14er – take 2

Although Atlas technically went to the top of a 14er (14 thousand foot peak) when he was in Yadéeh’s belly, we thought it would be fun to see if we could aim for another one, now that he was his own person. Every year for Labor Day, we try to take a big backpacking trip. This year, we wanted to explore more of southern Colorado. Initially, we thought of starting to begin hiking the Colorado Trail in segments. However, after looking into it, the necessary hiking distance each day was a bit much for Yadéeh with a 45 lb pack (when you count a 30 lb Atlas) and a 60 lb pack for Justin (since he had to carry virtually all of the gear for the three of us).

We decided to hike in to Navajo Lake—an alpine lake outside of Telluride in the Lizard Head Wilderness, which is part of the San Juan Mountains. Navajo Lake also happens to be nestled below three 14ers: Mount Wilson, El Diente, and Wilson Peak, as well as one 13er (Gladstone Peak).  There is no shortage of mountains to climb when camping in the Navajo Lake basin.

We arrived at the trailhead and were pleasantly surprised by the relative lack of cars in the parking area, considering it was a trailhead to 14ers on Labor Day weekend.  With clear skies and a nice cool breeze, we were set to hike in perfect weather. Atlas started out riding in the carrier, and even fell asleep for a bit. When he woke up, he decided he wanted to hike. This was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, he wants to hike, which is great for both Yadéeh’s comfort and his experience and buildup of endurance and enjoyment of hiking. On the other hand, it means very slow progress, as he picks up rocks, touches EVERY plant of a certain kind, looks for more grasshoppers, etc.  His slow progress wore on Justin because of the difficulty of carrying such a large load at this speed. As a result, Justin hiked ahead with our friend Kenneth, while Yadéeh and Atlas strolled along at Atlas pace until he decided “I just resting” and sat in the middle of the trail.

The views along the way were breathtaking: To the west, we saw Dolores Peak (13,290 ft) jutting above the wildflower-laden alpine meadows through which our trail meandered. After resting, hiking, resting, hiking, resting, Atlas finally wanted to ride in the backpack again. Of course, this was right as the switchbacks were starting up. We don’t know which was slower, Atlas hiking at his pace, or Yadéeh carrying Atlas up the switchbacks. Yadéeh and Atlas eventually made it to camp around the time Justin finished setting up the tent. Justin found a nice site right outside of the actual basin so we could have camp fires and be away from other campers. Star-gazing with no ambient light other than the camp fire, while being serenaded by the sound of a rushing stream and taking in the crisp mountain air never gets old.

Once camp was set up, we took a relaxed stroll over to the lake for a little exploring. Atlas did great hiking around on the scree fields. There were a few “chairs” made up of rocks from the talus field set up to overlook the lake, so we took a seat and relaxed for a bit. That’s when we saw a pika! We hadn’t seen them before, so it was very exciting (at least for Yadéeh…). A challenge you never really think about, when deciding to include your toddler in your adventures is that when both parents want to rest, from a hard days hike, the kid wants to play! Luckily, back at camp, Atlas was able to wonder around with the dogs. That’ll do the trick.

 

Another challenge is keeping your toddler in his sleeping bag throughout the night so he doesn’t freeze. Getting Atlas into his bag at the start of the night is never an issue. It’s keeping him in it that is the problem. We make sure to dress him warm enough in case he gets out of his bag, but even then, it was a cold night. Atlas woke up in the middle of the night fighting to get out and took some time to calm him down enough to get him bundled up again.

With the sun brought the ambition to try for a 14er! Maybe. As we hiked up the steep scree mountain side, the winds started whipping through the basin. Atlas started to get cold, which was not surprising since he has such little body fat and was stationary in the carrier. We stopped for lunch and improvised a way to keep him warm. Yadéeh’s puffy on his legs with his rain pancho to keep out the wind, Justin’s on his upper body, with the pack rain cover for added protection. That made him a happy camper. 

Although, Justin decided it would be best for him and Atlas to descend to basecamp because the wind was turning Atlas’s carrier into a sail, Yadéeh and Kenneth continued to climb out of the basin.  However, they too decided to turn around at about 13,000 feet because the trail forked with each fork being a 3^rd class scramble up a different 14er.  The winds on the way back were much fiercer than before, which meant Justin made the right decision.

Meanwhile, back at camp, Justin saw two marmots playing around on some rocks, while Atlas slept in the carrier. When Atlas heard about sleeping through the marmot siting, he of course wanted to try and find them again. 

Jade and Roscoe (the dogs) couldn’t agree more. They were continuously chasing after the pika and marmots then entire trip. Yadéeh and Kenneth met up with Justin and Atlas down by the lake. On the hike back to camp, Yadéeh and Atlas found raspberries, ripe for the picking, another thing that Atlas was very excited about. We kept our eyes open for more, but had no luck. We did, however, find some great firewood, which Atlas gladly helped carry back to camp, whereupon he began telling Justin and Kenneth how the dogs barked when other hikers passed by. Silly kid.

The remainder of the trip was filled with more of the same, which never gets old. At Atlas’s age (2.5 years old), it is a bit easier for us to set up and break down camp, since Atlas can help, or at least keep himself entertained while we do the work. For example, he used a log to do the yoga airplane pose. 

The hard part is keeping track of him. We may have to invest in a GPS tracker, just to be safe.  Atlas hiked quite a bit of the hike out, again, a slow endeavor, which resulted in us getting home later than desired, but we still let him do his thing. We don’t want Atlas to become frustrated or turned off to hiking and exploring outside, and, kids will be kids. Hopefully, the more he gets used to hiking, the sooner he will be ready to carry some of the weight!

After we got home, Justin did a bit more research on the 14ers in the area. Yes, that is the kind of backwards thinking he is known for.  It turns out that it wouldn’t have been safe to summit any of them anyhow, as they are all technical ascents. Perhaps we’ll find a less technical one as a family hike for next summer.  We will also be back either without Atlas or with him when he is a bit older to tick off those technical routes!  We are already wondering if they make ice axes for toddlers.