Day 08 to West Ute Lake

I woke to the pounding of hooves. Looking out to the predawn glimmer I saw a herd of elk

passing through camp. We were definitely the outsiders in this land but the natives paid us no mind. Our tent did not take up much grazing space and we were too slow to pose a threat.

Our morning walk took us along the North Fork of the Los Pinos River passing numerous beaver dams and lodges. We dropped to our lowest elevation since the start at Cumbres Pass. Weminuche Pass was a mile wide grassy expanse that swallowed the trail. We set a compass bearing to where we thought the trail commenced on the other side and started across. Our heading was good and when we got to the other side we found the trail plus a work party doing a vegetation survey.

Their route stayed on the pass while ours climbed steeply. Soon we were again above treeline and at the base of the Rio Grande Pyramid, a 13800 foot mass of a peak that towered over the surrounding ridges and the Rio Grande valley to the north. From its south flank a long arete had eroded a perfect notch to form the Window. For Fort Colliners think: Horsetooth Rock times ten. We had been seeing these two distinct geological features for the past 3 days and would continue for another 3. For the 5 backpackers we saw that day the Pyramid and Window were a destination. For us they were special as well but not as a destination, more as a mile stone along our journey.

We finished the day at West Ute Lake with gorgeous views of the Needles and Grenadier Range to the west. The divide on which we walked seemed placid compared to these mountains so rugged they were crossed by no trails. Truly a place where mortals fear to tread as the gods of lightning and thunder reminded us through the night.

new plants seen: horse mushroom, shrubby cinquefoil, mountain dandelion, dusky penstemon

animals identified: raven, white-tailed ptarmigan, cinnamon teal duck, pika, elk