If you ever get the chance, wake Kenneth up when he's asleep in a tent. It's quite amusing. We were up at 6:30 for the ranger's recommended hike. Still, it was 9 before we set out, although that had given me the chance to use my camping stove to start us off with a cup of tea. Hike was wonderful, but wasn't expecting to be hiking thru snow.
The last bit was exhausting, and I have to admit to giving up. I got the fear about the afternoon thunderstorms we'd been warned were likely, and the descent. We were basically scrambling up rubble. All very unstable. The others went on, whilst I settled to a jerky lumch. They found an alternator route back down, so unfortunately we never found out how dangerous the descent would have been. By the time we headed back down after lunch, was about 2pm. We got back to car at 4 and realised we'd done ten miles. The last half mile uphill was a classic finishing touch. All kinds of day-hikers steaming past us, including a whole group of very large elderly ladies. We were all exhausted. However, we still felt fit enough for Safeway stop and a bit of a shop around Estes Park. Best shopping in the world according to Kenneth. We had a very average dinner at the local Mexican (casa grande). Once back at the campsite, we tracked down our helpful ranger at the campsite to ask if we could do something easier tomorrow, given that our acclimatisation hike had wiped us out. When we said we'd been to Andrews Glacier she nearly fainted. The cross on the map was supposed to be for the loch which we'd passed a couple of miles earlier.
She couldn't get over that we'd been up to the snow line. Whoops! Got her husband over to laugh at us and suggested we to something rather less strenuous tomorrow. Hoff still couldn't resist asking about Long's Peak. We found out it's the hardest hike in the park. 14-16 hours. Oh, and someone died doing it today (that would have been why we saw a helicopter earlier). Got the fire going. Toasted some marshmallows. Bed by 10. Job done.
If you ever get the chance, wake Kenneth up when he's asleep in a tent. It's quite amusing. We were up at 6:30 for the ranger's recommended hike. Still, it was 9 before we set out, although that had given me the chance to use my camping stove to start us off with a cup of tea. Hike was wonderful, but wasn't expecting to be hiking thru snow. 
The last bit was exhausting, and I have to admit to giving up. I got the fear about the afternoon thunderstorms we'd been warned were likely, and the descent. We were basically scrambling up rubble. All very unstable. The others went on, whilst I settled to a jerky lumch. They found an alternator route back down, so unfortunately we never found out how dangerous the descent would have been. By the time we headed back down after lunch, was about 2pm. We got back to car at 4 and realised we'd done ten miles. The last half mile uphill was a classic finishing touch. All kinds of day-hikers steaming past us, including a whole group of very large elderly ladies. We were all exhausted. However, we still felt fit enough for Safeway stop and a bit of a shop around Estes Park. Best shopping in the world according to Kenneth. We had a very average dinner at the local Mexican (casa grande). Once back at the campsite, we tracked down our helpful ranger at the campsite to ask if we could do something easier tomorrow, given that our acclimatisation hike had wiped us out. When we said we'd been to Andrews Glacier she nearly fainted. The cross on the map was supposed to be for the loch which we'd passed a couple of miles earlier. 
She couldn't get over that we'd been up to the snow line. Whoops! Got her husband over to laugh at us and suggested we to something rather less strenuous tomorrow. Hoff still couldn't resist asking about Long's Peak. We found out it's the hardest hike in the park. 14-16 hours. Oh, and someone died doing it today (that would have been why we saw a helicopter earlier). Got the fire going. Toasted some marshmallows. Bed by 10. Job done.
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