Signs of an Early Winter?

Last Wildflowers of the Year?

Fall officially begins on September 22nd but you would think that winter had already arrived in the Colorado high country! I had a feeling a hike after a solid day of rain in Denver would be a dicey proposition when they were predicting snow above 10,000'. Especially after the photos shown on the local news stations of snow covered peaks and slushy highways. But I've been really been wanting to hike up to Heart Lake and even though it is perched at 11,300' I just had to give it a shot.

Private Property at the Trailhead

It has probably been at least 20 years since I've hiked to Heart Lake. A great friend from my days at Martin Marietta who passed on at much too early of an age, used to lead us to fabulous hikes every weekend. Heart Lake really stuck in my mind as a phenomenal place, but I wasn't sure why, so I had to hike it again. Most of my hiking buddies like the shorter, less strenuous hikes, so this was a hike I decided I had to do on my own. Luckily the trailhead starting point has changed for the better. When I hiked it with Wayne and his wife Clairesse we had to climb over a fence and cross private property. Since then the James Peak Wilderness area has undergone a lot of trail work and a trail now goes around the property of the Union Pacific Railroad. When I hiked to Crater Lakes last fall I was fortunate to see a train coming through the tunnel and the many railroad enthusiasts that awaited its arrival. On this trip I saw not only one, but two trains headed toward the tunnel as I departed. The second train was an interesting collection of nothing but engines - probably 10-20 of them in a row! But alas, my legs were too tired to stop and take a photo!

Moffat Tunnel, East Portal

This trailhead now offers many hiking choices in the James Peak Wilderness area which is adjacent to the Indian Peaks Wilderness. I plan to go back for several more hikes before the snow socks the trails in for the year. The Heart Lake trail follows the South Boulder Creek most of the way. It starts around 9211' and climbs to over 11,300'. Most guidebooks say it is about 8.4 miles round trip but my GPS (and my legs) recorded my hike at over 10.5 miles.

Trail Markers on the Tree

The trail is very well marked the first 2 miles or so but as you climb higher the forest becomes dense and trail options are confusing. Luckily they have placed trail markers on the trees to help you find your way and have tried to block social trails with obvious 'wrong way' signs. In the photo above you see not only one red circle but also a blue marker and a slash into the tree to mark the trail. Look up a bit - this trail is also used in the winter for snowshoeing and cross country skiing so the markers are up higher since the snow gets pretty darn deep up here. :)

Snowy Footbridge

It does get a bit confusing as you climb through the perrenial streams, downed trees and muddy/wet conditions. I was very pleased to see that several people were ahead of me this morning so I could follow their snowy footprints. The first 2 miles were mostly damp but the snow started appearing well below 10,000'.

Snow Packed Trail/Stream

By the time I reached 10,000' the trail was mostly snow and some of the uphill climbs were very slippery. I was very happy to have at least one hiking pole with me to help climb without falling. It was also very beneficial on the slick rock stream crossings. I wasn't looking forward to the downhill approach but luckily the sun and more people traffic made it more of a slushy/muddy mess then an icy slide down.

Lower Lake of Rogers Pass Lake

The first lake you reach is small but sits beneath a beautiful peak. A few more slushy maneuvers uphill and you reach Rogers Pass Lake. It is very large and hard to photograph up close so it is definitely worth the climb up toward the pass and Heart Lake to get a better photos of Rogers Pass Lake.

Rogers Pass Lake

Only two other crazy hikers were ahead of me after Rogers Pass Lake. They actually headed up to the pass - I bet it was a very scary ascent without ice axes and other self arrest gear. The short distance I had to go to get to Heart Lake was plenty for me. I had thought about bringing my winter boots but didn't, so every post-holed step into the deep snow made my feet colder and wetter. I was the only person that climbed to the lake at that hour (noon-ish) so I had to make my own trail through the snowpack. Cold as it was it was actually a pretty cool experience to have a lake to myself. I journeyed over to the only rock that looked like it might be flat enough to sit upon. Finding a good route there was half the battle as the willows and pine trees were weighted down in snow and footing amongst the hidden rocks was very questionable. Since I was hiking alone I was extremely careful about where I placed my feet.

View of Heart Lake

I shot a few photos of the lake once I reached the high point and was not able to capture a good close up of the lake due to it's size and shape. It is shaped like the human organ, not the typical shape we associate with hearts. It was a peaceful, tranquil place, nonetheless, and I spent over an hour contemplating my navel (I mean my Nikon), and just enjoying the serenity of having such a beautiful piece of God's creation to myself. The sun was warm enough to fend off the biting nip of the wind and I eventually meandered across the shoreline along the length of the lake watching every step I took into the mysterious depths of the snow below me. Although I could have stayed there a long time, I left once I knew the two people who were climbing Rogers Pass in front of me were not heading for the dangerous looking cliff of windblown snow guaranteed to avalanche with the first foot stepped upon it.

Close Up View of Rogers Pass Lake

The descent was dicey as the slope was pretty extreme and the snow made every step a real experience. I eventually got down to the trail made by those before me and stopped for a moment to enjoy the beauty of Rogers Pass Lake. Several fisherman were trying their luck at snagging a fish that wasn't frozen to death or in a semi-coma.

Muddy Trails

I was pleased to see the trails were more muddy and wet than icy. The Rocky Mountain sunshine was doing a great job of melting off the snow - the resulting mess was a kids delight. I gave up trying to keep my feet semi-dry and just plunged through it to the delight of my inner child. It was a long way down - I didn't have to struggle to breathe like the way up but every step was a strategic one to keep myself from slip sliding down the hill.

As I finished up the last few miles I was filled with gratitude for the friends who have shared the beauty of this country with me. Our lives are filled with stressful, time consuming activities but if we just stop for a moment or an hour or two we can find the peacefulness and beauty in the world around us by spending a little time in nature. I was in awe of the numerous people headed uphill with backpacks full of gear at 3pm. I couldn't imagine where they would find a dry, warm place to spend the night but I suspect that just being alone in this majestic wilderness was all they needed to cleanse their souls.

Enjoy the colors of the fall wherever you may live or explore!

Jan

PS - is anyone else struggling with the formatting issues of blogspot? Everytime I add a new photo it hoses up all the formatting associated with either the photo or the text. Adds tons of extra lines. Any ideas?

Indonesian Volcanoes

Indonesia lies between the Ring of Fire along the northeastern islands adjacent to and including New Guinea and the Alpide belt along the south and west from Sumatra, Java, Bali, Flores, and Timor. The volcanoes in Indonesia are among the most active of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

One of the largest well-known eruptions was that of Krakatau in 1883. The eruption is known as “The World’s Loudest Recorded Bang.” We had hoped to visit the island of Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatau) but our itinerary was too jammed to make this extended journey across the Sunda Strait. I’ll have to return in the future and try to hike a few of these sacred peaks!

Gunung Arjuna – 3400m

One of my first clear photos of a volcano was that of the dormant volcano Gunung Arjuna from the mountain resort town of Batu. My map spells it Arjuno and says it is 3400m tall, but Lonely Planet spells it Arjuna and says it is 3339m tall. Not sure which is right! I was visiting the strawberry, apple and orange orchards of Kusuma Agrowisata and saw it peaking out of the clouds. Due to the pollution caused by the growing population, and dense humidity in the air it is very difficult to see a lot of these peaks.

Gunung Semeru – 3676m

The next morning we took a 4WD adventure across the sea of sand to admire several active volcanoes. The first one we saw was Java’s highest – Gunung Semeru – shown above releasing clouds of ash. Semeru is quite predictable, eruptions occur about every 15-30 minutes and it is one of the most active peaks in Java. This view was from a village outside of Tumpang along the route to Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park. People actually climb this billowing beast! We stopped in the town of Ranupani, the starting point for the three-day climb to Semeru. We had lunch by a lake where we met a young woman barely 30 years old enjoying the scenery with her daughter and grandson. Semeru is also known as Mahameru (Great Mountain) and is very sacred to the Hindus.

Gunung Bromo – 2392m

Bromo rises from the guts of the ancient Tengger caldera and is one of three volcanoes to have emerged. It is flanked by the peaks of Kursi (2581m) and Batok (2440m). There are many myths surrounding this “peak” and the views of the surrounding landscape are awe inspiring. We stayed at the Lava View Hotel which overlooks a never-ending sea of volcanic beauties.

Gunung Batok (2440m)

The tourist ritual here is to get up at 'o-dark-hundred' to drive out of the crater and up to the highest point on the outer crater Gunung Penanjakan (2770m) to watch the sunrise and get those "picture postcard views" of Bromo and neighboring peaks. So we were up at 3:15am and on our way through dense clouds and occasional rain showers to wait for hours at the viewpoint with a few thousand of our best friends (most smoking like chimneys). Here’s what we saw:

Yep – the clouds never cleared and all we saw was this lovely stone map telling us what we should have seen! We were pretty bummed! The day we arrived and the day we left were gorgeous mornings – we just picked the wrong one! I should have bought the postcard I reckon!

Pilgrimage to Bromo

After bargaining for a t-shirt and map we headed back down into the crater to join the throngs of tourists headed up the 253 steps to the top of Gunung Bromo. First you get to ride a horse through the dusty, steep sea of ash. Then you climb the steps and inhale the acrid smell of sulfuric acid. Whew – couldn’t stay up there very long but I managed to grab a few shots of the surrounding area. Inside the crater was a misty cloud of acid – not much to see there!

Ms. Elly at the Top of Gunung Bromo

Cloud of sulfuric acid on the edge of Bromo’s crater

We descended the stairs and searched in the crowd of people and horses for our guides. Mine had decided to take off and score another rider I guess, so I waited patiently for him to return. I didn’t take any shots while on the horse because a) I was holding on for dear life (and almost fell off on the way down) and b) it was outrageously dusty – not a good environment for digital cameras.

Waiting for his rider to return

After lots of exploring around Yogyakarta in Central Java we headed up to Kaliurang to get a closer view of Gunung Merapi (Fire Mountain). At 2911m it has a bit of a history for being very destructive. Here’s a photo of a photo from the 2006 eruption that took many peoples lives.

Gunung Merapi (2991m)

We purchased a few DVDs about the area but I haven’t had a chance to view them yet. People actually climb this mountain when it is “quiet.” The villagers were hard at work gathering fodder for their animals and wood for cooking. The woman in this photo carrying the wood is over 70 years old. A group of men were busy building a rock dam with hopes of holding back the flood waters of the rainy season.

Villagers hard at work near Merapi

We saw three more volcanoes on our journey from East to West Java. Near the Dieng Plateau the misty Gunung Sindoro was surrounded by lush fields of tobacco and tea plantations.

Gunung Sindoro – 3225m

From our hotel near Baturaden we had a great morning view of Java's 2nd highest volcano Gunung Slamet.

Gunung Slamet – 3428m

On our way from Garut to visit the only Hindu temple in West Java (Cangkuang Temple), we caught a glimpse of Gunung Guntur while riding by in our traditional mode of transport, the delman or horse and buggy!

Rice Paddies Overlooking Gunung Guntur – 2249m

We also had a lovely boat ride on the longest wooden platform boat (rakit) I’ve ever been on – all made from bamboo. We had fun watching the local fisherman trying to net a little food for their families. The fish were very small, catfish looking – incredibly ugly. I hope they tasted better than they looked!

Fishing near Garut

The final volcanic related visit was to Tangkuban Perahu, a heavily touristed area just north of Bandung. This volcano basically imploded under the weight of all the ash and the crater is now flat and elongated. I’ve never seen so many vendors, tourists, and vehicles in one place. We didn’t stay here very long!

Tangkuban Perahu – 2076m

Hope you enjoyed this visit to the Indonesian segment of the Ring of Fire!

Happy Travels!

Jan