13-16 July 2006
Hike in Indian
Peaks Wilderness
Celia, Mark, Jason, Kyle, and I
hiked a 4-day trip (revised big map, 1.7
MB)
to the
Indian
Peaks Wilderness (Forest
Service page). This is a heavily used area, and there are
designated campsites only in well-traveled areas. Celia, Jay, and
I spent three nights and hiked on 4 days, while Mark and Kyle joined us
on the second day and stayed out for three days. The trip was
groovy: not cold (Celia and I actually swam in Jasper Lake), no rain,
beautiful wild flowers, and great scenery including two Continental
Divide (CD) crossings. The wet spring and recent rains (a week
before) gave gorgeous wild flower displays, but the mosquitos were
everywhere. They were no bother during hiking, but enjoyment of
each camp (especially the first night at Caribou Lake) was severely
damaged. Jasper Lake was better than Caribou Lake, and our
2-night stay there was nice. We had a good view of the heavens on
the second evening and enjoyed stars, satellites, and the Milky Way
before the moon rose. The area above Jasper Lake (up to Storm
Lake) had the best combination of waterfalls, snow, wild flowers, and
views of the Jasper Lake area. We had planned to also visit
Woodland Lake but, due to the mosquitos, decided to hike out on the
fourth day. Here's a movie
of pictures (quicktime, 7.4 MB). It was a fun trip.
Kyle, our youngest hiker at 12, did a fine job. Fred, the oldest
hiker at 56, was aided by trekking poles. Celia and Jay continued
their adventures in the west with a road trip to Utah. Mark
carried a large load and went back to work afterward. We had 5
pounds of gorp left over!