I met a friend who lives in Colorado to do a one-way hike on the
Continental Divide Trail from Monarch Pass to Marshall Pass. We set up a
two-car shuttle, which meant a fair amount of driving before and after
the 11.something mile hike, to which we added a side climb off-trail
toward (but not quite to) the summit of Mt. Ouray (YOU-ray) at 13,971
ft. So it was a very long day. (I left my place at 5:00am.)
We were literally walking on or very near the Continental Divide the whole way, usually above the trees with sweeping views. Unfortunately, the air did become a little more smoky later in the day. We did not even leave the trail to start the climb until after 1:00. (In summer this would be suicidal, because of lightning.) We made it to the last summit ridge above 13,000, but by then it was super windy and smoky, so turning back was a pretty easy call.
This area of Colorado is very different from the more rugged ranges my other hikes took place in: more gentle, grassy slopes. It was very beautiful.
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| Most of a grouse, on the off-trail beginning of our climb |
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| Mt. Ouray Summit |
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| Tiny tarns glistening in the sun |
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