Brad, Randy, and Jeff at the Vallecito Creek trailhead camprground Tuesday morning, refusing to ponder their fate.
Brad teaches Jeff about global positioning. (What, does Jeff think he's a Boy Scout with that bandanna?!)
Brad digs in Randy's pack along the Vallecito Creek trail.
Green aspen near a bend in Vallecito Creek.
Randy and Brad along Vallecito Creek.
Jeff and Randy hang out creek-side before a sunny lunch. I wonder if we should break out the m&m's?
Randy almost as comfortable as he is happy; the creek-polished granite had a novel look.
A good time of year for aspen spotting. The colors are bright, and everywhere.
Brad and Randy pause for the scenery along Vallecito Creek.
The view from our first backcountry camp site: high peaks just ahead.
Colorful aspens among the conifers.
Brad the mountain man.
Heave-ho that pack right off your back.
"Hey Brad look over here!"
White whale sunning near the bridge over Vallecito Creek near the start of the Johnson Creek trail. That's where the real climbing began.
A nippy Wednesday morning.
The frosty morning view from camp.
Brad and Randy are happy, but sleepy still without the hot drinks.
Another morning (snap) shot -- we were in no hurry to depart without the arrival of the warm sun on our backs.
View back and across the Vallecito Creek valley/gulch.
Somehwre over there the food hangs just out of reach of Mr. Bear.
Frosty groundcover.
Frosty groundcover macro-shot.
"Here comes the sun!" We're getting close to departure now.
Boulders dot the creek. This view is looking north up Vallecito Creek.
That's some good sitting for pumping water. I think the rule is to drink at least a liter while you're there (and rinse out clothes downstream!)
Partway up the Johnson Creek trail, we've got a pleasantly warm sun and plenty of scenic reasons to crane our necks upward.
Brad soaks up nature after a fine lunch along Johnson Creek.
Johnson Creek lunch.
More Johnson Creek lunch.
Waiting for Brad's feet to dry.
Granite column in upper Johnson Creek canyon.
Jeff at the pitstop overlooking Johnson Creek's log-strewn canyon.
Brad and Jeff frame the squarish column.
Randy, Brad and Jeff enjoying the weather and the views on the Johnson Creek trail up to Vallecito Basin.
Looking back down from Vallecito Basin.
Onward and upward, nearing Wednesday night's camp, the trees just above Vallecito Basin. Columbine Lake and Pass lie above the ridge over the trees.
Brad on water filtration duty.
Camp cooksite.
Evening sun, looking down the drainage.
"It's not that cold out here."
Ouch!
Jeff steadies his pack at Columbine Lake, Thursday morning.
Looking east across Columbine Lake.
Layering up for the high-altitude break.
Trekking toward Columbine Pass.
"Come on, Randy!"
"I'm comin!"
View down Johnson Creek from Columbine Pass, our journey's high point at 12,680'.
Jeff and Brad soak up the sun and high country views.
Randy browsing the map at Columbine Pass.
Looking ahead toward Chicago Basin and Mt. Eolus.
Mt Eolus, whose actual peak is slightly back right.
Columbine Lake and the ledge above Vallecito Basin, from Columbine Pass.
Brad way up high at Columbine Pass.
Chicago Basin, looking down toward Needle Creek and the Animas River somewhere way over there.
Jeff and Brad peering into an old miner's cabin.
Jeff and Brad with cabin ruins in front and high peaks behind.
"Raptor!"
The ridgeline above the top of the Needle Creek drainage.
Approaching Chicago Basin.
Looking east up from Chicago Basin, a popular "14'er" destination due to the 3 14000-foot peaks near the top of the drainage. Sunshine Peak is somewhere in the background here.
If you combine this photo with the previous one (and a powerful Cray computer), you can generate one of those 'stop-motion' scenes where the camera pans around the scene! Let us know when it's ready for viewing...
Lush meadow and high ridge.
"OK, so where are we going to camp tonight?"
Randy looking mischievous in his older brother's cap.
Dramatic slickrock creek location for filtering water for our last night's camp.
A brief look at the waterfall below where we filtered.
And another view.
Bunny and Weasel camp. Plush floor and 15 foot boulders made this pretty sweet.
Lonely aspen.
Eeeeeuuuuwwww!
Needle Creek trailhead and Durango-Silverton Steam Train stop. Our gateway to civilization.
The 9:45 (no stop for us--we've got to wait for the 10:45).
Bridge over Animas River near the train stop.
All 3 husky hikers.
Jeff and Brad demo the proper train signalling technique ("The Charleston without moving your knees").
Our actual train pulls up.
Brad trusts the train will stop for us, while Randy continues the official flagging.
Choo choo with coal spewing...
Round 2 of gin & tonics from "the snack car".
The long and winding train.
Another view of the immense volume of coal smoke that is emitted whenever the train accelerates.
The actual boiler. It is fed with coal manually using shovels!
The end of the line in Silverton, CO.
The backroads (and alleys) of Silverton. Note the TinMan.
The trip back to Durango as taken by a camera held by Jeff's not-long-enough arm.
Another steam train image along the Animas River.
Belching steam.
An early Saturday after a late Friday: Jeff is about to embark on a rippin' road trip back to Spokane, and Brad's about to depart for a high-security flight home to San Francisco.