July 7, 2012
After a long week of working on the Waldo Canyon Fire and finally getting back to life again I was able to do a hike with Aaron. This was partly a trip to go four wheeling as well so we didn't end up hiking all that much. In the end it took us only an hour and a half to summit and return to the car. It was fortunate that we did such a short hike as heavy rains had moved into Colorado and there was little time to hike before the thunderstorms began to build.
| Distance: | 2.2 miles |
| Elevation Gain: | 1,500 vertical feet |
| Time: | 1.5 hours |
Even as we arrived the weather was quite wet. Low clouds hung in the air. Fortunately everything appeared to be non-threatening at this point.
Due to the exeptionally dry year we'd been having the creek crossing was very low. It was no problem for Aaron's truck.
The recent rains had increased the flow of the creeks enough that the waterfalls were still impressive.
Montezuma Basin below Castle Peak (in the distance on the left) held very little snow. The NW ridge route looked awful as the couloir was completely melted out on the top couple hundred feet. We opted then for the Northeast Ridge route.
Looking back down the basin there was very little snow down low as well.
As we reached the turn off for the Northeast Ridge the clouds burned off some, though this didn't last for long.
Ahead of us we saw a group of hikers reach the summit just as the clouds began to over take it.
The trail is very easy to follow once you turn up towards the ridge. Though loose in places it's a fun scramble. If you stay on the ridge proper the difficulty reaches class 3, but the rock is solid for the Elks and is a lot of fun.
Aaron on the ridge as the clouds close in around us.
By the time we reached the small saddle just below the summit we were completely engulfed in clouds.
This is our summit shot. No really I swear we are standing on top of Castle Peak, though it looks like it could just be a pile of rocks somewhere in Washington.
As the fog thickened most everyone on the summit agreed that it didn't make sense to make a bid for Conundrum with the poor condition of the Northwest Ridge route and the inability to see incoming weather. So we all chose to head back down the way we had come up.
We didn't get out of the clouds again until we were dropping down off the ridge. The new lake that has appeared beneath Castle Peak as well as the small glacier that has appeared due to the warmer dryer years looked impressive. Fortunately the crevasses that opened up around the lake appear to have filled in, though there is now also a bergschrund to contend with on the Northwest Ridge route.
As we neared the road we saw that the high level clouds were definitely growing and getting darker.
Though not as impressive as in wetter years, the wildflowers are defnitely in bloom in Montezuma Basin.
On our way out we noticed this nice rest stop someone had put in near the second crossing of Castle Creek. I suppose this water is probably safe to drink, but I'm overly cautious with that and didn't give this a try.
One last look at Castle Creek before heading to Aspen.
We got a nice little bit of blue sky as we crossed over Independence Pass on our way home.
However by the time we reached Twin Lakes a large storm had rolled into the mountains and was dropping a lot of rain and creating a lot of lighting. We were thankful to have had a rain free hike on Castle and to have gotten out before the big storms rolled in.
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