saddle, and said, “Far out man.” You get to meet all kinds of interesting people out on the trails.

Pretty much a hike up and down. It was nice to have an uneventful trip. Wish I could have made it up one of the peaks, but they’ll be there for me to try later. Better safe than sorry. Although one must always be vigilant for the hidden hoards or maybe a couple of critters that want your lunch.