9/17-9/22: Mountains Don't Care

No they do not.  Now I can't say just why mountains have such an unsympathetic temperament- but I also can't say that we weren't warned.

As we left the foothills of the Rockies that make up the western boundary of Fort Collins and Loveland, we climbed several thousand feet up Big Thompson Gorge on Highway 34.  Winding our way through the gorge, jagged outcroppings of rock became more pronounced and ever looming, yet the mild weather and abundance of sunshine left us in a gregarious mood.  Upward and upward we asked our Ford Ranger to tax all four of its cylinders but it was reluctant to press out of third gear.  We quickly realized that the "Slow Vehicle Pull Off" areas had been designated for our overly ambitious request of our underly ambitious engine. 

The town of Estes Park, nestled in a mountain crest just east of Rocky Mountain National Park, was a welcome sight.  We knew we were close.  We pushed onward through the shop-strewn main street and continued on Highway 36 to the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center.

I had looked at booking what I call an "RV Campsite (you know- the smell of frying bacon wafting in the air as you eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches-again, the sounds of generators powering satellite cable receivers, the sights of your neighbors going about their daily RV lifestyle merely feet from your treeless site)" in the park several days earlier.  Because we were entering the park during the weekend, all of the nearly 400 RV campsites in the park were booked.  "Of Course!" I thought to myself, this park is a short hop for the Denver weekend warriors.  What a stupid idea to make such a popular park our first destination.  After all, one of our goals was to find a little solitude on this trip.  I was feeling distraught, but Juliet insisted we go to the back country office anyway just to see if maybe we can squeeze into a back country campsite within the next week. 

The two very hospitable rangers had only one question for us when we inquired about permits.  "When do you want to start?" My spirits were lifted.  We decided to take one day to do a day hike and get acclimated and then head off for five nights, covering a fifty mile loop that would take us over Flattop Mountain (12,500ft), south down the North Inlet Trail, back north on the Tonahutu Trail, and finally completing our loop by crossing up and over Flattop Mountain on our last day. 

But as I was saying, the mountains don't care.  They don't care that we left our hometown telling our friends and family that we were taking a cue from the migratory birds and heading for warming weather.

We camped at the base of Flattop Mountain during our first night.  That night, we fell asleep to the sound of freezing raining hitting our tent.  The next day we awoke at sun rise and hurried up Flattop in hopes of eluding the afternoon storms.  Below the treeline it was cold but with the prospect of a blue sky allowing the rising sun to warm us.  Once above the treeline, however, we fought the deafening howl of head-on wind for several hours as we drug our feet through snow and ice. 

Alas, being the hardy Northern Minnesotans we are, we didn't think much of a little snow and ice.  We pushed on following the massively piled rock carins that marked the trail- an indication that a snow covered trail here was not an anomaly. 

The rest of the week was cold, but pleasant when wearing all clothing that one had brought, while hiking uphill, in the sun.  The other challenge we faced was a food shortage due to having only one bear canister.  It is required that back country campers use bear canisters while hiking through the park.  Juliet and I constantly reminded each other of our one rule for the trip: "No Whining."  It was funny at first but soon became a major source of annoyance as persistent cold and growing hunger fueled our competitive spirits.  Upon a post-hike reflection, we realized that we had been humbly reminded that being able to eat until you are full every meal is a luxury that we have come to take for granted and a luxury not afforded to many.

Back country camping in Rocky Mountain National Park was, overall, everything we expected it to be.  Challenging but rewarding with sweeping views, an abundance of wildlife including moose and elk, and as much solitude as we have had in a long time.  In fact, most of the back country campsites are one-party only offering a sense of wilderness immersion not found in many other parks.  Back county camping also proved much cheaper- we paid $20 for all five nights of camping compared to the $20/per night fee charged at the RV sites. 

We are meeting up with two friends from Duluth this weekend, Peter and Sara.  Sara is actually living in Colorado for the season and we may go check out her place as we continue west.  Then it will be down I-70, leaving the Rocky Mountains behind as we descend into the Utah desert.

julietandjon@gmail.com

Getting acclimated to the altitude- our day hike

First morning- making oatmeal... it's cold

Boulder fever

Back country Tuna Melt - anything to stay warm

Sun highlighting a distant Flattop Mountain

A rocky mountain sunrise captured by Juliet

Tundra walk at 12,000ft

Post-hike chaos

Septmeber 9th - 16th: a survey of the week's events

We left the fleeting summer days of Duluth nearly a week ago and have finally begun our travels across the country in search of an endless summer... or at least a prolonged fall. We had hoped to leave Duluth after Labor Day, but it seemed that every time we turned around there were more loose ends to tie up. There was the truck to get ready to live in, credit cards to cancel and bills to consolidate, work projects to finish, friends and family to say goodbye to, and a mountain of personal belongings that had been accumulated and compiled in the middle of my mother's living room.

So we cleaned, organized, built, sewed, organized, donated, threw out, bought, sold and organized. When all was said and done we were down to our truck and its contents as well as just a few bins of the sentimentals consisting mostly of pictures and college books that, while they make us look smart to have around, we knew very well we'd never read. Afterall, we didn't read them when they were required for class so why should we start now?

But we finally managed to leave and after receiving farewells and well wishes from friends and family we began the first leg of our journey. We drove with determination and steadfastness, overcame boredom and bad radio, and at the end of the day felt great accomplishment that we had made it 200 miles to Bloomington where my Grandma lives. Okay, so we were off to a slow start- but we really felt that making it to the Twin Cities was at least a symbolic victory. Duluth had been our world for the past six years and seemingly had a gravitational force equal to that of Jupiter so it took a substantial amount of energy to make it out of our metaphorical atmosphere.

We spent two nights with each set of my Grandparents and were even lucky enough to see my cousin's newborn baby in St. Paul. We mountain biked on the Lebannon Hills trails, some of the best in the midwest, in my hometown of Eagan and ate at one of my favorite spot, Kahn's Mongolian Barbeque. All in all, it was a great four days. The Big City offers so much in terms of entertainment and things to do but we knew we had to leave before we got too accustomed to homecooked meals, clean sheets, and showers.

Onward we made our way south to Des Moines, then hopped on I-80 to continue through the next 10,000 light years that is Nebraska. Tip: if driving through Nebraska, pick up a Kryogenic sleep chamber to help curb the boredom. Also, bring A LOT of cd's because if you don't like country music your radio will have the entertainment value of a paper weight.

After three days on the road (yes we drive slow and stop a lot, a blog post for another day) we made it to the foothills of the Rockies. We are enjoying some down time in Fort Collins, CO to catch up on writing postcards and finally getting this blog up.

We will try to write more detailed articles about things that interest those interested in us. So please, write to us and ask us questions and perhaps we will respond via a blog post. Some of the questions that we have gotten and hope to address include how we are funding the trip, what we hope to accomplish during the trip, and how we decided to leave on this trip.

We can be reached via email at: julietandjon@gmail.com

Lunch at Kahn's in Bloomington:

 Bikes, the bed, and all our belongings:

Ready to cruise: