My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

The following morning we drove to the trailhead and prepared to head up the mountain. Unfortunately I couldn't take Yukon along.....she's just too old and she's having issues with her hips, and this climb would have been too strenuous on her body. I got Yukon almost exactly 10 years ago when I was in Montana, on a trip to Alaska. She's been nothing less than a phenomenal dog and best friend, always up for that next adventure. Getting old just plain sucks.....I hate it.....





So Tanner and I headed up the mountain. Not far from the start we ran into a herd of mountain goats.....





Of course the views were the best ever.....







I think it was Tanner's first time in the snow.....



For a pup, actually for any dog, he did great scrambling through the rockfall.....



The weather was perfect that day and we made the summit.....certainly didn't set any time records. Unfortunately there's actually a road that goes almost to this summit, so it was a bit crowded on top. I saw only a few people on the trail as most people prefer to drive.....



It was a great day. We stayed a second night up high acclimatizing for the next anticipated summit.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Whenever I saw this guy, I always had the same thought....."I wish we were friends". It's a sad day to have lost Anthony Bourdain. What an inspiration he was in so many ways.....



After climbing Mount Evans and spending a second night up high, we returned to Idaho Springs and hung for an afternoon. Walking around the outskirts of town we came across the Charlie Tayler Waterwheel. Interesting and beautiful as well.....





As much as I liked this little town, we needed to move on.....we needed a spot to park for the night. I stopped in at a rafting joint and got an invitation to hang out and smoke (it's Colorado you know). I declined but found a spot nearby to stay for the night along Clear Creek. Rafters were out in full force.....



Up early the next day we drove west briefly on the interstate and exited in Georgetown, Colorado. Passing through town I thought it looked like a place we needed to visit, but we were climbing Mount Bierstadt (14,060') this day so there was no time for a visit then. We drove south to Guanella Pass and the Mount Bierstadt Trailhead.....



Once again it was only Tanner and I climbing, leaving Yukon behind alone in the camper.....I'm not sure how many more times I can do this, if at all.....

It was a perfect day for a climb and it was a perfect climb.....





Unlike Mount Evans, this trail was heavily used, and we met so many nice people along the way. Tanner is so social that he opens the door.....



We made great time, and we made the summit.....

Incredible views....incredible day.....so thankful.....

 

[furbucket]

Love this so much!

The tone of the last two "mountain hiking" posts is so different from the "humid tick infested" posts that I think you should probably just stick to mountains and Mexican beaches...


...sent from my an evil pocket calculator with a flashy screen...

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

furbucket.....I agree 100%.....I don't like 37' Renegade Classic Motorhomes, ticks, and humidity !

I had mentioned in my previous post that I wanted to check out Georgetown, Colorado before we moved on so I dropped in at the Family Dollar Store and was given permission to stay in their lot for a night. The next day really was about checking out the old buildings, that's where my interests lie.....



I poked my head into a few of the shops, but when you're homeless, what's the point ? I'm no buyer.....





Georgetown is truly a historic town. I walked all the back streets to check out the homes, of which most had plaques attached that said they were constructed in the 1800's. Some were beautifully restored.....others not so much.....like these buildings.....





I just liked this.....I don't why.....



I met the people that lived in this "home".....the owner corrected me when I said "I love your log cabin" and he said "it's not a log cabin, it's a home". He told me it was built in 1922 and has never left the family, and he hopes it never will.....



A few miles west of Georgetown is another, even smaller town.....Silver Plume, Colorado. I checked it out as well and not near as interesting as Georgetown. Old buildings, jailhouse, dusty unpaved roads, and a touristy railway thingy.....







We left for the mountains, camped up high in the woods.....it's time to climb some more.....

 

[azken]

This is overdue..thank you for your time and effort in taking pictures and giving descriptions of the old towns, buildings, and other landmarks you encounter on your travel..I really take time to look and enjoy them.

 

[nathane]

Love the travels, keep the stories coming to inspire us all!

Do you think the facts that Charlie Taylor (he of the waterwheel) never had a bath and never kissed women were connected?

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Azken.....it's great you're enjoying my stuff and I appreciate the feedback.....

nathane.....thanks and that's cool "inspire us all". As to your second comment, I think you're on to something.....I need a shower.....


....."Reading made me a traveler; travel sent me back to the books".....Paul Theroux.....Deep South


So back on Interstate 70, headed west, but briefly once again. We were off the interstate in Bakerville, Colorado, a town with no buildings and no houses and no people. Actually from what I saw, Bakerville consists of an exit from the interstate, a huge gravel & dirt parking lot and the remnants of a few shacks. Anyhow, we spent 2 nights in downtown Bakerville......



Close to our campsite was this magnificent creek.....



Beavers dammed it up just upstream from the campsite and it was a perfect spot to bathe, but damn, with all the snow runoff, it sure was ice cold.....





Of course the cold water didn't bother my two knucklehead best friends.....



Running parallel to the creek is the Continental Divide Trail. It was awesome walking through the pine forests. I'll bet for thru hikers on the trail, this section must be considered a super highway.....



And this is one of the things I've noticed about Colorado.....so far, everything is really nice and clean. And these people rarely litter.....they care. I love them for that.....



Anyhow, we came to Bakerville to climb mountains, and climb mountains we did. From our campsite / parking lot, we took the Jeep up a four wheel drive road to the trailhead (this picture was actually taken on the way out, therefore it's looking downhill). It was one rough road.....



There were a few old buildings and cabins along the way. I would imagine some of these are from the mining operations but I don't know for sure.....



Tanner and I were on the trail at 6:45 a.m. and we were blessed with near perfect weather once again.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Our plan for this day was to summit two peaks.....first would be Grays Peak at 14,270' followed by Torreys Peak at 14,427'. It's fairly typical of climbers to get both of these in one day due to their close proximity to one another. The summits are approximately 0.8 miles apart.....

When I was in Denver I bought a book..... "The Colorado 14ers.....The Standard Routes". In this book it states that the average trip time is 6 to 8 hours. With poor old Yukon left in the camper, I was feeling bad (guilty), so Tanner and I pushed ourselves pretty damn hard. We made our first summit 2 hours 15 minutes.....

Here's a shot of Grays Peak.....



Magnificent views for 360 degrees.....





From the summit of Grays Peak, the trail descends 600' into a saddle, before then rising back up approximately 800' to the summit of Torreys Peak.....

At this point I'm really, really tired.....we've pushed ourselves.....but, also, I'm really, really happy.....

More wonderful views from up high.....



The descent took us across this snowfield.....



In the previous picture maybe it doesn't look so long or very steep down that snowfield, but it actually really is a bit long and very steep, and with Tanner pulling me on the leash, it was a little sketchy.....



We met a bunch of fun people on the mountain that day.....it's kind of a party atmosphere as we all have the same goal.....except for this very cool and quiet unusual young couple that were planning on snowboarding down that steep snowfield. Probably what caught my eye and prompted me to ask if I could have their picture (just for this blog)....well, it was those climbing shoes ! Check them out ! These kids are great in my book.....



We did the entire trip in 5 hours exactly.....we were dead.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

As much as I would have loved to climb more mountains, these would be our last for now. Yukon had patiently waited for me three times.....that was enough for me.....

From here we drove north and camped in the Arapahoe National Forest, just south of Rocky Mountain National Park.....



Laying in bed that evening I noticed Tanner staring out the window. I took a look and saw a guy holding his dog's head down, smashed into the gravel while punching it with a closed fist. I screamed out the window, and quickly went outside. Things escalated very quickly, he threatened me, attempted to fight me several times, I took pictures, he took pictures, I called the police. He said he was a retired policeman (a sticker on his rear window read "US ARMY MILITARY POLICE CORPS"), that he was sick of my ********, and was going to get me. The following morning he returned with a gun, fired off maybe 20 or 30 rounds while standing several hundred feet from me. I once again called the police and then I left. I won't post his pictures, but you can envision an overweight white guy, bald head with dark Oakley sunglasses on. What a piece of ********.....

By the way, he told me that he was beating the dog because he wanted to teach it not to run away. Huh ?

We drove into Rocky Mountain National Park but I wasn't feeling it. It was getting crowded.....I took a few pictures, turned around and drove west.....





We stopped at a few beautiful lakes along the way.....





Driving north out of Craig, Colorado, a huge brush fire stopped our progress.....





We turned around, drove south for a couple of miles and camped at a roadside turn off. It's amazing sometimes how lucky you can get just by chance. This was a good place.....

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Wow, im sorry to hear that! I cant stand animal abuse!!!! Nothing gets me more, sounds like you did a better job than I of keeping a cool head. I hope the PD was able to do something, at least they have a report and information.

 

[parkkitchings]

Glad to hear you're still out there Jerry and things are well with your companions. I just rolled back into the PNW after three months on the road but haven't gotten around to updating the blogsite. Thanks for posting up as I'm way behind on your travels. Noted in your post about the beating of a helpless animal........there are some sick people in this world. Trust me, here's one pooch that will never get beaten.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

PNWY.....like I said, he's a piece of ********.....

Park.....great pic (as usual).....can't wait for the updates.....

I thought you might be curious why this was a "good place". First off, the couple in the travel trailer didn't last an hour. They said it smelled funny and that there were too many bugs. So the first reason would be the solitude. And second would be the wildlife.....it was incredibly abundant. And third would be the landscape.....it was so, so beautiful.....

A few pictures to show you what I saw.....







A little about the area.....quiet interesting.....



The next picture is a Doe with her 2 fawns. I spotted them in the early morning hours.....



I mentioned earlier about the abundant wildlife.....well, I saw tons of mule deer, antelope, beaver, gophers, rabbits, song birds and waterfowl. Yes.....yet another symphony as I've come to call it.....it truly was spectacular.....





Anyhow, the fire was extinguished overnight and the road reopened.....we drove north. Crews were still at work as we passed.....





After nearly two weeks in Colorado, we left and entered Wyoming.....



Colorado was great and I have a whole new perspective of the state.....I'll be anxious to return one day.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Our first day in Wyoming would be a travel day.....by the end of the day, we had logged about 270 miles. I really wanted to make it to some hot springs that I've visited in the past.....but we fell short.....

We caught Interstate 80 and drove west. Windows down and music cranked up.....





A few Expedition Portal members passed us along the way.....



We had a late lunch in Rock Springs, Wyoming. I once lived here.....it was years ago.....I'd guess I was maybe 20 or so. I bought a Ford Bronco and left my home in Virginia, and spent 2 years living on the road. And it was in Rock Springs where I had spent my last penny, maybe 6 months into my journey, and I found work here. I worked on gas pipelines and oil wells, in the middle of a bitter Wyoming winter. I spent many a day on snow mobiles and in track vehicles.....it sucked. But I was young, eyes and mind wide open, few experiences, few regrets.....what a wonderful period in one's life.....



Our stay in Rock Springs was brief.....I was so focused on the hot springs. We drove north.....





I finally gave in and drove down a national forest road and parked for the night. There would be no soaking in a hot spring this night.....



The views from our campsite are exceptional.....





This was our neighbor last night.....



The hot springs are on my mind.....

 

[2wheelbob]

Just got back on dry land from a 2 month work tour and got caught up on your travels. If you find yourself up in Yellowstone country and need a place to crash, shower, laundry, etc. drop me a line. Doors always open and the coffee is always on and plenty of RV space....and we're dog friendly!!

 

[ClayH]

Your a braver man than me for not returning fire on that DB. Of course I dont take you for a gun guy. I am and I wouldnt have hesitated.