This is Crestone...

 I met three lovely locals on a walk this morning.

Two were a young couple who live in a teepee.

One was a 65-ish man with a ZZ Top beard. He's moving to the Ozarks because there are "too damn many people" in Crestone now, and it's "too Californicated." (The population of ALL of Saguache County, CO is 6,000.)

Also, Crestone has a population of 146, as of 2018. (To be fair, many more people live in the neighboring Baca Grant areas, where my current place is: probably a good portion of those 6,000 residents of Saguache County.) This small village has two small grocery stores, both of which are considerably nicer than any grocery store in my town of 60,000 people. Healthy eating is clearly a priority here. The granola factor is, let's say..."off the charts."

As a former 12-months-a-year Birkenstock wearer* (a lifetime ago in Seattle), I feel among my people here.

(*With the heavy wool socks, of course. My niece and nephew still apparently refer to them as "Uncle Craig socks.")

Pics from around my place in Crestone

The deck, where I tried to work earlier this afternoon, but the sun was too bright. I'll have to find the sweet spots of the day, when it's not too cold but not too bright.

Kit Carson Peak, a 14er, from the door to my apartment:

Kit Carson (left) and Crestone Peak (right), both 14ers, from the driveway.

You can see that Crestone (elev. 8,000) is right on the border between the arid San Luis Valley and its pinon-juniper trees (where it has trees at all), and the mountain forests.

Amazing, epic backpacking trip

I spent 6 days in the Needle Range of the San Juan mountains, in a beautiful low-elevation river valley, then over two challenging passes, one just under 13,000 ft. and the other off-trail at 13,600 ft. I saw spectacular mountain lakes, rugged peaks, mountain goats, and a gorgeous display of golden Aspen.

Just for fun, I also got to have the excitement of a porcupine coming in my tent in the middle of the night.

Here are a bajillion photos. If you would like to read a long and detailed report of the trip, it can be found here.

Last stop!

Last night, I completed a truly epic week of backpacking in the Needle Range, San Juan Mountains (SW Colorado). Looking at the photos, I have so many stunning ones--it will take me a little time to sort through. 

Today I arrived at the final stop of my retreat, a spectacular loft apartment in Crestone, Colorado.

I adore Crestone. I've passed through several times before and after hikes in the Sangres, and have camped in the area for quick overnighters before starting a hiking trip, but have never actually stayed any longer than that. Crestone has a unique spirit about it--it is a very "earthy" community.

View from my 2nd-story deck

Sunset from the deck

Monster Day Hike

Yesterday, I did a monster dayhike: about 16 miles and about 3,500 ft of elevation gained and lost. It was along Lime Mesa for about 3 miles, and then 5 miles of glorious off-trail travel along the precipice of Mountain View Crest. The high point of the ridge is Overlook Point at 12,998 ft. (Let's just call it 13,000.) My feet are complaining today, but it was spectacular.

Mountain View Crest is an amazing transition between worlds, where the gentle rolling tundra to the south of the crest meets the extremely steep and rugged terrain of the Needle Creek drainage to the north. Next week, I will backpack to (among other places), the headwaters of Needle Creek, called Chicago Basin. Chicago Basin is one of the legendary places in the Colorado backcountry, surrounded by 14ers. During the summer, it tends to be "crowded" with climbers.

The gentle south side of Mountain View Crest

First view of the Needles

Ruby Lake

Pearl Lake and Webb Lake

The west end of Mountain View Crest, a "peninsula in the sky."

Looking back at the route (over those "bumps").

Looking north and (way) down to the Animas River

Chicago Basin peaks

 

If you want to read way more details about the hike, and see some really spectacular photos, have a look at this blog post, which is how I learned about the route.