Digital Diary - Telluride Weekend

I got a couple of days off and went for a short trip to Telluride to camp, hike Blue Lakes, and get some fresh air in one of my favorite places ever. I left early after breakfast and made the 6 hour trip, arriving at Lizard Head trail just after 1 o'clock their time. Eager to get out and stretch my legs among the amazing scenery, I loaded up my pack and hit the trail.  It was kind of drizzly and totally gorgeous.

I love looking back and seeing my car in the empty parking lot :)

Before long, the altitude started to get to me, and my head felt like it was being crushed in a vice. I got back to the car and found a dirt road taking off to my right and figured I'd see where it went. A few miles in, I found the campsite that dreams are made of, complete with trees, a (still smoking) fire pit, and views that I wouldn't have believed were real if I hadn't seen them myself.

Soundtrack:

I had originally planned on just sleeping in the car the first night, especially with the rain coming and going, but I couldn't resist this spot and quickly set up my tent and started exploring. The best part of all (for all of my friends that constantly worry about me being out there alone) is that there was a trailer parked about 1/3 mile away with a dog that didn't bark at all, giving me a sense of security that was really nice, actually. They were within screaming distance and I knew that their dog would alert me of a Grizzly if there was one around :)

I wandered around and relaxed and gathered some firewood for the evening and then ventured into Mountain Village. I crashed at the Telluride Coffee Co with a hot chocolate and made use of their WiFi before catching the gondola into town. 

I walked around town for about an hour, dipping in and out of shops and galleries before grabbing a spinach salad at the Pie High Pizza Co (my favorite place ever). After dinner, I rode the gondola back up to Mountain Village and then made my way back to my campsite for the night. Since it's an hour later there, the sun sets at about 8:30 and it's not totally dark until 10ish, so I took full advantage of the daylight. 

I have to admit, I didn't sleep great that night. I was actually really cold, strange since I was in a super cozy sleeping bag rated to 30 degrees. I'm thinking it got down to about 40 that night. Once it warmed up a little, even though it was light outside, I fell back to sleep and got in a couple of hours.

Soundtrack:

Then I went back into town for a waffle and coffee before setting out on the hike that inspired the trip...Blue Lakes. From what I gathered in my research, it would be quite a climb...up several switchbacks into the Mount Sneffels Wilderness. Then I would reach the first of three lakes that were the brightest, most brilliant blue, surrounded by green mountain peaks and wildflowers. The plan was to hike in, set up camp, and hike out the following morning. Since I was getting such an early start though, I decided just to wing it and do it as a day hike. 

I drove through town up Black Bear Pass, parked on the edge of the final switchback before the Bridal Veil Powerhouse, and snuck though the gate. From there, I followed the rugged old dirt road along the creek for a few miles, and climbed a couple thousand feet towards Mt. Sneffels.

The scenery was gorgeous and there were dozens of waterfalls that I had to cross as I went.

Again, the altitude was my most worthy opponent...climbing from 8,750' in Telluride to 12,200 took it's toll. I found myself stopping to catch my breath and wait for the spots to clear my vision every few yards. As the wind picked up and thunder rolled in from the edges, raindrops began to fall, and I was beginning to wonder if it was worth finishing, but kept convincing myself that I'd come that far, I just had to finish.

Finally, as Sneffels loomed above, I found a couple coming down and asked how much farther. They informed me that the first lake was only about 1/4 mile up, I just had to cross a large area of snow pack and it would be just over the ledge. I continued on, trudging up to my hips through the soft, stained snow in my sandals, eager to get to the other side before my toes completely lost feeling. I rose to the top of the edge and saw the lake sprawled out before me...a frozen over mass at the base of snow capped spires...not exactly what I had anticipated.

I took a few pics and then hauled ass down...it took a fraction of the time thankfully. I had forgotten to pack my trail mix and was STARVING. Once back to town, I hit up my favorite spot for food and ate an entire pizza by myself. It was amazing. Then I drove back to camp and took a nice long nap. I woke up at around 8 pm, feeling super emotional and lonely and homesick for...well, maybe the first time ever. Sometimes being alone with your thoughts is a dangerous place to be. I had been planning on driving home the next day, but decided that since I'd be up for several hours anyway, I may as well just drive through the night, arriving home at around 1:30 in the morning. I slept in, unpacked, hung out by the pool for a few hours, and made dinner for friends that came over that night...it was perfect :)