Camping Trip in The Never Summers Range

August 13, 2004

This report does not involve any bicycle transportation, but it was a great opportunity for enjoying the beautiful Northern Rockies with a friend, so I will keep it in my tour book.

My buddy Carl on the way up to our campsite
Karl on the way up to the campsite

I got home from camping and hiking in the Never Summer Range this afternoon. Karl and I left town yesterday morning at 8:00, with the Jeep piled full of food and camping gear. Our camp site was located near Baker Pass, Doug, Dan, and Sandy have been there with me before, so they can relate their particular experiences to the pictures that I show here

After setting up our campsite Karl and I climbed to the top of Bear Paw Peaks on the other side of the Michigan River valley; from where we were camped.

Michigan River Valley

This picture (above) is an overlook of the Michigan River Valley; I was standing on top of the highest of the Bear Paw peaks when I snapped this shot. The elevation is approximately 11,000 Feet.

Karl and me mugging for the camera

And here we are, Karl and I sitting on top of the Bear Paw enjoying the cool, sunny August weather in the Never Summers. This Picture was taken after I set the ten-second-delay timer on the Coolpix. Notice that we are looking intently at the camera; anxiously waiting for the count down timer to snap the shot.

Long's Peak unobstructed by clouds, fog or mist

The view of Longs Peak was unobstructed by clouds or haze; Longs Peak is about twenty miles due east from our vantage point on the Bear Paw. I used a 2X telephoto lenses and utilized the full optical zoom (5X) capabilities of the Nikon 5700, and a miniature tripod to take this picture.

This morning we decided to break camp and try our luck climbing Mt. Richthofen (12,940 feet), which is near Lake Agnes. We drove to the Lake Agnes trailhead, and hastily got our packs together and got on the trail at about 10:30 AM. In our rush we forgot to pack a lunch, which was the determining factor that prevented us from completing the ascent to Mt. Richthofen. We made on attempt to climb the peak but decided that our approach was too risky because of the danger of causing a slide by dislodging the loose rocks on the 45-degree slope. We quickly retreated to the saddle below the peak, and assessed our situation. If we had packed food we would have tried another approach that is less steep and has better footing and handholds

View from saddle below Mt Richthofen

This picture was taken on the before we descended the head wall above Lake Agnes. The picture also shows Lake Agnes, Colorado HWY 14 at the base of Diamond Peak, and the Rawah Range with Clark Peak being the tallest peak in the distance.

However, we were not too disappointed that we didn’t get to the top of Mountain today because the scenery was spectacular. During our descent off the mountain we stopped several times to take pictures of the wild flowers that are in full bloom on the slopes of the mountain.

My favorite Columbine close-up

The columbines were abundant; here is one of the better close-ups that I took today. It was great night out of camping, and we had two full days of beautiful hiking weather, thus, we had a great time stomping around in the hills and camping under the stars lit, moonless skies in the Never Summer’s. I hope you enjoyed pictures; the remaining pictures offer additional images of this great two-day trip. These are shown in no particular order.

Lake 
Agnes

This is a close up of Lake Agnes; taken as we were descending the mountain.

Nacco Crags and Diamond Peaks

This picture gives a better view of Nacco Crags (in the foreground) with Diamond Peaks in the background.

Columbines

Columbines were growing everywhere on the slopes below Mt. Richthofen; here is another cluster of these beautiful flowers.

Karl with his camera

Karl and I both have Nikon 5700 cameras, so this pictures demonstrates our enthusiasm of owning and using this great little digital camera.

Unidentified

This picture is a flashback to Bear Paw Peaks. This unidentified flower grows abundantly on the windswept summit of the Bear Paw Peaks.

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