[at-l] Trip Report

[pmags@juno.com (Paul A Magnanti)]

As usual, the winter in the Front Range of Colorado is  mild. Today, I
saw people wearing shorts, most people were just wearing light jackets. 
Spring is almost here. Though another snowstorm or two may happen, the
snow will be gone in a day. 

The mountains, however, are another story.   Winter is still there, not
yet releasing it's grip. Though the day was sunny, the wind howled, and
it felt  quite a bit colder at  the trailhead, located at 10000 feet.

This past weekend, I have my first cold in over two years. Yeeech. When
my alarm went off 6:30 this morning, there was no way I was going to do
my ambitious climb for the day.   But the weather was too nice to do
nothing, a mild case of the sniffles shouldn't keep me from the mountains
totally. :)  So I scaled back my trip (after waking up at 8:30) and
decided to snowshoe in to a Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) hut that is well
below treeline and is a moderate hike.  

Could not have asked for a better day. Once away from the trailhead, and
into the sheleter of the trees, the wind died down considerably.  Bright
sunshine, and crisp blue sky. Once away from the trailhead, the crowds
seemed to vanish,too. As usual when I hike, the mind seemed to work on
two levels. First, I noticed how gorgeous everything was, took in the
sight of the white snow and lodgepole pines -remninding me a bit of New
Hampshire; though it is winter, the sun felt warm.

The other level is doing some thinking I otherwise would not do.  Some of
it silly (well most of it. :D), some profound, some of the thinking about
things I have pushed to the back of my mind. Ah yes, gorgeous scenery and
psycho analysis, all at 2-3 MPH.

Before I knew it, smelled smoke.  Sure enough, I turned the corner and
saw the CMC hut. Not the giant hostels of AMC land, but more like the
huts  that the Green Mountain Club has in northern Vermont.  Great spot
for a lunch, and according to the hosts, I just missed a large group. 
The wood stove was inviting, and for $1, could have a cup or two of hot 
cocoa/tea.   The hosts work on a volunteer basis, and can stay as many
nights as they want. Hmm, sign me up! :) 

Snowshoed back to the trailhead.  Feeling much better than I felt this
morning. To heck with chicken soup, give me a relaxing day of
snowshoeing!




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The true harvest of my life is intangible... a little star-dust caught, a
 segment of the rainbow which I have clutched.
-- -Thoreau
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