We had a busy Memorial Day weekend working at the Coney Island Hot Dog in Bailey. The weekend warriors were in full march, and we were slinging hot dogs as fast as we could through Monday. Highway 285 was a constant stream of cars, trucks, campers, rvs, and boats.
Angelica and I were ready to go camping as soon as we got off work. We headed up the recently opened Guanella Pass around 5 pm. All the traffic was headed in the opposite direction, back to Denver.
We found a lovely spot in the recently abandoned free campground on the pass, lit a fire, opened the wine, and relaxed. It was a great evening.
We found a lovely spot in the recently abandoned free campground on the pass, lit a fire, opened the wine, and relaxed. It was a great evening.
In the morning, we made coffee and headed over the pass towards Georgetown. We planned on stopping somewhere to go for a walk, and ended up at the Mt. Bierstadt trailhead. Soaring above at 14,065 feet, Mt. Bierstadt is one of Colorado’s 53 fourteeners—mountain peaks higher than 14,000 feet. All fourteeners are to be considered strenuous hikes, but Bierstadt is a reasonably short hike—seven miles round trip—and we have hiked it before in the summer. Still, we had not planned on hiking the whole thing. More like a nice walk, then back to the van and on to the next camp spot.
We got our backpacks together and our boots on, and headed into the snow. The trail starts at around 12,000 feet, and there was quite a bit of snow on the ground still. But, it was stable snow, and we were able to walk on top of it without sinking in often. We talked to some hikers coming down from the summit and they all reported that the trail was fine, nothing treacherous, no need for snowshoes. Eventually, our walk turned into a hike, and we were getting closer and closer to the summit. We decided we’d go for the peak!
After three hours of hiking, we reached the summit. It was interesting to hike in the snow—the trail in the snow is much more direct than the dry trail, and headed more or less straight up the mountain, instead of the usual switchbacks. Also, we were breathing hard! There is not much air up there. After ten minutes on the summit, we headed down.
After three hours of hiking, we reached the summit. It was interesting to hike in the snow—the trail in the snow is much more direct than the dry trail, and headed more or less straight up the mountain, instead of the usual switchbacks. Also, we were breathing hard! There is not much air up there. After ten minutes on the summit, we headed down.
Going down was fun, for a while. It was easy to barrel down the slope, pouncing down the snow with big steps. We made great time going down the first mile and a half. Then, we heard a yell.
“Help!”
I asked Angelica if she heard it, too. We both had, and we looked around to find where it was coming from. Finally we spotted a guy about a half mile off the trail and above us, waving his hiking poles. I started heading his direction off trail, but found that I was sinking up to my hips in the snow every few feet. I yelled to see if they were okay, and asked if we needed to call 911. I couldn’t hear him very well, but was fairly sure that they wanted us to call. Angelica did, and the dispatcher was able to get GPS coordinates to her phone, and sent in the Alpine Rescue Team.
I was still a good quarter mile from the guy. I looked through my binoculars to see what I could see: three people sitting on a dry rock outcropping, surrounded by the snow. I decided it would be safer to not break trail to get to them. We waited for 20 minutes on the trail for the rescue team, but as the dark afternoon clouds were moving in we decided it would be safest to start hiking down. So I yelled to the guy that help was on the way, then Angelica and I moved down the hill toward the parking lot.
That last mile and a half was awful hiking. The snow had softened throughout the day, and now, in the early afternoon, Angelica and Annie and I were all breaking through that soft snow every few steps. You’d fall into the snow, have to pull your leg up for the next step, fall through again, and do it all over. We were tired and hungry and worried about the people stranded on that rock, and the clouds were still coming.
“Help!”
I asked Angelica if she heard it, too. We both had, and we looked around to find where it was coming from. Finally we spotted a guy about a half mile off the trail and above us, waving his hiking poles. I started heading his direction off trail, but found that I was sinking up to my hips in the snow every few feet. I yelled to see if they were okay, and asked if we needed to call 911. I couldn’t hear him very well, but was fairly sure that they wanted us to call. Angelica did, and the dispatcher was able to get GPS coordinates to her phone, and sent in the Alpine Rescue Team.
I was still a good quarter mile from the guy. I looked through my binoculars to see what I could see: three people sitting on a dry rock outcropping, surrounded by the snow. I decided it would be safer to not break trail to get to them. We waited for 20 minutes on the trail for the rescue team, but as the dark afternoon clouds were moving in we decided it would be safest to start hiking down. So I yelled to the guy that help was on the way, then Angelica and I moved down the hill toward the parking lot.
That last mile and a half was awful hiking. The snow had softened throughout the day, and now, in the early afternoon, Angelica and Annie and I were all breaking through that soft snow every few steps. You’d fall into the snow, have to pull your leg up for the next step, fall through again, and do it all over. We were tired and hungry and worried about the people stranded on that rock, and the clouds were still coming.
We finally, gratefully, made it back to the parking lot just as the mountain rescue team was pulling in. We informed them that we had made the call, and I found the stranded group in my binoculars. The rescue team was able to get a visual on the group with my directions, and they were surprised that the stranded group was so low on the mountain. They had expected to have to hike to the top of Mt. Bierstadt to rescue them, but seeing how close they were to the lot, they headed in with extra snowshoes and MREs. It sounded like it was going to be a fairly easy rescue.
We were tired and our boots were soaked. We decided to go get a burger and a beer, then head home instead of camping another night. It was fun doing a fourteener, especially in the snow, but we were beat and ready to look at TV for a while.
Be safe out there!
Be safe out there!
Kenny is the chief fire builder and camp cook for a rag-tag team of dreamers. He holds a BA in English and has worked as a cook in a variety of different food service establishments. As an entrepreneur, he co-founded a short lived, but delicious, fried hand pie company. He loves wandering around flea markets and hiking through the woods. He has a passion for pizza and good beer. |