After this year we will be experts at this camping thing. Every time we pack up we have slightly more things, and yet we still manage to end up with slightly more space in the van too. This creates that "what in the hell am I forgetting" syndrome. Beginning on Monday, I piled all of our gear together in groups by categories and seam sealed the tent as well...





By Friday's load up it was all clean and packed. After a short run to the LQ and grocery it was unnerving to actually SEE out of the back window. Everything was happening right on schedule. Which meant I was more than likely going to be late picking up Lindsay at work. At 1:20 the dogs were released out the front door to stampede their way into the van, and the first hiccup in departure occurred. That idiot Jasmine thought we were going for a walk. Foolishly, I had thought she would simply follow the herd into the van. She did nearly the polar opposite of that and booked it down the road full tilt. I'm sure you all know how tough it is to be happy-go-lucky when what you really want to do is chain them out the window, and drag them down the friggin' road if they want to run so danged bad. Ugh. Not even a block into her journey, the sun worked it's fusion powered magic and she was done. The best part? My dogs remained in the van anxiously awaiting another weekend in the Rockies.

Okay, so Jasmine was loaded and I finally got on my way to pick up the wife and take the dog back to her house to crate her. ¿Would you believe that I arrived somewhere TEN WHOLE MINUTES EARLY? That was just enough time to pit stop the dogs so they could make the rest of the trip to Brainard. The weekend before, Jasmine had broken out of her crate and systematically destroyed her house. So I was perplexed as to why her dad would request that I crate her for the four hours it would take him to get home. Once at the house, I put her in the busted up crate and pretended to leave. It wasn't even two minutes later and she had gotten out of the crate, opened the basement door (lever handles) and B-lined for the kitchen. While she hoisted herself up for a counter surfing free-for-all, I sneaked up on her and let out a voice of God "HEY!". Oops, that made for a mess to cleanup. Oh well, she got the point. Leashed her up and took her back downstairs for what I knew was going to be a chunk of time. We repeated the fake departure and capture to crate a few times before she was tired and confused. About the fifth time and around 30 minutes later, I put her in the crate once again and she gave up lying down. Noticing several free weights and remembering Sioux's crate destroying house condemning ways, I secured the hell out of the crate and left. It turns out that's where she was when her dad got home. Success.

Driving away I put it all out of my mind and road raged my way through school hour traffic at a blistering pace. Less than one hour from Longmont we hit the fee station for Brainard Lake. The turn for fee free camping is a left immediately before the booth and the road itself, intimidating in a minivan. Well, I should say intimidating to those not proficient in approach/departure angles, breakover angles, ground clearance and line sighting. Brimming with confidence I took down the road to Lefthand Reservoir and was forced onto a less than preferred line due to an oncoming truck. That was one NASTY sounding muffler scrape, but I've heard much worse from this workhorse Dodge. Hardly a quarter mile up the road I called it over and tried to find a spot wide enough for a 10 point turnaround. At the next wide spot there was also a foot trail that crested a small ridge only to reveal a great campsite. Too perfect. We unloaded and setup camp not seconds before it began to rain just a tad. The rain never got too intense and the seam sealer worked marvelously. As did the dogs. They still had to be long lined while we got setup, but once the conga line to the van was over with they went off lead for 90% of the camping. The rain and familiarity of this process made them calm and sleepy, save for the occasional squirrel chatter...









The other member in our group made it up and we commenced drink on as the sun went down. Then sometime around 11:00pm-ish I think, Lindsay caught sight of something in the trees and asked "what's that?!?" The only thing I saw was a gray ragged tail and a canine hind quarter fade into the darkness. Needless to say we flipped out. The dogs were secured and we clung to our weapons and upped our sound levels to drive off the critter. Periodically I would walk around the forest hitting the shovel against the trees and trowing softball sized rocks into the surrounding area. We went to bed somewhat sketched out and sleeping lightly because of it.

Waking up later than usual, due to wanting some sunlight before we left camp, we leisurely put our stuff together and readied the dogs...


Nursing the van back down the road, we made the next bend a few yards away and saw something familiar. The gray rear end of what looked like an Old English Sheep Dog crossed with a Poodle. Sorry, but it was not the best looking of dogs. At least we could rest easy knowing it was a domesticated animal we had visit us the night before. Still, that thing could have very easily been shot. Not to mention the rocks I was hurtling down the hill in these folks general direction. KEEP YOUR ANIMALS ON LEASH IF THEY TEND TO WANDER, PEOPLE!!! Gaw.

Back at the pavement, I realized that I left the ******* fee money in the tent. No checks on hand and no card reader in the booth, I was forced to do the unthinkable. Gasping for breath, up the road I ran. Suck. The silver lining was I didn't need to stretch at the trailhead. One more pit stop for me, and Casey had the dogs geared up and ready. That left me and my junk. Finally, we got on the trail...




The forces of nature up there are amazing. It was mid June when we first started on this mountain, and then we were fighting drifts of snow at this spot that were four to six feet in height...


Adding to the ease of the is trip was the fact that we had been there before...


This is where the demon snow drift was that sent us off trail scrambling for a route. Notice there was a trail under that...






Edging out of treeline and keeping a good pace, Audubon looms yonder...


In under an hour we made it to the Buchanan Pass junction. An hour in is usually where the water breaks are more frequent...




*Shakes fist at mountain*


The biggest obstacles to a steady pace were the pica turds and this...


Otherwise we were pluggin along all fine and dandy...


I would call this trail barely busy during the active season...


Something in the back of my mind said we needed to move a bit quicker...




Finally captured a shot of those blasted pica...


The saddle/ridge where we topped out at in June...




Sorry, apparently I took zero (0) pictures on the last leg of the mountain. Between the storm overhead and doggy talus hopping, I had little time to think camera...


Summit shots!...


nodogforme rockin the Longs Peak background shot...


Not youknowwho, but you know who...






Home is off somewhere that-a-way...


Our campsite was left of the big lake and almost out of frame...














(cont.)

As you can see, the storm moved out and we had a calm sunny 40 minutes up top...




Paiute Peak to the west...




While enjoying the awe inspiring views of the Indian Peaks, we neglected to glance north towards Rocky Mountain National Park. Oops...






Upper Coney Lake looked very close, but VERY far down...


One last look east-northeast and it was time to retreat. The oncoming clouds that formed over Longs Peak were coming straight for us!...


Now I try to always adhere to the guidelines and remain on trail. But that storm looked menacing and we decided the best course of action was down. Straight down...


GO! GO! GO!...


Yeah, my dogs' feet can handle this, can yours?...


Back down the trail a ways and feeling a smidgen safer, I looked back at the terrain we had just straight lined...


...and about ten minutes after that, the storm caught the wind between Indian Peaks and Rocky Mountain then headed due east just barely drizzling us as it flew past...




Things move FAST up there. Don't forget it...


Back down in the trees, it got hot. Not many more pics, but this one caught a sole individual barely visible on Pawnee Peak. No small feat that...


We blazed down the final portion of trail...


nodogforhim...


Pavement! 7.95 miles, 3hrs 15 minutes up, 2hrs 1 minute down 10,457' to 13,223' and 2866' vertical round trip. Not too shabby...




The home stretch...


Now them's some satisfied dogamoos...


Drink on! To top it off, my uncle brought fish to fry. Perfect...


...and a cameo from Super Cooper...


Me and my brother were beginning to feel the drink on...


nodog' motivated by beer set out to replenish the camp firewood stash...


Tambi was quite stealth. But it's always hard to find her not in someone's arms or lap...


Not many useful pics left due to all the drinking on. Tons of blurry wood chopping and a multitude of campfire stills. Heh, not bad at all. Sometime during the evening it was obvious that I made it to the tent as I awoke balled up in my sleeping bag surrounded by sled dogs. Then it was time for breakfast...






Right after eating, my uncle showed up again and we went fishing at Lefthand Reservoir up the road. I took Ridik because the last thing Lindsay wanted was a shrieking howling Husky. We caught nothing, my phone was dead and I left the camera back at camp. That sucks because Ridik did an awesome job pulling the Blazer back to camp while I held his lead standing out the sunroof. Not your typical day out, and don't try that at home.


Whoa. I had to break this into two parts so it would post. That's basically embarrassing.

Fin.

Awesome story and awesome hike!! Glad you finally made it up!

Well i guess a direct line down the mountain is always better then a straight line up one! looks like you all had a great time! and im sure Sierra's paws would have been hurting coming down all that rock, got to start them early next year to build up a good pad on there paws! I love all the doggie shots on the summit!

Heh, we had a chip seal festival around here last spring. That really helped build up the pads and whittle down the nails.

Argh, almost out of time. I can't quite figure out the final September push. Pike's is a 14 mile round trip route, and now I'm thinking Evans west via Spalding but that's a piddly little 5 mile round tripper. Hmmmmm. ¿Both? ¿Or scrap the 14er's and end on some quiet 13er trails? ¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?

Take the 13er's you know you will not get snowed on. we will be heading to pike's on the 12th but to take the cog train with mom, I will check it out and see if I will be up for the challenge next year. I like the offer of hiking up and taking the train down but then you have to make sure you make that last train or your suck hiking down!

13er's are little like Tambi. Go big or go home.

Don't make me plan a 12er, fool. Or better yet, North Table Mountain.