I just returned from some vision quest'y stuff in Colorado. My wife's folks dropped me off at the trailhead and I got some good solo time. My wife was meeting me later so I had to pack in some extra gear I normally wouldn't carry (like a tent). It rained most the first day but I still managed 12 miles (but only half with full pack).
Spent a couple hours glassing into this bowl at 12,000 ft but didn't turn up anything.
I had run out of water and was about to head down to camp when I came across this lifesaver puddle, so I was able to eat dinner up there and glass till it was too dark to see.
The weather left a little to be desired.
But I did turn up these elk 2.5 miles across the major creek drainage.
As the sun set I was treated to some views.
Got back to camp late and slept pretty good. Had to be up early the next morning to meet my wife. I was kinda nervous something would go wrong and I'd be waiting for her with no word but she showed up right on time, and made her pack in just 5 minutes slower than me. Then we had some nicer weather.
Pika-boo!
I actually had one pika crawl onto my boots, pretty cool. Got close to several marmots and a grouse.
My first trip to Colorado for elk is less than a month away so this was a good primer. I got to test some new gear and see how/if all the training would pay off (I think it did). Merino sucks for hot and cold/rainy. Quilts, I'm a convert. Superfeet = super. Gravity filters kinda suck if you can't keep the air out of them, but if you're patient they're fine I guess.
