Althouse: On July 9th, I walked in the snow...

July 15, 2016

On July 9th, I walked in the snow...

... on the Shrine Mountain trail.

17 comments:

Saint Croix said...: Natalie Portman has misplaced her pants.; 7/15/16, 4:53 PM
Bill said...: Pooch in profile.; 7/15/16, 4:56 PM
tim maguire said...: On July 9 I hosted a slumber party for 7 eight-year-olds.

You win this one!; 7/15/16, 5:07 PM
Yancey Ward said...: My youngest sister and I did that in early August once in Jackson Hole.; 7/15/16, 5:30 PM
Original Mike said...: Watch out where the huskies go ...; 7/15/16, 5:36 PM
Amadeus 48 said...: We hiked that trail the last two summers. You get to the top and there is a strange rock formation that looks like a huge altar. Off in the distance to the west across the back of the Vail ski area is a great view of Mount of the Holy Cross. The sun shrines brightly. The old Tenth Mountain Division training area from Camp Hale is there, and they warn you not to touch anything that looks like ordinance. Well done, Althouse!

You can drive down to Silverthorne to the only Chipotle restaurant in Summit, Eagle and Pitkin Counties.

There is another great hike from the top of Vail Pass up Wilder Gulch. Did you do that too?; 7/15/16, 6:32 PM
Big Mike said...: Snow on the ground in July! What more proof of global warming do you need?; 7/15/16, 6:33 PM
Bob Ellison said...: Looking good, lady.; 7/15/16, 6:33 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "There is another great hike from the top of Vail Pass up Wilder Gulch. Did you do that too?"

No. The hikes we did, in 6 days, were:

1. Sylvan Lake
2. Shrine Mountain
3. Northern trail (in Vail)
4. Piney Lake
5. Booth Creek
6. Gore River; 7/15/16, 7:34 PM
David Begley said...: Colorado. Where Meade and Althouse were married. Surely fond memories. Sweet.; 7/15/16, 7:42 PM
rcocean said...: No hat? Easy to sunburn at high altitude.; 7/15/16, 7:59 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "No hat? Easy to sunburn at high altitude."

I've got 100 SPF on my face. 45 elsewhere. I didn't burn.

The big problem was the insects. I got bitten by mosquito-like little things that were swarming me! Didn't happen on any of the other hikes.; 7/15/16, 9:19 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: About 20 miles from where we have had a place since I was in college (back down in Summit Cty). Some good memories. Skied over Shrine Pass a number of times. One time my mother, brother, sister-in-law and I skied to the top of the pass, the women turned around and skied back to the car, while we proceeded west. So, we find ourselves down in Red Cliff at the other end with no ride back. Apparently, the women got sidetracked by shopping in Vail and didn't realize how fast we would do the west leg of the trip. It was cold, and they were maybe an hour late. Then, must have been 20 odd years ago, and my kid's mother was just pregnant a couple weeks. Just starting morning sickness. The snow wasn't sticking yet. So, four of us spent the night at the TMDHA (10th Mountain Division Hut Association Shrine Pass hut. The next morning, the two of us guys skied back to Vail Pass, picked up the jeep, drove back to the hut, and picked up the women. It was just weird that we could drive up the same road we had just skied down. Not very many weeks a year can you do that.

On the east end, you catch the Shrine Pass road from right around the Vail Pass rest stop. In the winter, the road is closed to vehicles (but you can ski it). There is a Forest Service pay parking area just south of the off ramp from I-70 where you park for day trips and over nights. One brother made up the cost of his lifetime senior pass for federal lands ($20 on or after 62) in just a couple days parked there. We would stage into the next TMDHA hut south (Fowler Hilliard hut - see summer view from there at www.huts.org) of the Shrine Pass hut from there (or actually the rest stop). That area was mixed use, which meant a lot of snowmobiles, which is a drag when you are slogging in pulling a sled. The last time we did it, we cheated, and hired a snow cat to drag us up to the first saddle (where motorized vehicles have to turn around). Relatively flat after that. Actually, I got to ride, with a friend being towed behind on skis and both our sleds behind him. Cut half the work and a couple hours off the trip. It was always funny. If we shared one of those TMDHA huts, the other people would inevitably have skied in there with big packs and freeze dried food. We hauled sleds with cases of beer, whole turkeys, roasts, etc. It was worth it.; 7/16/16, 12:50 AM
Wince said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/16/16, 3:05 AM
Wince said...: A few thoughts:

- Meade really let himself go.

- Snow in July and "mosquito-like little things" swarming like you never saw before. You must be one of those goddamn eco-tourists.

- Figures that dog is pissing on what little snow is left.; 7/16/16, 3:06 AM
Rusty said...: The two intrepid explorers along with their faithful dog 'Bob' thought they discovered Antarctica.; 7/16/16, 6:40 AM
mikee said...: Any picture of a dog standing in the snow requires a Frank Zappa song reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLIppgE45wM; 7/17/16, 11:38 AM