Early on a Wednesday morning Ken Oldham led Chris and me to Chapin Pass
and then up Mount Chapin. It was a beautiful day despite the ongoing haze from
distant forest fires. We spent most of the day above timberline on the tundra.
Whether it be mountain tundra or arctic tundra I am continually taken by the thoughtof being "home" - in a place place I am supposed to be.
Chapin Pass sits between Mount Chapin and Mount Chiquita which along with Mount Ypsilonmake up the southern part of the Mummy Range within the northern confines of RockyMountain National Park. That is my new ultra light daypack which worked very well.
Here is Chris at Chain Pass where stiff winds caused us to put on warmer jackets.
From Chapin Pass it is an exhilarating tundra walk to the summit of Mount Chapin,
12,415 feet in elevation, which we reached at 9:30 AM.
Despite the prevailing haze, the views from the summit are spectacular.
On the descent we hiked over to Little Chapin in the direction of Fall River Pass. It
was only when we neared its top that we could identify a herd of Rocky Mountain
Bighorn Ewes enjoying the sun on the summit. They were unconcerned with us and
we left them alone and as they say in the Great Book we decided to return home by
a different route.
Chris and I were grateful to our leader Ken who has been a friend of mine since we
were 14 years old. I had given up on mountain tundra hiking but this trip opened up
great possibilities for the future and the need for more serious training.
This is the last of my Colorado photo essays.
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