In The Shadow of Longs Peak
28 June 2025
After breakfast, the four of us hike up to the boardwalk. Jen and Nick hang out to fish. Gary and I cross the boardwalk to our backpacking trail and head upward. But, its pretty hot and we turn around after a mile or so. Once back at the boardwalk, we take a detour on another branch that dead-ends at the creek, where we pick out way back to the trailhead and back to camp. Nick and Jen are already there, Nick is fishing, Jen supervising. They help us get our chairs to a mid-river sandbar where we sit awhile.
Soon, time for Nick & Jen to pack up and head home. Gary and I hang-out a bit, but we both crawl into the tent early. The heat sapped our energy.
29 June 2025
If my dad were alive, he would have been 101 years old today!
Gary and I have a quick breakfast with leisurely cups of coffee, then we pack up and load the truck.
Before heading out, we hike up the South Fork Trail for a mile or so. The trail sometimes hugs the creek, sometimes not. It’s not quite as hot as yesterday and we are both glad. We reach a marshy area that does not have a passage, so head back.
There is quite a bit of traffic on the way home, and it takes us 4 hours! But a nice outing!
28 June 2025
Log Jam
At the lower edge of this site is a creek wide log jam, which I am drawn to. The logs themselves are grey, smooth, and weathered; they crisscross each other forming a triangle. There is a combination of smooth grey limbs contrasted with rough undersides where the rough ends of bark remain.
The water is moving rapidly and slams into the right side of the jam and then is pushed back, creating a series of diagonal waves.
Williams' Fork
27 June 2025 - 29 June 2025
Williams Fork Car Camping
27 June 2025
An outing to Williams Fork for hiking and car camping with Gary's niece, Jen Cage and her new husband, Nick, a two-night, three-day adventure. Gary originally discovered this area. In 2018, the year a solar eclipse passed thru Glendo, Wyo., we came up and backpacked to a spot about 3 miles from the trailhead along William’s Fork Stream.
Gary arrived at my place just before 10 AM. We loaded the truck and were on our way by 10:30 and driving up the Ute Pass Road at 1:45, so just over 2 hours to that point. Which was not bad considering there were 3 traffic slow-downs on I-70.
At South Fork Campground, we were first and selected site 2, next to the creek, which is split a couple branches.
The site had a nice mix of sun & shade. We unloaded, setup camp, then hiked up to the boardwalk, whose condition was not much worse than the last time we were here. After that, we walked around the Sugarloaf Campground, then back to camp.
Once at camp, we simply sat & relaxed, nice to do since so often when we camping we are on the go. I wrote in my journal and did a couple sketches.
Jen & Nick thought they would get about 7:15 and at 7:20 they pulled in. Now, we work to show off our camp-cooking skills and work to make pizzas in the Dutch Oven. They came out well and were a nice treat!