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Trip Report - Lone Eagle : “Anybody want some trail mix?” And so the story goes….. It all starts with a pickup at the airport to pick up 3 friends from the good old TELUS days….I try to locate them at the airport, but they get lost at DIA. Is this foreshadowing of things to come? I hope not. After a few failed attempts, we meet on the 6th level and head West (since DIA seems closer to Nebraska than Colorado). On the trip over, Darren distributes several gifts for the group…some smelly cologne for Neel’s showering pleasure, an outdoor solar shower, speakers for iPod, backpacking TP, etc. It’s clear that Darren has spent some time at the local camping retail stores in Ottawa. At Darren’s request, we make a stop off at Outdoor World, so that we can pick up any last minute supplies. Outdoor World blows us all away…but not much needed in terms of gear, as we find out that Darren has basically bought one of everything already. His knowledge of camping gadgets blows me away….I’ve backpacked many a times, but Darren is basically facilitating a lecture on all the latest/greatest gear as we walk through the massive store. We walk through the weapons section, ponder crossbows for the trip, and watch the guy before us in the checkout line buy enough ammo to start the next world war. It’s now time to head to Boulder for some lunch along Pearl Street Mall. We hit the microbrewery rooftop patio, enjoy the sun, drink a cold one and chastise Neel for his “high fever” and avoidance of adult beverages. Saleem makes some odd requests which I can unfortunately not fulfill. Food is good, and beer is better. Everyone still too connected to work as Blackberries works great in Boulder. After lunch, I drop them off at their hotel for naps/conf calls. We decide to pack up gear that night and then head off for a dinner somewhere in town. I head out for date night with Oneea…golf lesson is good (I desperately need them) and then back to the Millenium Hotel to meet up with the guys and pack gear. We enter hotel room 314 and are instantly hit by a wall of HAF (high altitude flatulence). The room is sweaty, smelly and Oneea’s wondering how this can be considered date night. She goes to the hotel bar while we attempt to pack our backpacks. I dump all the food on the bed…there’s an ample supply. We divvy up the food, cooking gear, bags, sleeping pads, etc. Bags packed (at least I believe so), and off to Olive Garden for some carbs. Overindulgence to say the least….Mental note to self – no pre-trip meal to Olive Garden as significantly increases severity of HAF. Drop the guys off at the hotel after dinner, and apparently several more pack/repacks occur before finally dozing off. Fire alarm goes off in middle of night, disrupting a night of important sleep. Friday morning…alarm clock goes off at 3:30am. Pack up final items and head towards Boulder. Pick up guys, pack up car and grab quick coffee and McDonald’s. See an amazing sunrise on the ride up, point out some wildlife to Neel (look Neel, a ground squirrel!) and hit the trailhead at 7am. I’m planning on a 5 hour trip in total, at least this is what I’m telling the novices in the car to keep them focused! Hike starts off great. Beautiful weather, amazing scenery as we walk past Long and Isabelle Lakes. Start gaining some elevation past the lakes and taking lots of breaks. After about 4 hours, we reach Pawnee Pass and are all feeling pretty good. Bagels for everyone. Talk to some people at the Pass….They warn us about the West side of the Pass. I don’t get concerned…Darren and I hop/skip/jump down the pass. We look up and see Saleem and Neel gripping to the mountainside and holding on for dear life. We call Mike and watch them suffer some more. I decide that enough is enough and go up to help talk them down. They finally get down, rattled, and shaky from their off trail experience. We continue heading down from the Pass and look back from time to time to marvel at what we just descended. Also thinking about how much it’s going to suck hiking back up that on Sunday. Saleem and Neel finally catch up to us…they feel good because they survived Pawnee Pass. I tell them they’re only half way there, much to their chagrin. We fill up with water by a little creek, and witness first hand the gadget-love Darren has for his Steri-Pen. Continue down, past Pawnee Lake….surroundings become more green and alive as we descend, mountain views in every direction. “Are we there yet” starts to become the theme….everyone swears I’ve said we’re only a mile away, when we’re actually still several miles out (how the hell should I know? This is my first time there also). Anybody want some trail mix? I hope like hell we’re on the right path and we plow ahead. Finally Darren spots a sign that points out Crater Lake Trail. We all get a burst of energy and know we’re only a mile away from camp. That final mile is a backbreaker though…I sense all 3 want to kill me and decide my best option is to pull ahead and find the damn campsite so that they will let go of their anger and overcome their internal strife. Darren vomits several times along the trail. I ask if he’s ok….no reply. Better find the campsite soon. Finally, we reach the campsites after 9 hours of hiking and everyone feels great sense of relief. Trouble is, I want the “good” campsite, so we plod ahead. Just before the “good campsite (#5)”, there is a river crossing over many a log. We all make it over safely, but Neel blows it and dumps into the lake. Funny how he could hike so far only to fall just 7 feet from our campsite. Luckily, he’s uninjured and his pack stays relatively dry. We setup camp, enjoy an amazing glass of red-wine, mix up some gin/tang and check-in early for the night. Saturday morning. Awake for sunrise. Venture out to the north end of Mirror Lake for some pictures. Completely in awe of our surroundings. Definitely one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen in Colorado and we are the only people in the area. Mirror Lake and Lone Eagle all to ourselves. Perfect weather. I’ve just found my inner peace. Head back to the campsite and drink up a warm cup of coffee grounds. Neel and Darren experiment with various methods of brewing coffee and then settle on the double barrel method. Darren cooks up some oatmeal and granola mix and we talk about our plans for the day. In a matter of hours, Darren and Neel become baristas and are whipping up Lattes (quite good considering). The novices (who are growing into expert backpackers before my very eyes) learn how to use the bathroom in the backcountry. Some fare better than others. After breakfast, we venture out to see Crater Lake and have hopes of hiking to Fair Glacier and Triangle Lake. Takes just 5 minutes to reach Crater….equally as impressive as Mirror. Darren teaches us a new game along the way. Good fun. Few pictures, and then time to head up. Saleem watches us start up the rocks, and decides to hang back at camp given his knee situation. We tell him we’ll be back in 3-4 hours and go our separate ways. Our hike takes us along the base of Lone Eagle through some of the most amazing Columbine fields I’ve ever seen. We cross some exposed sections, and have to downclimb several times to avoid steep snowfields. Our hike is taking longer than expected, but no big deal, weather is holding up just fine. Anybody want some trail mix? We finally make it to Triangle Lake and are in awe of the surroundings. Now a tradition, we all take a dip in the glacial lake and freeze ourselves silly. I drop my camera into the lake, but luckily bag is waterproof. We discuss how we’re getting back to the campsite, and decide to take different route and downclimb the outlet from Triangle Lake into the green valley below. Downclimb is fun, just don’t fall into one of the 20’ gaps between the big bastardo rocks. Finally down to the valley and hard to describe in words. Nature at it’s finest I guess. Probably one of my favorite day-hikes of all time. Incredibly scenery and so happy to let Neel and Darren experience the wilderness like that. Follow the creek back to camp and find Saleem pacing back and forth like a worried mother. He’s happy we’re back, because his 5 hours of solitude are more than he’s had in his lifetime. Darren and I take a quick swim in Mirror Lake to cool-off and then it’s time to cook up dinner. Tuna burritos, followed on by freeze dried chicken teriyaki and lots of hot sauce. Another mix of gin and tang, a few pictures at sunset and then prep for hiking out the next morning. Darren drained his steri-pen, so good that I had a backup to treat all of our water for the next day. Had some fun with the iPod and speaker system before checking in for the night. Sunday morning. Awake at 3:30am. Stare at the Milky Way by the lake, witness lots of shooting starts, caffeinate, pack up camp, and head out. Donated a bit of trail mix along the first few miles. Made surprisingly good time, led by surprising Saleem (who’s still battling knee pain). He set the pace and we followed. Slow going up West side of Pawnee Pass. Anybody want some trail mix? Darren left small piles of trail mix for Neel and I along the way to keep our stomach’s satisfied and he can’t stand carrying the trail mix any longer. Couldn’t seem to get food off my mind…visions of McDonald’s started to become obsessive. Slogged up the pass, only to downclimb minutes later to help Neel overcome his greatest fears of falling off the mountain. Thanks to Darren for loaning me his long sleeve shirt to protect against the howling cold wind. Neel made it and we all felt a sense of relief and accomplishment at the top of Pawnee Pass. Made quick progress down to the car as storm clouds loomed. Sprained my ankle for good measure with 2 miles left to go, and Darren/Saleem left me in the dust. Seeing the car was a beautiful sight. 7 hours from start to finish. Pretty decent, especially considered we shaved off 2 hours from prior jaunt. Got in the car, headed down the road, and then adrenaline slowed. Saleem fell victim to a nasty case of altitude sickness, exhaustion and dehydration. Pumped him full of Tang and witnessed a miraculous recovery. Pulled off in Ward to visit with the locals and buy some add’l fluids for Saleem. Final stop at the MacD’s for some delicious grease. Got everyone back to the hotel and closed out a truly great chapter of my life. This will hopefully the first of many.

Trip Report - Lone Eagle

“Anybody want some trail mix?” And so the story goes….. It all starts with a pickup at the airport to pick up 3 friends from the good old TELUS days….I try to locate them at the airport, but they get lost at DIA. Is this foreshadowing of things to come? I hope not. After a few failed attempts, we meet on the 6th level and head ...

Updated: Aug 06, 2009 1:43pm PST