Carr Peak: first summit of the year with Zeke

I thought I was working today and reported to the school, only to be told I had the wrong day.  That didn't bother me much, as that meant I had time now to hike up Carr Peak, the first time this year!  I couldn't go earlier this year due to the heavy snowfall. (I'm no fan of postholing)

Skies were mostly clear with an expected high of 75F.

I took Zeke and started the hike at 11:10am.  The road was clear of all snow but there were a few melted ice piles on the north side of the road above 6000'.  There were two cars in the Sawmill trailhead parking lot.  It was 61F and breezy, but I didn't put my windbreaker on until that last half mile.  I didn't come across anyone until that last mile.

I expected to be slow since I hadn't hiked elevation all year, but I surprised myself.  I finished the hike at 2:21pm, needing only 3:10 hours for this.  I thought it would take me four hours. It took me just under two hours to make it to the peak; not exactly a PR for me, but not my slowest time.  My near-daily walks with the dogs help me maintain some conditioning.

I met an older man coming down.  He reported no wildflowers near the peak.   He was disappointed in that, but was happy to have made it to the peak.  He seemed surprised to hear that I try to bag the peak every month.

The only flowers out right now are the small yellow flowers that like to grow in cracks of rock near the peak.  The lack of flowers means that the butterflies out now will have to look hard for that sweet nectar.

The aspens are prebudding with their red tips, but otherwise the entire vista was still brown, grey and dark green. The monochrome landscape made the new pine growth stand out, but otherwise the views were still that of a forest in its winter slumber.

There were some new blowdowns from our March storms, including a few 2011 Monument Fire survivors.  I always hate seeing trees that survive a fire succumb to something else like wind or disease.  A few young aspens were also blown down, but nothing that obstructed the trail.

The good news is seeing the new growth from 2011 take off.  Lots of small pines are thriving in the wet winter we had.

I met a second man, a younger man, near the top.  He actually spooked me as I was concentrating on taking a photograph and didn't notice him. He had just summitted and was now on his way down.

The melted snow and rain has allowed water to still flow in the upper waterfall.  That was a godsend for Zeke.

The cool breeze in the last half mile was refreshing, as the bright sun seem to have exhausted Zeke.  He was happy to be back in the Honda early in the afternoon and lay quietly in the back of the car.

I'm going to do this hike again either at the end of April or beginning of May, and I expect to see a lot of spring flowers then.  Right now the mountains are still in the preparatory phase.

I didn't feel tired after this hike.  I was able to meet up with SteveT at the taphouse in town, where we updated each other on our life in the last three weeks.