September is gone and winter is (fingers crossed) on the way. If I want one more blast of waking up near an alpine lake (and boy do I!), I’d better get on it. Time to squeeze in one more quick backcountry hit.

Old friend and uber-backpacking nerd Chris joined me for a Friday-after-work hike in to Jasper Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. In the post-equinox world, that meant headlamps for the last half of it, but no matter. It was nice to have company on the very dark and spooky approach to it was nice to arrive late enough that the long night wasn’t a problem. Of course, it was nice to catch up with my old friend Chris again too.

After a windy, warm night, we set out on a rapidly-dwindling social trail north of the mostly-empty Jasper Lake up the Storm Lake drainage under a gloomy October sky. By the time we gained the Divide south of Jasper Peak, the weather had improved and my ambition to climb Jasper Peak had mellowed. Instead we set out south on the ridgeline past Devil’s Thumb and onto the familiar and well-worn High Lonesome route.

Chris lead us on a circuitous route across Skyscraper Peak, past the ruins of the glacier of the same name, and then down a steep slope to Bob and Betty Lakes. Thence back down the King Lake trail for a nice, wilder version of the classic High Lonesome Loop.

It was a nice bookend to the summer backpacking season. What I ushered in with a breathless solo night at Lost Lake in March with lots of uncertainty, I finished not far away with a well-dialed system and an old friend to keep me company. I’m content now to hang up the summer gear and wait patiently for the promised flakes to fly.

https://www.strava.com/activities/20440427158

This entry was posted in backpacking, exploration, night, Uncategorized and tagged backpack, backpacking, betty lake, bob lake, chris, colorado, High Lonesome Loop, hiking, Indian Peaks Wilderness, jasper lake, King Lake, storm lake. Bookmark the permalink.