The Outside Edge

Musings on earth, sky, and the battle between the two

Text and photos by Tim Miller
http://timotheus.synthasite.com

Colorado’s Front Range foothills. Waging war against the sky, these 50-some lords of the fabled Rocky Mountains are the iconic essence of nature’s beauty and power. Snow buries them for most of the year. Sleet and lightning slash at their flanks throughout summer. Boulders, ice, and alpine plants shroud their upper slopes during the warmest months. They are the 14ers.

Eager to test my endurance and skill against one of Colorado’s tougher trails, I journeyed to the Mt. Evans Wilderness Area with my friends Matt and Jen for a hike up the rocky slopes of Mt. Bierstadt. We began early to avoid the midday storms, which often hit Bierstadt and its cohorts.

Fourteeners have their own climates. They are often, literally, in the clouds. That means lightning doesn’t have to reach far to strike unwary hikers. Ice storms gather force and precipitate quickly. Death by weather becomes a possibility for hikers and climbers who take on these behemoths.

Matt, Jen, and I started up the trail in mid-morning, on a cool, August day. The Bierstadt trail runs about 7.5 miles, and gains roughly 2,500 feet in elevation. I had hiked this path before, but many aspects of this year’s trek were different. Patches of snow still lined Bierstadt’s upper slopes. Even the air was chilly. Deep puddles surrounded the boardwalks, which some kind soul(s) had built to help hikers make it through the willow-tangled swamp at Bierstadt’s base.

Wildflowers, like blue bells, larkspur, and many members of the daisy family, lined the trail. The sky was blue. The air was clean and clear. The trail was crowded. Hundreds of people were hiking Bierstadt that day.

I wanted to move as fast as possible, so I left Matt and Jen behind. As usual, I snapped a lot of pictures. I’d also brought a video camera to record our progress up the mountain. [See sidebar.] Unfortunately, I had to put my little lensed friends away for a while when I got further up the mountain.

The trail became muddy and full of scree. I couldn’t see Matt and Jen anymore on the trail below. Packs of early morning hikers were already sliding back down the mountain after successfully reaching the summit.
I ran off the trail to bypass the crowds of hikers, who’d gathered for a breather. I could feel my heartbeat in the back of my skull. And, yes, this Rocky Mountain was getting me high. A jogger passed by, inspiring me to push on.

I doubled my speed up the mountain, and soon reached the part of Bierstadt, before the summit, where cliffs had crumbled into over-sized scree. The only way to get past those rocks is to hop over them. I did so until I reached the giant glacial snow slide, which makes up part of the last eighth of a mile to Bierstadt’s summit. A guy going down the mountain said to his friend, “It’s like a party up there. We should’ve brought the cooler.”

I bounded up the last incline of wobbling, treacherous scree and saw dozens of people smiling, talking, and taking pictures at the top of Bierstadt. Looking past the people, I witnessed waves of mountains pushing against the cobalt sky in every direction.

Two 14ers, called Grays and Torreys, adorned with white crowns and summer regalia, stood directly to the west. The jagged edges of Bierstadt’s sister Sawtooth cut at the clouds slightly to the north. Mt. Evans, a tourist-friendly giant with green slopes and flowing hillsides, bowed to the mountainous court from the northeast.

Matt and Jen were still struggling up Bierstadt, not knowing the full extent of the awesome, yet humbling reward that awaited them. I sat on a boulder near the edge of a cliff, which angled upward from the windswept waters of Abyss Lake below and watched the slow, yet colossal battle between the earth and sky.Somewhere far below, to the southeast, a friend was experiencing his last moments of life. His name was Terry Van Best. He was Castle Rock’s town tramp, and he took his job very seriously. Godspeed, Terry. Don’t get your fishes mixed up with your ducks.

Pictures
View more of Tim’s pictures from his Mt.
Bierstadt climb and other adventures at
http://theoutsideedge.shutterfly.com

Video
For his video log, visit The Outside Edge
channel on You Tube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UaKs_x-Mm4

Note: As of press time, access to Mt. Bierstadt via the Georgetown side of Guanella Pass is unavailable due to potential rock slides. Guanella Pass can still be accessed via Highway 285.