Ebony and Ivory

For my final hike in this Colorado Trail series, I did a slack pack that took place on Thursday, August 4, 2016. I did the southern tip of the Collegiate Peaks Loop. I got dropped off at Monarch Pass. The Pass was in the clouds. I headed south on the trail and was above the clouds in a matter of a few minutes. It was wonderful sight in the early morning light.

Trees and clouds

Above the clouds

Mountains and Clouds

Being above the clouds did not last. The clouds eventually rose, and I was hiking in a light misty rain. It wasn’t bad; I wore my rain jacket like a cape to keep my day pack dry. The first 5 miles of the hike followed close to the ridge line on the Continental Divide. I was right on the edge of tree line. After 5 miles, the south end of the Collegiate West and the south end of the Collegiate East meet.

Looking back at Monarch Pass

Looking south on the trail. Mt. Ouray peaking out (left/center)

Zoom view of Mt. Ouray

Where Collegiate East and West collide

At this point, I went north on the Collegiate East portion for 8.5 miles of downhill walking along the South Fooses Creek drainage. The first half mile was a steep as the trail dropped down off of the Divide. The grade got a lot easier after the first half mile. Of course, I was going downhill. Everybody that I saw was going uphill. They might have a different opinion. Near the top of the drainage, I went through some of the most beautiful meadows of wildflowers that I have seen. There were so many colors. Here is my attempt at trying to capture some of that beauty.

Wildflowers

And Wildflowers

More wildflowers

Close-up of Wildflowers

The trail through wildflowers

Another close up of wildflowers

One more wildflower

As for the title of this post; when I hike, I have a tendency to get songs stuck in my head. A lot of times they are annoying songs. Throughout this series of hikes on the Colorado Trail, I had the song “Ebony and Ivory” repeating in my head. I don’t know the lyrics or music for the whole song, so it was the same parts over and over again. So in honor of that, I named the final post in this series “Ebony and Ivory”.

A map of what I have done of the Colorado Trail so far.