Sunday, Sept. 4, 2022 - Drive and hike up in Steamboat Springs:
A great way to start Sunday Morning is watching Trinity North Shore on-line service - Wendy was The Celebrant!
After Church, it is time to hit-the-road:
After you cross-over the Gore Range (cars and trucks strain at high altitude), you get a beautiful view of Lake Catamount and the Yampa Valley:
10 minutes later I'm in Steamboat Springs - the last time I was here was January 1975, skiing with Ed and another guys. We had driven out and stayed in a flea-bag motel in Salt Lake City for a week, and skiied those mountains. Drove up here from there, but had to wait on the highway for a couple of hours while they plowed because of the snowstorm. We got into Steamboat in the evening, and found our friends' room, which must have had 20 kids in it. I found a corner for my sleeping bag. When we got up the next morning, it was the best powder skiing of my life, going down under the chairlifts, bouncing like on a trampoline in thigh-high white stuff. Life's pretty cool.
No one on the road as I drove up to the trailhead:
I started my hike just before noon:
You walk DOWN the trail to get to the bridge that crosses Fish Creek. It being Sunday-of-Labor-Day-Weekend, EVERYBODY is out enjoying themselves:
Enough playing around - time to head up the trail:
After going uphill through the woods for about 45 minutes, you cross back over Fish Creek and do some good "mountain hiking":
You go around the side of the mountain, and at 1:20 (2.3 miles), I was up at Upper Fish Creek Falls:
As you can see from my map, the Trail is not easy to find/follow in this area:
Even though it is Sunday-of-Labor-Day-Weekend (I heard someone says "They have never seen SO MANY PEOPLE here"), this hiking-stuff is pretty self-selecting as far as people go. Yes, there are a ton of people down having fun in the Creek, but I estimate only 10% of people continue (or "attempt to continue") up to Upper Fish Creek Falls. And only 10% of them (which equals only 1% of the people who parked down below) continue on to see Long Lake. For the rest of my trip above Upper Fish Creek Falls, I only saw
1. a girl and her dog coming down,
2. 3 guys on mountain bikes near Long Lake, and
3. a mom and her daughter up at Long Lake
That was it.
Pretty views as I go up-and-around The Falls:
And then it is Colorado-hiking at its best - through forests and fields, past mountains and streams:
At 3:10 I reached Long Lake:
I hiked a 1/4 mile around it:
I don't know if it was because those first 2 miles to Upper Fish Creek Falls were SO HARD, but at 6.34 miles right now, I'm very glad to be going back downhill. Say goodbye to Long Lake:
As I mentioned before, I lost the trail above Upper Fish Creek Falls. I didn't get "ledged", but at one point I took a picture of the people WAY DOWN THERE:
I'll zoom-in on the hiker with the white shirt:
On the other hand, it sure is pretty cool up here:
After figuring stuff out, I got down the trail, and looked back up - I was somewhere up on that ridge:
A final selfie going down:
Back to my car at 5:51 - hey, where did everybody go!!!
Great Hike - 12.73 miles in 5:57
On my way out of town - bye bye Steamboat Springs:
Down in Yampa, Colorado I had a wonderful steak dinner (plus dessert) at Antlers Cafe & Bar (now why do you think they call it that?):
Spent the night at the Travelodge. Wow, Thank You GOD for this wonderful Driving/Hiking/Adventure Day!
Music for today - Driving:
Traffic - Smiling Phases, 2006 2-cd compilation:
Mr. Fantasy – 1967
Traffic – 1968
Last Exit (side 2 live at The Fillmore Auditorium) – 1969
John Barleycorn Must Die – 1970
Welcome to the Canteen − 1971 (Recorded live in London)
The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys – 1971
("possibly obsessive" fans may argue to include 3 later studio albums and 2 later live albums)
Music for today - Hotel Room:
Bill Evans - Everybody Digs Bill Evans, 1959:
Van Morrison - Poetic Champions Compose, 1987 17th studio album:
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