Bailey, CO July 27, 2003

We wake up and there are still some clouds in our valley. We have breakfast and begin today’s hike at the North Fork Trail Head.

CNC Ready to Go

Start time is 8:45 AM. North Fork sits at 10,200 feet and we will be climbing to 10,880 feet before the day is done. We walk and start a real slow ascent though a beautiful meadow in this valley. The vegetation is still wet from last night’s rain. The sun peeks through and starts to dry things out. Everything is lush and green and we can see for miles ahead. After about 4.5 miles, we top out at 10,880 and it starts to sprinkle on us. There are still patches of sun, but we can see the storms building again. All the moisture from yesterday is feeding them earlier than usual. We come to a perfect break spot where there are some rocks and a view that looks down upon Jefferson and beyond to Georgia Pass and the mountains surrounding South Park. The thunder increases and lightning flashes in the distance, so it is time to move once again.

CNC and Faithful Sidekick Steven

We arrive at Long Gulch and the truck to a crescendo of thunder, lightning and dark skies. We finished at 12:30 PM. We hiked 7.75 miles in 3 hours and 45 minutes today. Our 2-day total for Segment 4 was 16.55 miles in 8 hours and 30 minutes total time. We finished our journey by driving up the North Fork Road in a driving torrential rain and hail storm. The rain subsides a bit while we take down our tent and break camp. We managed to hike in dry conditions both days and yet witness the changing weather in the mountains. Didn’t I say that timing is everything! Segment 4 Miles Hiked – 16.5
C.T. Miles Hiked – 55.6