Escaping The Nutshell

Started hiking at 10:30 from the Wild Basin Ranger Station. Winter is melting, making the trail wet and muddy. North St Vrain Creek has been altered by the flood. Banks scoured and trees missing.

2014-05-18 North St Vrain Creek at Wild Basin

The trail becomes too snowy to follow. We leave it, ascending drier granite backbones. Ascending north, snow becomes more frequent and deeper. At 9900 feet we decide to head back down.

We descend east of our incoming, forming a clockwise loop. A yellow and blue Audubon's warbler stops to greet us. On a forested plateau, we find large fresh bear prints in the snow. Then a steep rugged descent down a talus slope.

We stumble into the Pine Ridge Campsite at 14:00, having lunch there. Returning on the trail, a golden-mantled ground squirrel reposes on an upturned tree root.

2014-05-18 Golden-mantled ground squirrel

Returned at 15:34. Minimum altitude 8515 ft, maximum 9911 ft, difference 1396 ft, distance traveled 3.9 miles.

Tracks for entire hike.