Back in early June, I made reservations for a backcountry permit for RMNP. They are very picky about backcountry camping, and only allow camping at designated sites. Permits are required, fires are forbidden, bear precautions are necessary, and a toilet is provided within 100 yards of the campsite. Yes, a toilet. I wish I had taken a picture, but it was a metal base with a toilet seat mounted to a wooden platform covering a hole in the ground. No walls. Just a shitter with a great view.
Anyway, we picked up the permit around 2:00 (4 hours after they had cancelled it due to our tardiness…woops) and were at the trailhead by 2:30. We couldn’t figure out what Sarah had managed to fill her pack with.
Mike and I kept a brisk pace and hiked the 4.5 miles to our campsite in 2 hours. The tent was distributed between all of our packs, so Mike and I sat on our pads and read while waiting and swatting at the mosquitoes. I am currently reading High Crimes, a book about the corruption surrounding Mt. Everest. I’m sure I will write a post about it after I finish reading it. Anyway, we made the short hike to Ypsilon Lake and checked out the falls that drained into the lake. Jeff and Sarah rolled in a couple hours behind us. Sarah started unpacking her pack to reveal at least a weeks worth of food for all four of us. Needless to say, I had two meals planned that filled 2 sandwich bags that could have fed us all for the 2 day trip.
We set up camp and headed to the river to fill up on water. While Mike pumped his little heart out, I snapped some pictures of Ypsilon Falls. It was dark, I didn’t feel like fussing with my tripod much, and the falls fell at an angle, so I struggled to align the camera perpendicular to the horizon. After some adjustment, I think this is spot on (even though it still looks cockeyed).
The next morning, our tent started stirring at 8:30 (3 hours after my alarm went off). After a quick breakfast, Mike and I headed down the trail with the intent to summit Mt. Chiquita and Ypsilon Peak, while Jeff and Sarah took off the opposite direction to find Spectacle Lakes. Since there is no established trail from the Chipmunk Lake side, we did some serious bushwhacking to reach the east ridge of the peak.
After climbing above treeline, we were forced to continue our ascent over talus. Our route to the summit was steep, tedious, and boring. Mike was forced to turn back near the summit due to altitude sickness, while I pressed on to the top of Mt. Chiquita. Along the way, I found tons of Columbine patches, reflected on the climb up from Chipmunk Lake, and spotted Chiquita Lake.
As I approached the summit, I saw scores of fat marmots relaxing on the sunny rocks atop Mt. Chiquita. I was downwind from them, and a couple allowed me to get within 10′ of them.
This one was my favorite. I wish I could sit at 13,051′ all day and get fat! I think the last picture in this group is my favorite. I call it "Sleepy Marmot".
I think he needs to go in for some teeth whitening, though.
The marmots got tired of me, hopped off their rocks, and led me to the summit register (seriously, the motioned for me to follow them). I signed the book and headed to the saddle between Chiquita and Ypsilon. 40 minutes later, I reached the summit of Ypsilon Peak (13,445′). As I flipped through the log, I found some familiar names.
A group of three approached the summit shortly after me, and the first of the group asked me to hold his hand as he approached the edge. He professed his fear of heights, clenched my hand, and after viewing the unnamed lake below said "That’s good enough for me. I’m ready to get the hell off of this mountain!" I started down what I believed to be Donner Ridge, a class III route to Spectacle Lakes. I reached a long class IV move that I wasn’t comfortable descending solo, headed back up the ridge, and descended the peak by the same route I had taken up. I summited Mt. Chiquita 50 minutes later, waved at the marmots, and started the shitty descent across the talus.
From left to right, the ridge below Chiquita, Ypsilon Peak, columbine with Ypsilon in the background (2), and a panorama of Chiquita and Ypsilon (although I think that only a false summit of Chiquita can be seen in this picture).
I picked a more direct path back to our campsite to avoid some of the talus and made the descent in just over 2 hours. Jeff, Sarah, and Mike were waiting for me in the tent (they were trying to escape the bite of the mosquitoes).
The first words out of them were "Hey, if we pack up now, we can make it back to the car before dark!" I dropped the bear bag after determining that it was at least Mike-proof.
We made a speedy descent to the car with a couple picture-and-pee stops on the way down. As we neared the car, we realized that a group picture hadn’t been taken. I didn’t feel like setting up my tripod, so we settled for testing out my sweet wide-angle lens.
My friend Kristin from Kansas was in Estes Park, and we met her at the Estes Park Brewery for dinner before driving home for some much needed rest. I’d like to point out that the last 4 posts have received ZERO comments. If this pattern continues, I am going on strike.
