Goal 56 - Whitewater rafting.

Our day off from slogging up the mountains was far from relaxing. After a great night's sleep at the Days Inn, and a fine breakfast we were on our way to Raven Rafting at the head of Royal Gorge on the Arkansas River, where we met Diane, Val's cousin, who would be our fifth rafting team member for the day.

We were geared up, some of us opting for wetsuits, other tougher locals happy to simply wear shorts and t-shirts. I went for the warmer wetsuit option! A short minibus ride took us to our start point, and we launched pretty quickly, our guide Carrie happy to give us our instructions and safety talk once we got moving.



The first rapids were pretty shallow, and we scraped and bumped down them, and started to get our paddling teamwork together. We had arrived pretty much at the end of the rafting season, and the river was low, the flow being about 280 cfs (cubic feet per second). In June, when the river flow is at it highest, the flow can be over 3,000 cfs! However, the lower levels would make the trip quite technical, and would mean we would actually have to do alot more paddling to make our way through.

As the walls of the gorge narrowed and we entered the canyon the rapids got bigger, and we started to drop into some more exciting, tricky sections. At one point we got well and truly stuck, and Carrie later told me that I needed write in the blog for anyone familiar with the river that we were left at Bird Drop (oops!) in Sledgehammer Rapid! I guess we weren't meant to go that way! It certainly took some teamwork to get us out again.



The scenery was very spectacular, and the steep sided canyon had all sorts of interesting and unusual features. A railway ran through the gorge, and the train passed by a couple of times, filled with waving tourists. There were remnants a water pipe that used to run along just above the river, from a past era of mining here, now just a skeletal framework. There was a steep cog railway up out of the gorge, a rollercoaster that hung out high above us over the steep cliffs, and the highest suspension bridge I have ever seen!

Halfway down the river there was an opportunity to get out of the rafts and do some jumping off the cliffs, which was fun. Well done to Diane, who pushed herself to make the jump, and did so in fine style.



After a couple of final exciting rapids we began the easier final approach into Canon City, and I got to have a go at steering the raft, and calling out the instructions for the rest of the crew, which was fun, although I don't feel I was quite awarded the same amount of respect that our guide Carrie was!

What a fantastic trip, thanks again to Val for organising things, to Tim, Eric and Diane for joining in too, and of course, to Carrie, our wonderful guide, and the rest of the staff at Raven Rafting.



That night we made our way back up into the mountains, up a 4WD track out of Westcliffe, that, believe it or not, made the previous tracks look relatively smooth. We found a fantastic campsite just below Colony Lakes, and made a campfire. I made the most of a couple of hours of down-time to try to catch up on writing about the previous days' adventures, which seemed to amuse the others. I admit it must look unusual to be sat in the middle of the wilderness with a computer perched on a log, but it's been a busy week, and you have to fit blog-writing in whenever possible!

7 Peaks - day 5.

Once again the keen local boys were up before I was, and once again I had to force myself out of my warm sleeping bag. The flatbed of the pick-up had been surprisingly comfortable, and it had been a clear, dry night.

The early morning routine was becoming quite familiar, as people wandered around eating breakfast and packing bags for the day. When everyone was ready we made the mercifully short trip over the now unsurprisingly rough approach road to the trailhead, and were ready for departure at 7am.

On the early stages of the trail we bumped into the final additions to the day's climbing contingent, when we met Bruce and friends, Jerry, Kevin and Tim. The planned route to the summit of Wetterhorn Peak, at 14,015', was longer than yesterday's climb, and involved more vertical height gain too, so day by day things are getting tougher.

However, again I was feeling pretty good, and hoped that I would fare as well as yesterday, when I had had no real ill-effects from the altitude, other than the expected breathlessness.

Eventually the winding trail led to the saddle, and the climb became steeper, and just below the spectacular summit, the climbing became even more challenging and exposed. It was a great route, and again we were lucky at the summit to have some awesome views, as we were just below cloud base. The weather was closing in a bit though, and we had a brief flurry of snow on the summit before heading down again.




It was a long trek back down, but we maintained a good pace, except when we came across a couple of marmots sunning themselves on the rocks, reluctant to get out of our way. I had only seen smaller ones before, and had no idea that they grew so big. They are quite funny, squeeking as walkers go past, and dashing about without much fear of climbers. Eventually we made it back to the vehicles just inside the planned six hours.



Lunch was at the sleepy little town of Lake City, in the fascinatingly named Packer Saloon and Cannibal Grill. Read the story of Alfred Packer here - it is quite a tale:-
Alfred "Alferd" Packer, The Cannibal of Lake City, Colorado

Many of the large group we had gathered over the course of the weekend said their goodbyes, and finally we were left with the core group again of the four of us.

From Lake City we drove through Gunnison, and on into Salida, where it was raining by the time we arrived. Without too much discussion, it was agreed that a comfy room at the Days Inn was much preferable to a wet night at the campsite.

Another fantastic and challenging day in the mountains. Six summits in five days! Tomorrow is a planned rest day, although we are not planning on taking things too easy, as we are booked for a whitewater rafting trip first thing in the morning!

More on today's mountain here:
Wetterhorn Peak

7 peaks - day 4.

5.30am seemed to come very quickly, and I was very comfortable in my sleeping bag, but it sounded like many of the others were up and about, so I dragged myself out of bed. It was still dark, and the sky was incredibly clear. Breakfast consisted of a handful of granola, and a breakfast bar, and a much appreciated cup of tea kindly provided by Eric.

The trip from camp to the trailhead in Tim's 4WD was extraordinary. I have never travelled on such rough roads, up and up into the mountains, an amazingly steep gorge dropping away right beside us. This trail made yesterdays trip up to Crystal look tame by comparison! Eventually we climbed out of the gorge into a huge basin surrounded by mountains on all sides, where we met John, who would also be joining us again, having missed the second day. The sun was coming up, and the views were stunning. We soon geared up, and headed on upwards.



The day's climb was much steeper and rockier than my previous 14ers, and although a bit slower than many of the others in our group, I felt pretty good, and climbed steadily at my own pace, making good progress. I even managed a bit of a conversation with Brian, Eric's son, until he took off at speed again.

The climb became even steeper, and before the peak, Loren sat astride a large buttress pointing the way. I opted for the more difficult climb, and really enjoyed the approach to the peak.



The peak of Mount Sneffels is 14,150' high, and offers a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains. Conditions were clear, and there was hardly a breath of wind. It really was amazingly beautiful. After the obligatory summit photos were taken, and the summit log book signed, any of our group soon started to head down. I held back, as did Loren, and as everyone else disappeared, we sat and enjoyed the view in silence. Colorado is truly a stunning, and very special place.



But the day's adventures were not yet over! After the return to the vehicles, we went back down to Ouray, and enjoyed both the hot springs and the beer festival in the park, followed by a fantastic Mexican meal. It is a lovely town hidden away at the end of a cliff-sided valley.



The next part of the journey took us over Engineer Pass, which goes from Ouray to Lake City, the highest point being 12,800'. It is an incredibly steep climb, over the roughest roads I have seen so far, and that really is saying something, after the roads I have seen so far! But the most incredible thing was that Loren elected to take his old Subaru Legacy over the pass too, along with the other 4WD vehicles.

Loren had bought the Legacy for $1,200, and it had over 160,000 miles on the clock. For those not familiar with the model, it is an all-wheel-drive vehicle, but has no extra clearance, and is really only a standard family vehicle. What Loren managed to do with it was brilliant, and the most entertaining part of the trip so far. The only damage was a broken fog lamp, and a couple of dents in the sills and floor pan. A truly awesome drive! I have loads of video of the amazing drive, but until I get it edited, here is one picture that might give you a bit of an idea of how mad these Colorado guys are!



Update: 3rd Sept: Video is now done, check out Loren's amazing feat of offroad driving:-


It was pretty dark by the time we got over the scary 12,800' summit of Engineer Pass, and I was sort of glad that I couldn't see the drop-off for most of the journey. We decided not to bother with tents, as it was so late, and simply emptied the truck beds out, and slept in the back of the pick ups. Alarms were set, and we looked forward to another 5.30am start! Five peaks in four days so far!

More on Mount Sneffels here, including a great panorama pic from the summit:-
Mount Sneffels

7 peaks - day 3.

We left the condo at Dillon at around 9am, and headed west towards Grand Junction. There were now only four in our group, myself, Val, Tim and Eric, the four who would be doing all of the peaks. We made a couple of stops, for fuel and to look at a pretty waterfall by the roadside. The main road, I-70, is spectacular, and at one point winds through a narrow gorge, where the river, railroad, and four lanes of traffic all vie for space, until it gets so narrow that the westbound lanes are built over the top of the eastbound lanes. There is also a cycle track that would be a fantastic ride, almost all downhill from the pass at Vail Summit.

At Glenwood Springs we headed south, and then turned off the main road to a place called Marble, where marble is quarried and shipped all over the country. We had lunch at a fantastic BBQ place called Woody's, and then headed on up into the mountains.



I had expressed an interest in seeing an abandoned town in the mountains, and for four miles we battled up the roughest track I have ever seen in my life. Nobody else seemed at all surprised by the road conditions, and when I asked, I was told that most mountain tracks are like this.

Eventually we arrived at Crystal Mill, which was such a surprise, as it seems to be in the middle of absolutely nowhere! It is very dilapidated, and a sign explained that the historical society was doing its best to keep it in reasonable shape, but that each year the tough, harsh winters would take their toll.

After looking at the mill, and clambering around taking photos, we continued up the track, and I was surprised to see a sign suggesting that we drive slowly through town! We came up over the top of a rise, and entered the town of Crystal. It used to be an old mining town, but had long since been abandoned except by a hardy few that return each summer and maintain the buildings. There was a small gift shop, and a few cabins that could be rented. It would certainly be an out-of-the-way holiday destination! Quite amazing to find there so high in the mountains.



It was almost dark by the time we arrived at Ouray, and we headed out of town to set up camp. Once organised we went back to town and we had a couple of beers with dinner at O'Briens pub, where we were joined by Eric's wife Jackie, sons Brian and Dylan, Loren and his sister Lisa, and Bob and Patrick. It was going to be a busy day on the mountain the next day!

Afterwards we headed out of town to our mountain campsite, and were all early to bed, ready for an early start.

7 peaks - day 2.

Day Two of my attempt to climb seven of Colorado's 14ers (peaks higher than 14,000 feet) began early with breakfast at the condo, and an early departure for the day's start point about an hour's drive away.

There would be a group of eight of us climbing today, myself, Val and Tim, who are hoping to achieve all seven peaks, and also from yesterday, Bob, Mary, and Justin. New additions to the group Eric and Paul also joined us. Eric plans to be with us for the rest of the week, and having climbed Pikes Peak before, is also pretty-much doing all seven peaks.

It was cold in the shadow of the mountains as we began our climb, but we soon climbed up into the sun and the layers of clothes started to come off. The day was bright and clear, winds light, and the climb fairly steep, but not too demanding.

I was feeling pretty fresh again, and took my time climbing, and although I could feel the same gasping shortness of breath at times, the first peak of the day was soon conquered, and we stood on top of Mount Democrat, at a height of 14,148 feet, 38 feet higher than yesterday, and a new record for me. (Before yesterday the highest I had been was 13,435 feet way back in 1999, when I climbed Mount Kinabalu in Borneo)



I was feeling fine, and confident about the next two peaks planned for the day, which would take us on a circular route without losing too much height. We dropped down to the saddle and started climbing again, crossing another summit of over 14,000 feet. Unfortunately, Mount Cameron is not counted as a true 14er, as there are several criteria that need to be fulfilled to do so. Mount Cameron is 14,238 feet high, but between there and the next peak, Mount Lincoln, there is less than 300 feet of drop, and less than a mile distance, both of which are required for inclusion in the list of 53 true 14ers.



By the time I reached the summit of Mount Lincoln, at 14,286 feet, lagging a little behind most of the group, my altitude headache had started, and I sat with my head in my hands for a while. More water, and a bite to eat improved my condition, and after another summit photograph, I was ready for the descent to the next saddle, feeling good again.

But the final climb to the 14,172' summit of Mount Bross, was a real struggle, and my head was really pounding by the time I got there. I laid down and closed my eyes, feeling a bit nauseous too, and it was all I could do five minutes later to drag myself up for a final summit photo. I improved a little with some rest, and felt better as we begun our long steep descent back to the vehicles.



By the time we got down I was feeling pretty rough again, and slept in the car on the way back to Dillon. I woke feeling much better, and beer and a burger at our happy hour bar soon sorted me out again. It really is surprising how quick the altitude sickness can come, and then how quick it can go again.

The whole trip took around seven hours, all of which was spent at over 12,000', most of it well above 13,000'. We now have a rest day planned for tomorrow as we travel from Dillon to Ouray, and Val thinks that I shouldn't have too many more problems now, as I should be fairly well conditioned for the altitude. I hope he is right, as the last hour of today's descent was pretty miserable.

The actual walking and climbing itself is reasonably easy, and in England, a walk like today around peaks in the Lake District, or down in Devon, would be a nice easy day out. But at yesterday's altitude, it became one of the toughest days I have ever spent in the mountains. But afterwards, when the head stopped pounding and I had had a bit of sleep, I certainly felt proud of the achievement.

Thanks again to all who came along on tough Day Two, and also for all of the support and encouragement that was much needed. Four peaks in two days!

More on todays summits here:-
Mount Democrat
Mount Cameron
Mount Lincoln
Mount Bross