My buddy Josh received a pass for the weekend.
And it has been a while since we have done a backpacking trip together minus his sons.
So we did a quick trip to the nearby Mt. Evans Wilderness.
Somewhat less popular than other nearby areas, and with trails maintained a bit less, it was a perfect place for a quick get-away.
The centerpiece was an off-trail hike to the 13500′ Rosalie Peak with its great views of Mt. Evans. An off-trail campsite at the end of a sub-alpine meadow and weather that held out of for us all weekend were both quite nice as well.
We hiked in perhaps a mile Friday night and enjoyed a repast of Deviant Dale’s.
Josh rocking the old school Kelty external!
The following morning, we quickly made it to tree line and spotted many of the bristlecone pines well-known in this wilderness area.
We soon reached a saddle and then hiked off-trail to Rosalie Peak.
PCO Josh Zapin
On top, the weather was superb. The high peaks could be seen up close.
We had the summit to ourselves.
PCO Josh Zapin.
But the gathering clouds told us it was time to descend along the ridge and to the drainage.
As we neared tree line, we were able to look back from where we came.
We had quite the superb view from our campsite. Being off-trail, we did not see a soul.
The following morning we hooked back onto the “trail” (a bit overgrown and faint. Perfect! 🙂 )
We had some last views to the mountains as he hiked down to the creek.
Soon we were into the trees proper and then my vehicle was reached.
We had a good late breakfast at DW’s 285 Diner on the way back home.
All in all, a great trip with a friend I’ve known for a quite a while now.
A wonderful way to catch up, talk and enjoy a fantastic area.
PAUL Thank-you for your posts about hiking both the Mt. Evans and the lost Creek Wilderness area. You may not be aware that both of the areas depend on volunteers for trail maintenance. It is a never ending endeavor with over 130 miles of trails in each area. On July 11th, the Friends of Mt. Evans and Lost Creek Wilderness and the USFS will be sponsoring a project to cut out downed tree on the Beaver Meadows, Bear Track lake and Cub Creek loop (9+ miles) All cut outs will be done with 2 man Crosscut saws and hand tools.… Read more »
As a volunteer board member with the Continental Divide Trail Coalition, I can certainly understand the challenges faced by a volunteer group. I have done my own share of Pulaski swinging as well, so I can certainly appreciate the hard work! Thank you.
Possible to post more information in case other readers are interested as well? (Web site? Contact info? ) as for me, let me talk to the boss first. 😉
EDIT: found the website with pertinent information http://www.fomelc.org/