This is the last good meadow to camp in, before the ridge. The saddle you head to is on the left.
Looking back to treeline from the saddle at 6.5.
Copper Mountain, from around mile 9.
"Honey, come here and see this!"
I'd just managed to outrun a thunderstorm, was headed down off the crest of the Tenmile range as fast as my shaking legs would carry me, and here was a family... headed up the slope. "Look honey! This girl is hiking the Colorado Trail! Did you come all the way from Denver? Honey, she came all the way from Denver! I can't even get these kids to walk up a hill for a picnic without them complaining. Why, they..." panting and making their way as best they could, the aforementioned children, trailed by their portly mother, joined us. They were walking cross-country, off the smooth trail, evidently in an effort to shortcut the path's many switchbacks. They each carried a near-empty pint water bottle, their father wore a tiny daypack. Thunder rumbled behind me.
"Uhm," I said, getting out my nalgene. "Do you folks need some water? And, err. It kind of looks like rain, doesn't it?"
The gentleman said that it did, and that he hoped the top of this hill was pretty close, so they could have their picnic soon. I eventually left them, with refilled bottles and a cautious reminder about lightning. A half hour later, just as I was getting to thick tree cover, the skies broke open and poured rain for a good twenty minutes. Hope the picnic-ers made it down alright.
Actually, I got a shamefully late start that morning – it would have been far wiser to start early and get over the ridge long before any chance of afternoon storms. The alpine walk is beautiful at any time of the day, however – there were pikas aplenty, as well as two species I've never seen before: a marmot and a couple of ptarmigan with chicks. I kind of didn't think either animal actually existed, thought maybe they were legendary. Or imaginary. Or extinct. But there they were, living happily at twelve thousand feet, in one of the toughest environments on earth.
Also flourishing were columbines and sunflowers – the plants themselves were stunted and dwarfed, but their flowers were full-sized, and produced in such abundance it looked like each plant was balancing a bouquet overhead. Just gorgeous!
Stones into flowers.
Not all columbines were Colorado blue. This cluster was a beautiful pearly-pink lavender.
Guidebook update suggestions:
0.0
After crossing the big road, head over the bridge to your right. A little later, head left.
0.2
The blue diamonds which mark the trail start showing up pretty early along the way. You'll see the usual blazes, white plastic markers, and these blue diamonds for the next little while. Other than that little change, the trail has become easier to follow than indicated in the ‘07 guidebook – the intersecting trails are usually small and the proper direction clearly marked.
3.4
This sign hasn't improved, though. You still join the 'peaks' trail to the left.
5.5
I camped here, but should have continued an extra half mile or so, to the large meadow with a stream running through it.
6.2
You leave the last good campsite at a point where the road heads left, away from a pretty meadow, towards a saddle, up a very steep grade. After that meadow, the terrain is very exposed. You'll be the tallest thing on the ridge in the event of an afternoon thunder storm.
7.6
This water source was just a muted trickle, barely audible beneath the talus. I think it's usually a snow-fed spring. Don't count on it later in the season -- it's not far to the next spring, though.
9.0
This snow-fed spring still had plenty of snow to feed it. Very tasty!
12.5
The trail has been rerouted to the left after you cross the bridge, due to new construction. The way is clearly marked and fenced with orange mesh.
The elevation profile is basically correct for this segment.
--->Onward, to Segment 8!
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