{"id":3756,"date":"2004-06-18T09:18:47","date_gmt":"2004-06-18T13:18:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/1_1373375894"},"modified":"2017-06-18T15:33:49","modified_gmt":"2017-06-18T15:33:49","slug":"first-hike-of-2004","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cncadventures.com\/?p=3756","title":{"rendered":"First Hike of 2004"},"content":{"rendered":"

 The road to enlightenment is long and difficult, so bring snacks and a magazine<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hagerman Pass, CO<\/b> Segment 10 \u2013 Hagerman Pass Road to Half Moon Creek<\/strong><\/p>\n

June 18, 2004 Our first trip of the year and a backpack at that. Tim \u201cTurf Toe\u201d Trofholz has hurt his foot and won\u2019t find out until July 7th<\/span><\/sup> if improvement can be found. So we start the trail in 2004 without the three Trofholz\u2019s. We were originally going to start this year where we left off in Segment 9 (Wurtz Ditch Road) and backpack Segments 9 and 10. Logistics have changed that, as we now have only one high clearance vehicle. The end of segment 10 is supposed to be up a four-wheel drive road, which is most likely, not suitable for the Nissan Sentra. Of course it did make it up to the top of Georgia Pass. However, without the time to scout out the road, we have decided to start at Segment 10 and finish near the halfway point of Segment 11 by the Twin Lakes Dam. Steven L. will join us. We leave work at 10:00 A.M. and have to stop at SAMs first for roast beef and gas. Steven and Carol are in the van and I am in the truck. We must have loaded up because Carol had some spare gas later on. We go to Chipotle and have burritos for lunch, which is delayed, because Carol thought the mountains were east. She took a wrong turn off I-25 and eventually found her way west to where I waited. The drive up is eventful in that we hit very heavy rain from Georgetown to the Eisenhower Tunnel, with a little bit of snow mixed in at the higher portions of the highway. The forecast for the weekend is rain and it is not looking promising to start today. When we turn off the Copper Mountain exit, it is pouring rain with thunder and lightning all around us. We talk about maybe spending the night in Frisco and starting early on Saturday morning, but decide to drive on and take our chances. This is the right choice as amazingly, the sun is breaking through as we approach Leadville.<\/p>\n

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Carol and Steve at Segment 10 Trailhead<\/p><\/div>\n

We drive to Twin Lakes Dam and leave the van parked there, then backtrack with the truck to the Hagerman Pass Trail Head. When we arrive it is partly sunny but as we get everything together some clouds start to move in. We start our 2004 season at 3:45 P.M. It isn\u2019t too long before the clouds catch up to us and we are forced to stop and put on rain gear. It rains about 30 minutes and then starts to let up. We walk mostly in the trees and pass through several clearings. (Carol was moving extremely slow and I think of turning back but she wants to continue) We go over 11,000 feet and start our descent into the Rock Creek Drainage. We arrive at Rock Creek around 6:30 P.M. and start to set up camp. Then it is time to break out the roast beef sandwiches and chips, for a hearty no cook dinner. Very Filling. We hang up our food in a tree (bear deterrent) and hunker in for the night. No camp fire tonight as everything is pretty wet and we are tired from a long week of work. We hiked 4.4 miles in 2 hours and 45 minutes. Our high point today was 11,080 feet and we are camped at 10,280 feet right next to Rock Creek. Good Night. <\/p>\n

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