Moments in Dirt and Ink

Gunnison National Forest DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4  |  DAY 5  |  DAY 6 (orange line, map link ) I got an early start trying to beat the mosquitoes and sort of made it. I noticed the missing bit of sign on the ground to finally discover that there's no camping (or campfires) allowed at the lake. I turned at the post, ready to take it wherever it may go. The couple at the lake thought it was silly to think it might rain in the afternoon because the air was just too dry. Indeed, I'd washed two pairs of socks (in a bag well away from the lake and creek because I'm not a barbarian and I know soil bacteria is needed to break up everything from that and you don't find that floating in water) which were very nearly dry in the morning. It was quite pleasant until I got to the long grass meadows and everything from my knees down got wet anyway. A little bit of view over the meadow still shadowed in the morning. The trai...

Gunnison National Forest DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4  |  DAY 5  |  DAY 6 (green line, map link ) I was wondering if this loop might be a little front loaded with the good stuff as I started toward the tree covered Castle Pass that represents the highest point for the second half of the trip. I expected it to be easier, although the state of the Castle Pass Trail was unique in that it not only showed recent trail work, but more trees already down on it than had been removed. It got better as I got higher. The camp site I should have found the evening before. Admittedly, it is closer to the trail than it should be. A little of the view from near the camp. Water pools in the meadow, but flows as a small creek beside the trail. From further along the meadow, The Castles and other pillars along the ridge top can be seen. I found a bit more water than advertised on the map along the trail. There was another, muc...

Gunnison National Forest DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4  |  DAY 5  |  DAY 6 (blue line, map link ) It was a cold night out there on the knobby-but-overall-flat rock. It stands to reason that the storm passing through included some cold air since the hail took so long to melt. I even pulled on my puffy pants overnight. It wasn't too hard to get up, but I still didn't make it out all that early. I had filtered enough water to camp, but decided to hike with what was left of my 3L from the day before. Sun about to crest the mountains to the east. Here comes the sun. Mill Creek has excellent flow up here, at least while the snows last. I debated trying to follow the trail past where I hadn't seen it before or just following sort of a shelf of land around to meet the trail higher up. Reporting on how, or if, it was signed at the north end wasn't important enough. I headed around, tending to go higher than where I was ...

Gunnison National Forest DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4  |  DAY 5  |  DAY 6 (purple line, map link ) It was dry and warm (for morning) under the trees, so easy to get up and pack up. I pondered my benefactor stream. Above, there is a bowl of sunken land and beyond that, no stream bed at all. It is a spring and it sinks away again as fast as it bubbles up. I headed down the steep trail into the steep valley. There was no water at the junction, but there was a little fire ring just inside the trees on the far side of the dry bed. I headed down and as the stream became less accessible in a narrow canyon, I started to hear the sounds of water. Where the water is flowing, the streams are often lined with these stalks. ( Fitweed .) The steep grassy slopes as this tributary, Buck Hollow, heads toward West Elk Creek. The trail was at first direct in getting down the hill and turning into a gully from the water that runs...

Gunnison National Forest DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4  |  DAY 5  |  DAY 6 (black line, map link ) What to do in the West Elk Wilderness? The right answer might be everything. I settled on Soap Creek as an entry point. There is a campground ($20ish a night to a concessionaire, not to the forest) and a corral area (open to dispersed camping, toilet) near the trailhead. Unfortunately, the split of the trail a mile up only allows for a nice day hike. To get in a backpacking loop, I'd have to go big and accept a return on a long 4x4 road. I picked a loop heading around some mountains and hitting some areas with "castles" in the names. I poked at it and found it to be about 60 miles, so decided I would be out 6 days without even figuring out where the camping might be. I'd neglected to get a weather report again, but had noticed the next three days generally being sunny-rainy-sunny while looking at other things. In went bot...