There and Back Again

On July 13th, I slipped in and out of that town by the big salty lake for a US soccer game. The US were there for their game against Cuba in the group phase. I flew in that morning and flew out that evening. It was cheaper that way, and I didn’t have to take time off from work. For this game I didn’t have the sweet seats that I had for the World Cup Qualifier there in June. I was in the upper deck, but that worked out well. I had shade, and I also avoided the 5 minute rain storm that happened at the start of the game. The view in the upper deck of a soccer specific stadium is actually quite good. I saw the game a lot clearer than I have in a while. The US won the game 4-1. Here are a couple of pictures and a poor quality video of my buddy Landon getting a penalty kick goal.

Warm ups for the US

Pregame handshake and a little rain

The Flintstones

On July the 5th, I went on a jeep tour out of Marble, Colorado with my mom and aunt. The tour went through Lead King Basin by looping around Sheep Mountain. We only got to an elevation of around 10,500 feet. That was a bit disappointing. We figured we would get above tree line. The jeep wasn’t particularly comfortable, but it was pretty cool. It was a 1954 Willys Jeep. On the jeep ride, I went by the name of Fred, and the jeep driver went by the name of Barney. Anyway here are some pictures from the jeep ride.

Columbine

Treasure Mountain

Snowmass Mtn (left) & Hagerman Peak (right)

Falls along the North Fork of the Crystal River

Mom having lunch

1954 Willys Jeep and Barney in Crystal

Butterfly and flowers

Crystal Mill

Crystal River above Crystal Mill

On July the 6th, I hiked to Cathedral Lake. (11,866 ft.) The lake is south of Aspen. The trailhead is not far from the ghost town of Ashcroft. The hike up to Cathedral Lake is only 3 miles. (6 miles round trip) So it gets quite a bit of traffic. Fortunately, I got an early enough start. I only had to witness the parade of people going up as I was going down. The lake itself is the typical beautiful alpine lake that you find in Colorado. Here are the pictures.

Pine Creek

Me at Cathedral Lake with the cliffs of Cathedral Peak behind me

Flowers at the lake

Cathedral Lake - looking towards Electric Pass & Leahy Peak

Me again

That’s it for the pictures on my 4th of July weekend. I left the Snowmass Village area on the morning of the 7th.

Until next time…

4th of July

My first real July post is for the 4th of July. I hiked Geissler Mountain. The mountain has two ranked peaks. I hiked the highest one which is Geissler Mountain East (13,380 ft.) The trailhead is located on Hwy 82 about a mile west of Independence Pass. The first part of the trail is real gradual, and the trailhead is basically at tree line. Round trip is probably only 5 miles. The hike is a real beauty though. Here are the pictures from the hike.

Geissler Mountain East

Looking back; near the source of the Roaring Fork River

Some type of weasel running across the snow

Independence Lake

Lost Man Lake

Looking at the final accent of Geissler Mountain East

Looking northwest from the top at Williams Mountains

View to the west from the top of Geissler Mtn.

Looking down at the Roaring Fork River and Linkins Lake

Independence Lake.  Mt. Elbert in the background on the left.

Me on top of Geissler Mountain East

Lost Man Lake

Flowers

After the hike, I drove to Snowmass Village where my mom and aunt were staying. I hung out there for the rest of the weekend.

View of Mt. Daly from a short hike out of Snowmass Village

Hidden Track

On June the 29th, I went for a hike in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness near Buena Vista. I hiked up Avalanche Gulch on the Colorado Trail. I wandered up to a pass on the ridge line for Mt. Yale. The pass was at tree line. The ridge is an alternative route for climbing Mt. Yale. I went up Mt. Yale a different way a few years ago. The way I went looks a lot easier. That doesn’t matter; I was not hiking up Mt. Yale this time. I was climbing an unnamed peak on the ridge in opposite direction of Mt. Yale. The unnamed peak has an elevation of 12,505 ft. The view was wonderful. Here are the pictures.

Unnamed Peak

Old Mine - Mt Colombia and Mt Harvard

Looking down the mine shaft

Mt. Princeton - Haze on left is from the West Fork Complex Fire

Mt. Princeton on the left

Mascot Peak and Mt Yale

Buena Vista

Mt Yale and me from the top of the unnamed peak

Flowers

Alpine Sunflowers

Mt. Yale and alpine sunflowers

Snow and unnamed peak

Flowers

Close-up of flowers

The Final Cut

After the Medicine Bow Peak hike, I decided to head west towards Utah a little early. I didn’t have a plan. I was just seeing the countryside. However, there was not much to see in southwest Wyoming. I ended up staying in a hotel in Evanston, Wyoming since I didn’t see any place I wanted to camp. Evanston is the last town in Wyoming before I-80 reaches Utah. The good thing about the town is that it has a brewpub that has good brews and good food.

The next day, June 18th, I headed northwest into Utah. I decided to check out the Golden Spike National Historic Site at Promontory Summit. I wasn’t sure what to expect or if there would be much there. The Park had a nice Visitor Center. They also had replica trains that were pretty sweet. The area was a cool piece of history. I wish I had more time to explore the old grades. The railroad no longer goes over Promontory Summit. It has been moved to a causeway across the big salty lake to the south.

Union Pacific's No. 119

Union Pacific's No 119 in action

Central Pacific's Jupiter

Site of the last tie

Side of the Jupiter

Central Pacific's Jupiter and Union Pacific's No. 119

The Last Cut in the Union Pacific Grade before it reach Promontory Summit

The Last Cut looking southeast towards the salty lake

Looking south at the Union Pacific Grade from the Central Pacific Grade

Chinese Arch

After visiting the Golden Spike National Historic, it was time to head to the town next to the big salty lake for the World Cup Qualifier match between the US and Honduras. For the match, I had 2nd row seats. The US warmed up right in front of me. It was pretty cool. During the game, I also saw a couple of unhappy exchanges between Eddie Johnson and the coach, Jurgen Klinsmann. The US won the game 1-0 on Jozy Altidore goal. I drove home happy the next day.

Michael Bradley and others warming up

Clint Dempsey, Brad Evans, & Michael Bradley kicking it around

Gonzalez, Kljestan, Bradley, Altidore, Jones, & Johnson

National Anthem time

Final drink before the game

Klinsmann showing some emotion

Halftime interview