Hike "Poverty Gulch to Daisy Pass", drive round-trip from Gunnison, Colorado up through Crested Butte, Colorado:
Today's fabulous hike - 8.85 miles in 4:20, with an elevation gain of 2,316 feet:
I made it to Crested Butte at 10:39
Having said that, the town has a nice vibe. I don't like all the Sotheby's Real Estate signs, but it seems to not have gone "all-Aspen" yet. Don't get me wrong - I like "what they've done with the place (Aspen, Vail, Jackson, Edgartown, Nantucket), but when "the billionaires start driving out the millionaires", I tend to shy away. I guess I just can't pay the entrance fee.
Blessedly, there are still a lot of good low-key places in this world.
And Crested Butte does have a couple of beautiful mountains flanking the town.
After going through town, I take a left on 734:
I made it as far as I could at 11:36 (I didn't want to attempt crossing the stream), so I parked here and hiked over the stream and up the road:
By hiking up the road 2 miles to the "official" trailhead, I got to see some BEAUTY:
The view back down behind me as I hike on the dirt road up to the trailhead:
This is 1-of-3 cars parked up at the trailhead (no official sign or anything):
Wait - I found the sign!
15 minutes up the trail, this is my "lunch-time view":
Lunch is over - time to hit the trail:
This picture is for those people who prefer wildflowers and butterflies to mountains and waterfalls:
The sign at the trailhead listed 2 trails - this is where my trail splits off:
You keep going up, and the views keep getting better and better:
After back-and-forth and back-and-forth, I reached Daisy Pass at 2:30, where I was greeted by 4 hikers and 2 dogs:
They had come up the other side, from Democrat Basin - one of them took my selfie:
Looking down the other side into Democrat Basin:
Going back down, looking back up at where I was:
Nice hike back to the car:
I finished at 4:11 - Google Earth does a great job showing today:
An interesting thought about "water management" - if you take a lot in your backpack, you are more likely to drink more, because everytime you stop to refill your waist-water-bottle means that much less on your back, making a lighter back-pack as the day goes on.
A nice final-shot of Mount Crested Butte as I head back to Gunnison
The weather looks pretty dramatic over in that next valley:
What a Great Day - Thank You GOD for this beauty, and for the ability for me to enjoy it!
Music for today:
Van Morrison - Best Of Van Morrison Volume Two, 1993:
various artists - Ultra Chilled 01.1, 2001 double album:
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