THE
LIZARD > WILSONS
We
drove through remote mountains and tiny towns as we passed through the
southeastern corner of Utah and the southwestern corner of Colorado. Everything changed when we neared
Telluride. It was Monday, July 3rd,
and the town was overflowing with people getting ready
to celebrate Independence Day. We
stopped in town to get Christy beer before heading for the mountains to look
for a place to camp. Originally
we had planned to be closer to Crested Butte, but a last minute change in plans
had diverted us to Telluride. When I
tried to reserve a campsite, I found that most of the campgrounds the area
didn’t take reservations. The few that
did were already booked. We had actually
passed a nice campground along a river 30 miles or so
before reaching Telluride. We had passed
that one by, as it was at a rather low elevation. We needed to camp up high, so that we could
continue to acclimate to the higher altitudes.
The site the previous night on Boulder Mountain had been over 9,000’, and
I was hoping to find a spot above 10K.
We
headed south out of Telluride and stopped at a couple of developed
campgrounds. Both were full. My next idea was to drive 6 miles up a dirt
road to Alta Lakes. I’d heard that there
was nice, free car camping there. At
first the drive was pleasant. We passed
through a ghost town, and enjoyed a lovely sunset from several overlooks along
the road. However, traffic coming down
the mountain was heavy. This was
concerning. We also started noticing
people camped along the side of the road, in an assortment of marginal
spots. We began to have doubts about
finding a spot at the Alta Lakes. When
we finally reached our destination, we found a zoo of people camping on every
plausible spot. Time for plan C.
Plan
C was Priest Lake, which also has at large car camping. It was a zoo also. Plan D?
There was no plan D. What to
do? It was now well past dark, and we
were exhausted. There are more
campgrounds farther south on the highway leading away from Telluride, but we
didn’t have high hopes for finding a spot at any of them. Heck, there is a large, open field across the
highway from Lizard Head Pass, and it was full of RVs. That wasn’t an official
campground, just an impromptu one.
We
parked at the Lizard Head Pass trailhead, and I wandered around in the adjacent
meadows and woods looking for a spot. I
didn’t see a decent place for a tent, and we thought it would be too cold for
hammocks. Ultimately, we decided to
pitch the tent on the edge of the parking lot, next to the car. There were already people sleeping in RVs and
trucks in the parking lot, so what’s the difference? We were slumming it, but hopefully it would
be for only one night.
I
pitched the tent on the edge of the lot next to the car, which offered a bit of
privacy and protection. It was actually
a chilly, quiet evening, and we slept surprisingly well.
We
got up at first light the next morning and broke camp. It was around 40 degrees, which was a bit
shocking after spending two weeks in the desert. Then we drove down to the picnic area, which
is at the parking lot below where we slept.
I made breakfast there before we hit the trail. We got started before 9am, which was fairly
impressive for us on this trip.
One
advantage to sleeping in the parking lot was that we were already at the
trailhead for our hike. My plan was to hike
up above treeline in the Lizard Head Wilderness. That’s fairly easy starting from 10,243’ at
Lizard Head Pass. Our goal for the day
was the Wilson Meadows Overlook and Black Face.
Black Face is a bump on the ridge overlooking Lizard Head Pass, Priest
Lake, and most of the Wilderness Area.
We
started the hike in a meadow that was loaded with wildflowers, including
Columbine, Paintbrush, and lots more. We
wandered in and out of meadows and dark, cool stands of evergreens as we
climbed gradually around the northern end of the prominent ridge above. When we reached the nose of the ridge, we
took a side trail out to the Wilson Meadows Overlook. This was an easy 20 minute
side trip to a great viewpoint. From
there, we could only see a small corner of the actual meadows below. However, the overlook provided our first view
of the Lizard Head – a huge stone block crowning an impressive peak. The overlook also provided a clear view of
the grassy ridge leading up to Black Face.
We
returned to the main trail and followed switchbacks up to the ridgecrest. We
passed a few patches of snow along the way.
The first part of the ridge is still below treeline,
but frequent meadows offered views of Trout Lake below and impressive mountains
beyond. It didn’t take long to reach treeline. We
continued the moderate climb as the views began to open up in every
direction. The best view may have been
behind us, towards the high peaks surrounding Telluride. The trail was in good shape for the most part
– a rocky path through a grassy meadow.
There were some large patches of snow, and Christy twisted an ankle and
took a tumble climbing one of them. The
injury was minor, but the snow was too crusty for snow angels.
We
stopped at the summit of Black Face and had lunch. There we had sweeping views in every
direction. Our focus was constantly
drawn towards the Lizard Head and Mount Wilson beyond. Mount Wilson, El Diente, and Wilson Peak are
14’ers deep in the wilderness area beyond the Lizard Head. They are considered some of the hardest 14ers
to climb.
One
other couple passed by while we were eating lunch. Incredibly, despite the crowds around
Telluride for the holiday, we only saw a few other people that morning.
By
the time we finished lunch clouds were beginning to build to the west. They didn’t look too threatening, but we
definitely had our eye on them. Beyond
Black Face, the trail continues along the ridge through miles of grassy
meadows. I wanted to do more, but
Christy was ready to head back. I studied
the map for a bit, and noticed that if I continued ahead a couple of miles I
could descend a different trail. It
comes out on the same highway, a mile or so south of Lizard Head Pass. Christy offered to pick me up there, which
made for a great addition to the hike.
This arrangement allowed Christy to descend by the same route, which is
shorter and easier than the extension.
Meanwhile, it meant that I could cover all new territory on the way back
down! I was thrilled with the way this
worked out.
Extending
the hike had several benefits. First,
the view of the Lizard Head changed as I hiked west. I hiked towards the peak and then around its
southern flank. Its appearance changed
as I went. At one point it looked like a
rabbit. Oddly, it never really looked
like a lizard to me.
By
the time I reached the southwestern flank of the Lizard Head views of Mount
Wilson, Wilson Peak, and the surrounding mountains really opened up. That was a nice little bonus before I started
the descent.
I
was maybe a mile beyond Black Face when the sky darkened. Those building clouds really came together
fast! I was a long way from any sort of
reasonable route below treeline. Fortunately there
were some stands of stunted evergreens scattered among the meadows. Cold rain and hail started to fall, so I
huddled under the trees for shelter. I was concerned about the possibility of
lightning, but luckily the storm passed quickly. After 10 minutes or so the sun came back out
and I resumed the hike.
The
descent on the Cross Mountain Trail was fast and
easy. I did encounter a number of hikers
on the lower half of this trail, which was a little surprising, as it is more
difficult than the trail from Lizard Head Pass.
Just before the end I passed a junction with the Groundhog Stock Driveway
Trail. The sign at the junction made me
laugh. I couldn’t help but picture a
rugged cowboy on horseback herding a pack of groundhogs.
Christy
was waiting for me at the trailhead. She
had made a gentle descent back to the car. Although she took it slow, she was still way
ahead of me because her route was a couple of miles shorter.
We
decided to drive south to look for a campsite.
We thought our chances would be better in that direction, rather than
going back towards Telluride. We found
an overpriced forest service campground (Catyon) a
couple of miles down the road. For $20
it offered a tent site, picnic table, fire pit, and outhouse. As is typical in Colorado, there was no
drinking water. However, we weren’t
inclined to complain, as there were a couple of vacant sites. Incredibly, one was right next to the
river. It was probably one of the best
sites in the entire campground. After
slumming it the night before, we didn’t hesitate to claim it.
Originally I’d planned to go into Telluride for
dinner, drinks, and the Fourth of July fireworks that evening. Christy wasn’t really interested though. Telluride had been a madhouse the previous
afternoon, and she doesn’t like crowds or fireworks. She suggested that we spend a quiet evening
at our campsite. That did have a certain
appeal. Oddly, we had been camping the
whole trip, but it seemed like a lot of nights we arrived late and went
straight to sleep. We’d been on the run
most of the trip, and the opportunity to enjoy a relaxing evening was
irresistible.
Cooking
dinner there was a challenge. The fire
pit had a grill, but the surface of the grill at its lowest setting was about
3’ above the ground. What a horrible
design! It would take several bags of
charcoal to cook a pair of chicken breasts.
I suspect that these grills were designed by engineers at Kingsford. I outsmarted them though. I carried a bunch of rocks up from the river
and built a platform under the grill. I
then stacked the charcoal on top of the rocks.
That worked, more or less, and we enjoyed grilled chicken, mac and
cheese, and broccoli for dinner. I also
had a few beers that I’d bought at the brewery in Moab. Christy enjoyed some of the gluten free beer
we’d bought way back at the beginning of the trip. We rounded out the evening with a campfire
and the peaceful sound of the river rushing by.
The next day we would do another hike in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. That would be the last hike of the trip for
Christy, as her knee procedure was scheduled for Thursday morning near Vail.
Back to Colorado
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Please remember to Leave No Trace!