Page 4 - 1977 VES Meteor

4
8, t977
BY THOMAS MORTON
GA THRIGHT III
who hadn't been seen in several hours .
Once back at Bear Lake, we saw a variety of wildlife. We saw an elk, and a number of rodents and birds, whose favorite pasttime seemed to be eating the
tourists' lunches. Earlier that day we saw a couple of deer. During the time we spent in the park, the most common rodents we observed were chipmunks and western groundhogs known as varmlts.
While waiting for our lost leader to return, we were encountered by three parties of people that had relatives who had attended V.E.S. We were
hungry, so we drove to Estes Park for lunch. Mr. Pettyjohn still hadn't returned and we were on the verge of sending out a search party to look for him. To our relief he finally came back, contented with his hike to Lake Haiyaha.
We drove to Glacier Basin Campground to spend the night, which is located near Bear Lake. From there we could get an early
start hiking the next day. After setting up our tents for the night, we ventured back to Estes Park for supper.
Wednesday, August 4 - In the morning, the cool Colorado air made some of us inclined to keep warm in the depths of our sleeping bags. At the same time, Mr. Peuyjohn arose to take pictures of the spectacular scenery. Not long after this, those of us with cameras followed his example.
While preparing breakfast and packing up our equipment, plans were made for the day's
agenda. The day was used to adjust to our new environment. Mr. Pettyjohn, Bill, and I were
ready for adventure and decided to climb Long's Peak, (elevation 14,256 feet,) the highest point in
the park. The sportsmen, Randy, Robert and Kent, decided to get fishing licenses and fish in the lower elevations.
On our way back from Emerald Lake, we caught this striking view of Longs Peak.
the backpacks from the van while Mr. Pettyjohn went to
check out at the ranger station. Feeling the weight of o ur packs for the first time, we walked to the beginning of the
trail and waited for Mr. Pettyjohn to return. We were psyching ourselves up for the hike and when Mr. Pettyjohn
came we expected him to tell us to start up the mountain. It was quite a shock to us when he told us that the back country permit that we used to reserve our campsites wasn't valid until the following day. We were, for the most part, relieved because now we had an extra day to enjoy before our backpacking trip
would begin.
It was decided that we would
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Before the fishermen departed
for the day, they drove us to the
base of Long's Peak. After problems for us.
getting started, we made good
time, considering we were still
trying to get used to the thin air. group drove up in the van. We
Below the timberline, the drove from there to Moraine woods were different compared Park Campground where we
stayed for the night. Along the forest was dominated by tall way, we listened'to Robert and straight evergreens. Under the Randy grumble about paying
to the woods in the East. The
trees, the undergrowth was sparse and the mountain streams were quickly moving, clear, and C-C-COLDI
Once we broke out of the timberline, there was a large expanse of rocks, soil, and snow
pat hes. There was a substantial amount of low-lying vegetation,
ten dollars for their fishing licenses and then not catching any fish.
We acquired a campsite even though the campgrounds in the park are frequently full. After up and back to nearby Estes Park to eat supper. This supposedly would be our last "decent" meal
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most of it being grass. The wind until our hike was over. For this
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Numerous attempts were made to contact Mr. Wilson by phone. He was reached and we were extended an invitation to dinner after our hike was completed. This was something
to look forward to after eating freeze-dried food for a week.
There was a chance that Mr. Wilson might come by Glacier Basin later that night.
Along the way back to Glacier Basin, we stopped along the road to pick up some firewood. We were unaware that if we were
caught collecting firewood, we would have to pay a twenty-five
dollar fine.
Later that evening Mr.
Wilson, or "Jay'dubya" as the group called him, drove up in his patrol car. We asked him everything we could think of about the park and he seemed to have all the answers. We were worried he might say something about our firewood, but luckily he didn't.
Will Robert Goode ever make use of his ten dollar fishing license? Will Mr. Pettyjohn get lost in the woods again or be
arrested for illegal firewood? Will we ever have dinner at the house of Mr. Wilson? Will we find anymore rodents? Find the answers to these questions in the next issue of The Meteor as we finally begin our hike through the Colorado Highlands!
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hikes wouldn't cause any When we returned to the base
of Long's Peak, the rest of our
THE METEOR
February 8, 1977
take a short hike up a trail -L. starting from Bear Lake. Along
the way, the trail forked into two different directions. Mr. Pettyjohn and the rest of the
group split up without knowing it. The reason we separated was because of a mixup in plans or maybe Mr. Pettyjohn wanted some peace and quiet without the rest of the group. Whatever the reason the five of us walked past Dream Lake and finished
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walking when we Emerald Lake.
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reached At Emerald Lake, we fished
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without any luck and lay around
turned out to be a lot farther than we had originally thought. We spent some time throwing snowballs, before returning. It was the first time we ever experienced a snow ball fight in August.
From Emerald Lake, we made our way back to Bear Lake, despite the large number of
people we met along the way. There was a growing concern in the group for Mr. Pettyjohn,
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in the
Robert, and I climbed up to a
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