First Order of Business - Climb the Sawtooth

Trip Start Aug 01, 2010
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Trip End Aug 01, 2011


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Where I stayed
Coney Flats

Flag of United States  , Colorado
Sunday, August 22, 2010

If there was one camping outing I was dying to squeeze in before the weather turns too cold it was to attempt to hike up the Sawtooth Mountain (12,304ft.)  I was taken to Coney Flats at the start of the hike by my friend Joe last year before leaving for our year-long excursion.  It was a "men-in-the-woods" kind of outing where a bunch of us headed out to camp in the woods, drink a whole lot of beer, and maybe wrestle a bear if it were to stumble unexpectedly into "our" territory.  Well, it rained like no other and we motivated late into the day - but did give ourselves just enough time to climb the ridge leading up to Sawtooth's peak.  We stood in clearing surrounded by huge boulders with a 360 degree view that was quite incredible, taking in views from every direction.  The sun broke through the cloud's silver lining just enough to give glimpses of this gorgeous spot in the Indian Peaks Wilderness.  Joe told me how there were trails all up and down the continental divide that were as beautiful as this - making me realize that on my quest to see all of these beautiful places all around the world, a quest we were about to embark on again, that some pretty spectacular scenery was right in our own backyard, if we just make the effort
Sawtooth Peak
Sawtooth Peak
.  There's a reason everyone heads to the mountains surrounding the front range every weekend, and now I realized why. 

So 1st order of business when I got back, was to get all the way up that Sawtooth, the "Snaggle Tooth".  So that's exactly what we did.  On Friday, Caroline and I hiked into Coney Flats and camped out under the stars, and Saturday we woke up early to climb up to Buchanan Pass and then took the ridgeline up to the summit of Sawtooth Mountain. 

At the Summit we could have just as easily returned the easy route back, but instead opted to scale down the gnarly, boulder and loose rock face of Sawtooth and walk off course around to 2 small lakes we could see from the summit - one being the bigger Coney Lake and it's dramatic surroundings.  From there we picked up the trail (of sorts) and headed back to the camp.

I hope to fill up this series of travel blogs with more photos and less stories of our lives as they pan out here in Longmont and on down the road...
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