The Road to Monte Vista - Pt II

The monsoons are in full swing with (maybe) three hours in the morning when you might see the sun. Forest Road 105 leaves off Forest Road 250 a few miles south of Platoro. I spent a couple of days exploring, but could easily stay weeks...if it weren't for the rain. 

The road soon rises above 10,000 feet and (finally) levels off at the junction to Tobacco Lake where I DIDN't check altitude but guess it to be close to 11,000.  

Monsoon at  >10,000 feet

The trail to Bear Lake takes you into the San Juan Wilderness. The aspen are dying en masse...supposedly due to the li'l gals shown below. They was the only wildlife I seen.

Other than the disfigurement, the leaves of the shrubs didn't appear to be suffering from their case of the carbuncles. (Time to start shopping for a camera that focuses).

Pausing to inhale the aroma of vanilla from a Jeffrey(?) Pine, I noticed a splotch of white in the brush; someone had tossed a bottle of gelled alcohol and yerz trooly, Lucky Herrmann, had found it. Back at camp I celebrated the tradition of stockpiling more than enough wood, but even after shredding the underbark (scout manual page 237, para 2) I couldn't get it going. It was then I remembered....FIRE STARTER!! What a concept!! 

I've never been big on fires; their romantic effects not withstanding, on my own, once the tater's done, so'm I. And with this kind of wet, youse either gotta be a duck or from Portland to stand around.



It's less than a mile past Saddle Creek to this view. Time for lunch!