Day 12 to below San Luis Peak

Lucky drove us back up to the pass. It was enjoyable talking with him about the CDT and the area. We started walking around 10am immediately climbing to 12000 feet atop Snow Mesa. From there the horizon extended indefinitely with 360 degree views at every step. It was one of those great contrast of the CDT to be so high in the mountains yet walking for miles across an essentially flat plateau. We met a llama packer who was traveling the CT. He traveled about 10 miles a day but never had to go into town as the llamas carried all his supplies.

After Snow Mesa we climbed into the La Garita Wilderness (really, that is what the sign in the picture says) I had bought what I thought was methyl alcohol for our stove. It is sold in a yellow plastic container as a gasoline additive called Heet. Our yellow bottle turned out to be a petroleum product that didn't burn in our alcohol stove. We adapted, lighting a small cook fire to make dinner. This worked in the evenings but took a lot of time so on this section we ate cold breakfasts. We pitched camp in the shadow of 14000 foot San Luis Peak.

new plants seen- Queen Anne's lace, arctic gentian, Idaho fescue, lanceleaf stone crop

animals identified- pika, yellow-bellied marmot, golden-mantled ground squirrel, Clark's nutcracker, hairy woodpecker, mt chickadee, Mormon cricket