Eagle's Nest Wilderness - Kayla's 3rd Annual Backpacking Trip

Last year we made an early trip, and were a little more limited on locations as a result of snow cover at higher elevations.  This year we planned the trip at the end of July, so we didn't have to worry about snow as much, though we did have to contend with the unpredictable monsoon season afternoon storms.  For those not familiar, the weather pattern shifts this time of year, and brings more moisture up from the south.  The heat during the day mixed with this moisture creates typical afternoon storms.  Over the mountains, they start forming around mid-day.  Down where we live, we get the storms late afternoon, and then over the plains they get hit overnight.  Even though the likelihood of storms is standard, the weather is still highly localized.  It could be storming intensely here, and on the next ridge be sunny, so it's difficult to really plan around it, other than to know what to expect and be smart.  We still planned an interesting trip, with the contingencies and understanding that the trip might change if the weather went really haywire.

I really like to get away from people when we go out.  I don't mind seeing some people (I'm an absolute extrovert), but when I take time off work and we go to the wilderness, I want a wilderness experience.  This is why the Maroon Bells loop isn't on my list; I want some quiet and to explore with some peace, not go from loud world to circus wilderness.  In my research for quietest places in the state, one range kept coming up: the Gore Range in the Eagle's Nest Wilderness.  In addition to the Needle Mountains in the San Juans, the Gore is probably the most rugged range in the state.  There are no mining roads crisscrossing the mountains, so any approach in is from the outer edge with a fairly strenuous hike.  There are also no 14ers, so the area doesn't attract all the egomaniacs who somehow believe the only mountain worth visiting is over 14,000 ft.  There are several 13ers and the area is gorgeous.  I was sold!

We planned to hike in on the Gore Creek Trail up to Gore Lake for night one.  The next morning, go off-trail and up to Snow Lake, over Snow Pass and down to Deluge Lake for night two.  On the third morning, we'd hike the remaining 4.5 miles out on the Deluge Lake Trail where it meets up with the Gore Creek Trail for the last quarter mile or so back to the car.  About 18 miles total over three days, with the first day ~7 miles, the second ~6.5 and the final 4.5 miles.  After last year's 8-10 mile days, I figured we'd cut back a little this year, especially since the entire second day was navigation cross-country over passes.

The night before we left, it poured for hours.  Probably 6 hours of just crazy rain.  The road looked like a river.  I was hoping the weather got it out of its system!  As we left the house just before 5:30am, the sunrise was gorgeous.

The drive was pleasant and uneventful as desired.  When we got to Vail, it was cool, but the perfect start to the day.  Blue sky, shining sun and the roar of Gore Creek to our right.  

It was just a stunning morning, and Kayla was happily hiking along through the aspen groves, along the creek and past lots of flowers (she loved the yellow ones that reminded her of sunflowers).

 

It was a pretty steady hike for the first few miles.  Definitely uphill, but not too bad.  Then it went quite steep for a couple of miles, which tested Kayla's resolve a bit.  But we pushed on and made it to Gore Lake.  We had passed a few dayhikers (well technically they passed us on the way up, and then we passed them as they were coming back down...), but hadn't seen any other backpackers.  It looked like we might have the place to ourselves!  

Having to carry my gear plus most of Kayla's is tiring, so after we set up camp, I laid down to take a little nap.  While I was sleeping, Kayla went to go explore.  She ended up all over the place, going up for some views down south and outrunning the mosquitos (she dubbed this "Mosquito Camp" as there were countless numbers of the little buggers here).  When I got up 40 minutes later, she took me on a tour of where she had gone.  Little girl made some tracks!  We had a little talk about letting me know where she was going to go and carrying a whistle at least, but I was impressed.  After being exhausted when we got into camp, she found new energy to run around (and she was running!). 

Yes, I've been wearing that same shirt for the last 14 years and wear it all the time on hikes

 

Looking at the southern border of the Gore Range/EN Wilderness

Looking north toward Gore Lake

Kayla had been begging me to wade in the lake with her the whole time we were enjoying the scenery.  So we did some wading.  It was cold, but refreshing.  There was a spot in the rocks with a ton of little crawfish and the water was crystal clear.  

We had dinner and got it packed in pretty early for the evening (it wasn't dark yet when we went to bed).  We both brought books on this trip, so we read for a bit and then passed out.  I knew tomorrow would be a challenging day and wanted to get a decent start.  

We slept like rocks.  I got up at one point during the night for a bathroom break and stayed out for a few minutes staring at the stars.  It was so clear, and even in shorts and a t-shirt I didn't find it very cold.  Beautiful.  But all too soon, it was time to wake up!

Wakey wakey!

We got packed up pretty quickly and were back on the trail around 8am.  Exact mileage was hard to know for the day, nor did we really know what to expect on the cross country adventure.  I had looked at maps and satellite views and had checked out the two area trip reports I could find, but it was still a decent mystery what we'd find.

I knew if we backtracked a good half mile (and a lot of elevation loss), we could follow the creek up through to the lake.  I also knew we'd have to make all that elevation back (plus a lot more) and that we'd also be adding another mile or so to the day, so we eyed another pass and decided we'd explore that and see if we could get through that way.  I asked Kayla if she'd ever seen the movie Heidi, as it reminded me of it, with all of the wildflowers and the beautiful mountain views.  

It was steep!

Then we got to our first rocks of the day.  They weren't too bad, but certainly not as enjoyable as the grass.  Kayla loves the rocks.  She's a little mountain goat, and gets a kick out of scrambling.  There were marmots and pikas around, which she also loved.  

And then we came to the first challenge of the day.  I had a water bottle on the same strap as Kayla's sleeping bag (I can't fit both sleeping bags, both sleeping pads, the tent and bear canister within the pack, so her bag and pad are strapped to the outside straps), and the weight of the bottle combined with the slippery nylon stuff sack caused the sleeping bag to slide loose.  I saw it out of the corner of my eye, but couldn't grab it on the steep rock ascent.  We watched it bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce down.  Each time it hit a rock and spun, gaining momentum and distance, we both winced a bit, not knowing when it would stop.  It finally did.  It was pretty far down.  I had some choice words for the occasion.  Kayla took off her pack and declared "I'm going to go get it!".  I took off my pack, and said "no, you're not."  I had her sit on a flat grass patch and I scrambled down to get it.  

You can see Kayla waiting somewhat patiently for me waaaay up there

Now that we got everything secure again, we continued up and over.  It wasn't too long after that we rounded the bend and saw the creek that ran from Snow Lake.  We were almost there!  A deer sighting and a high-five for the accomplishment as Snow Lake came into view on the left.  

At this point, we didn't make the best decision.  I could see across the valley, and knew we could get to the pass from that side (it's on the far left of the pano above).  But we'd have to drop about 200 feet to get there, and then back up the other side.  OR, we could stay on this side, though we didn't know what the terrain would be, and maintain the contour line.  We chatted for a minute and decided we'd scope out this side, but we might need to backtrack and get to the other side at some point.  Kayla was game, so we set off.  

I didn't take a lot of pictures on this section, because it was pretty much a nightmare.  Instead of rock hopping, it was boulder hopping, and some snow crossings.  Finally, we got to a place where we could see the rest, and it was apparent it was only going to get worse (car-sized boulders and very steep snow crossings), so I decided we needed to back-track and use the other side before we wasted more time.  The weather had been great, but there were clouds coming in, and I wanted to be over the pass before the weather got sketchy.  I didn't have a great feeling the way the clouds were forming to the east.  

So we backtracked.  Across two snowfields and boulder fields and things were good.  Then the last snow field, I decided we'd cut switchbacks so we could get down to a good crossing point.  Kayla was nervous on the crossings in general, and having to descend on this one made her more nervous.  So I tried to chop in some better footholds for her instead of treading more lightly as I'd prefer.  With the snow melting underneath, it's a gamble to tramp down, but it was more important to me to get Kayla safely down and across.  About half way down, I stabbed my trekking poles into the snow to test them, and being solid, I plunged my foot forward.  I had some more choice words for the day as my foot went through the snow down to my knee.  And I couple more words when I pulled it up and realized it grazed a rock and sliced the side of my leg.  It wasn't deep, but it looks pretty against the white snow.  Or something.  

Examination at the bottom.  Not too bad. 

Kayla finishing the switchbacks I made with my sweat and blood

Once we got across, we had a quick snack.  Kayla suggested I use a bandaid on my cut.  I wasn't sure a bandaid would get the job done, so I told her I'd wash it when we got over the pass and then wrap it up if I needed to.  I really wanted to get over the pass as the clouds were coming in a bit more and it was definitely raining east of us.  

Here's a shot looking back at the side we tried to cross initially:

As we continued on this side of the valley toward the pass, there's still no trail, but there were bits and pieces of goat trails.  There was another rock crossing and snow crossing, but mostly it was just steep through wildflowers and trying to move faster than the weather to get over the pass.  

We finally made the pass!  It was a stunning view both directions (back toward Snow Lake and toward Deluge Lake).  We took a minute to enjoy the views.

Looking west toward Deluge Lake

Back east toward Snow Lake

When I had done some research on whether this pass was actually passable, only one source mentioned it at all, and they said there was a "narrow band" you could follow down.  I know what a narrow band is, and there wasn't really much of one.  But, there was only one way we could get down (i.e. one way that wasn't a completely sheer drop).  So we followed a goat path for the first bit.  Kayla ended up getting down on her bottom and pretty much slowly sliding.  It was really steep.  

The goat trail pretty much got us down the initial section and to that grass you can see in the picture above.  From there, there was no more path and another boulder field to cross going down.  Oh, and I hurt myself again.  I had been giving Kayla some good lead room in case I lost control.  It was great until she inexplicably stopped at the exact moment I got some momentum and started sliding.  I yelled "Kayla, move!"  She didn't.  So I twisted into the side of the trail to stop myself and avoid throwing her off the mountain with my momentum.  I smashed my leg into a rock and probably said something I shouldn't.  I looked at it and there was no blood, just a little pink spot.  It hurt, but it wasn't the end of the world.  Same leg as earlier, but we kept moving.  Another boulder field and another snow field.  Yippee.  

That snow field actually saved us a lot of work, though.  Had it not been there, it would have taken another 40 minutes to complete the boulders, instead of the 2 minutes it took to heel-plunge.  

Sometimes it drives me crazy how impossible it is to capture scale in pictures, but that trip up and down the pass was a tough one, especially with all of the gear on our backs.  Our trekking poles were all scratched, as was Kayla's water bottle.  I lost a nice bottle completely somewhere.  Kayla asked if I was going back to find it.  Not a chance, kiddo.  

The clouds had really started to move in as we descended the pass, and we needed to find a campsite and set up.  I didn't want highest ground in case it stormed, but didn't want lowest ground in case it flooded.  I didn't want to be under trees if there was lightning, but trees nearby are nice for shade, wind protection and a little privacy.  I found a perfect spot, though it isn't completely apparent from the pictures I took from only one angle.  

As soon as we had the tent up, it started to hail.  We grabbed our things and got into the tent.  The hail was pea-sized and probably only last about 5 minutes.  Then it stopped.  For about 5 minutes.  And then the heavens opened.  Torrential downpour, wind gusts I'd estimate in the 40-50 mph range and a little thunder to make things interesting.  I wasn't worried about the thunder, because I could tell it was east of us, but the wind was blowing the rainfly against the tent, and getting water underneath it.  With the fly pressing against the tent, we were getting moisture into the tent.  I told Kayla to keep her sleeping bag off the wall as I got out of the tent in the rain to try and find a way to get more distance.  There wasn't, and when I got back in, Kayla was asleep.  I messaged Laura on the inReach to see what the weather forecast was, but before she replied, Kayla woke up.  Her bag had been pressed against the wall and was soaked.  No matter the forecast, we couldn't do another night with wet sleeping bags.  We had 4.5 miles to go, and it might rain, but it was really cold now that the storm had moved through.  So I made dinner just outside of the tent in the drizzle and we started to pack up.  

After a nice hot meal and with our wet things all packed up, we got ready to move out.  Kayla reminded me I hadn't washed my wound from earlier. I laughed, saying I'd take care of it at home tonight.  Then I looked down at my leg, and the second injury had a bit of a growth on my leg...  

We took a selfie before we headed out.  Kayla was pretty happy she didn't have to spend a cold and wet night in the tent.  I'm not sure she realized how long the 4.5 miles would be...

I've only had that shirt for 11 years

And then down the trail we went!

She loved the mushroom

The trail was so wet.  It didn't rain again, but the plants that were hanging over the trail were soaked.  Some were ankle depth, some were waist deep.  They all soaked us.  When we got the Deluge Creek crossing above, Kayla was trying to rock hop to keep her boots dry.  I wear trail runners, and they were already soaked, so I just walked through the water.  The good news was that all of the water washed that cut on my leg nicely :)

Eventually, we had to pull out the head-lamps.  The wet, slippery and steep trail was slow enough going before it got dark, but that added another element of adventure.  It was pretty slow going, as it got darker, Kayla's resolve started to deteriorate a bit.  

She had told me earlier in the day that she had decided not to complain at all on the hike out.  She hadn't complained all day, but the miles and cold and wet were starting to wear her down.  Generally she talks up a storm when we hike.  But she didn't have the energy any longer, so I talked to her.  I told her stories, talked about other crazy hiking trips I'd done, we talked about aspen trees and calories and how the heart works.  Anything to keep her mind off the trail and keep moving.  

And then finally, we made it!  It was about 10:30pm.  

She passed out quickly in the car, and I had my tunes cranking to stay awake.  We got home around midnight and got all cleaned up.  The next day, I had two packs full of wet things to manage.

Here's the map of the area as well as our GPS tracks.  We've only just barely scratched the surface of the Gore Range and Eagle's Nest Wilderness, and I can't wait to get back and explore other parts in the future.

  

And because I know everyone cares and wants to see more pictures of my sexy leg, a week later, the cut is healing nicely and looks really cool.  The bump on the other side of the leg got really beat up from all of the hiking out on granite and has become delightfully bruised from my calf all the way down to my ankle.  Because I can't really stay off my feet all day, it still hurts every day and by the evening I have to keep it elevated.  A fun souvenir for me that I hope will heal soon so I can get back on the trail ;)  

Kayla is super awesome to hike with, and we've had some fun adventures these three years.  Elise is now 6 as well, and gets her first trip a little later this summer.  It's such a special and fun thing I get to share with the kids.  They get to learn, and I get to watch them grow and become independent on the trail, and together we have awesome experiences and bonding time.  I'm so grateful for each and every one of these trips, and especially grateful that Laura is willing to hold down the fort while we're gone, taking on all of the parenting work without her little helper.  And for trusting me with the kids, even when I bang myself up a bit trying to keep them safe.  

Now it's time to start planning the next adventure - with Elise!