Author and
Leader: Gina Pasquale
Trip Participants: Gina Pasquale, Steve Doorn, Jonathan Doorn, Jeff Click, Rose Click, Kathleen
Gruetzmacher, Elena Brown, Michael Brown, Martin Staley, Dave Dogruel
I noticed there are already 2 trip reports on the LAM
webpage for Uncompahgre Peak, for 1997 and 1999. But, since this was a club
trip, I will write one up too.
After the usual logistical complications (Martin overslept,
Jeff missed us in Espanola, Kathleen and Dave headed towards Durango instead of
South Fork), we all arrived at the Wupperman campground on Lake San Cristobal,
the largest natural lake in Colorado. We ended up at a gorgeous campsite
(numbers 7-11), on a cliff about 200' above the lake. The scenery was
breathtaking, but we did have to worry a bit about a 2-year old falling over the
edge!
We had a nice group dinner that evening in the usual LAM
fashion, complete with wine and hors d'oeuvres, a fresh vegetable salad and
sautéed pasta, perhaps even to rival Elizabeth's trip, which was occurring on
this same weekend.
Our scheduled alpine start of leaving camp at 6am stretched
out to 7:15am. After packing 10 people into two 4WDs, we headed towards Nellie
Creek. I believe the road was in much better shape than Gary Clark's 1999 trip,
as we didn't have any problems at all getting up the road. We didn't even get a
chance to test out Dave's burly-looking winch on his Land Cruiser! There were a
couple of steep, rutted sections, but they were dry going up. (It would have
been a completely different story if the road were wet!) We reached the
trailhead and were hiking by 8:15am with hordes of other climbers. (I have
officially lost my reputation as an alpine start slave driver.)
Steve and Kathleen stayed back with 3 kids at about 12,500',
and the rest of us headed for the summit. Jeff was carrying a 50-pound pack,
complete with Rose saddled in. He was determined to make the summit! We all
hiked at our own pace, and without difficulty we were all at the summit by
11:15am, when the first clap of thunder sounded. After some quick pictures, we
headed down ASAP, even though there were still many hikers going up! It never
ceases to amaze me that people like to climb 14ers in thunderstorms. Meanwhile,
Steve had carried Jonathan up to his new altitude record of 13,200' on the
ridge, for an awesome view of the Wetterhorn.
After regrouping at the cars, we decided to hang out in Lake
City for some ice cream, hot cocoa, and letting the kids burn off some steam at
the playground on Main St. We then took a vote: head back to camp for cooking
and cleaning dishes, or eat at the "pizza place" on the next street. It was not
a close vote, and we walked over to the A&A Pasta restaurant for the dinner
surprise of the year. This was a REAL Italian restaurant, complete with
homemade, gourmet pasta dishes and wonderful wines by the glass. The owner and
our waiter, Angelo, was from Milan, and kept hitting on Kathleen! It was great
fun! We were not expecting this kind of dining experience in Lake City, but this
place was great! It has been in business for about 2 months, and was quite
crowded, even for a Saturday night. I highly recommend the homemade gelato for
dessert.
That night, Dave had a campfire, and we all slept soundly. In
fact, Martin may still be sleeping there, as he was still stuffed in his
sleeping bag when we departed at 11am the next morning. Dave joined Steve and I
for a short hike up Williams Creek as a cool-down hike before driving home. We
were fortunate enough to see a pair of golden eagles soaring high above us.
All in all, it was a great family trip, and I believe Martin
and Dave survived a weekend around all the kiddos!
