After a failed attempt to climb Mt. Princeton last September, Lonny, Lisa, and I decided we wanted to tackle it again. Joining us this time also was Tracy. Unfortunately, the weather was, once again, uncooperative. We made it up to about the same spot we turned back last year (about 13,400 ft) when it started to rain on us - which was shortly followed by lightning. This, of course, led to a rather hasty retreat back down the mountain, defeated and disappointed. The hike, however, was not a total loss, as we encountered a lemonade stand at tree line, and entertainment in the form of a large truck that had slipped off the side of the road, which was now getting towed back onto the road surface. Thankfully, I captured a video of the excitement (it was far more exciting watching it in person - trust me).
Mt. Princeton in the morning light and clouds
Tracy and Lisa
The valley below Mt. Princeton obscured by swirling clouds These low hanging clouds blocked our view for much of the morning. It reminded Lisa and I of our hike up Mt. Shavano a few years back.
A ground squirrel, seeking us for food
Low clouds over the chalk cliffs
Brian and Lisa
The clouds finally broke enough to reveal the summit ahead of us
5 minutes later, we were enveloped into the fog and clouds
Tracy and Lonny
The trail meandering along the rocky mountainside
A view to the southwest of Princeton from the ridgeline
Ascending steep switchbacks to the ridgeline
Clouds envelop us, partially obscuring the view of Buena Vista At about 13,300 feet, rain and gropple (similar to hail) started to fall - this was a big clue that lightning was sure to follow. At 11am, we heard the first crash of thunder.
A baby pika
Storm clouds descending into South Park
The summit of Princeton is briefly visible again The rain let up for awhile, but a second storm soon swirled through, dropping more rain and lightning
Rain falling in South Park
The first 14er Lemonade Stand we've seen As we descended, we rejoined the 4WD road and saw a large church youth group who"d set up a lemonade stand! We had been talking that for our next attempt on Princeton, we"d simply drive to this point on the road until...
A large truck that went a little too far to the left of the road ...we saw this large truck that tried to let another vehicle pass.
The truck had pulled over to let someone pass, but the road was simply too narrow
After the truck was pulled free, these kids explored the tire ruts left behind Watching the tow truck extract the vehicle was exciting. Even more amusing was watching the tow truck try a 4WD maneuver to allow a vehicle to pass that ended up breaking his own 4WD!
