Over the weekend some of us celebrated the forum's anniversary with a trip to Monte Cristo Campground and hikes to Rabbit, Granite and Roundtop. Cecelia and I started by driving to the campground on Friday afternoon and securing site #11, which has space for several tents under a big sycamore tree. Jeff arrived later and said I picked the best location.
We hung out at the campground and played "Would you rather?" The weather was a little warm, but a cool, afternoon breeze kept us happy. For dinner we cooked tacos and quesadillas, and drank beer. We watched the rush hour traffic on the highway, which is visible from the campground. Also, our neighbors decided to blast loud music, causing a nuisance until 11pm. Monte Cristo quickly became my least favorite campground, but, hey, at least it has shade, fresh water, and tolerable pit toilets.
The night was cold but not cold enough for me to put on socks or gloves. After breakfast we strolled down canyon looking for a flowing stream. We only found small pools and mud about fifteen minutes down the path. That's what we get for waiting too long in the season to visit Monte Cristo. We headed back to the campground as the day began heating up.
Jeff left and brought more ice for the cooler. While he was gone, Nate and Forest arrived after lunch. We collected rocks around the campsite, then Jeff had to return home.
Later, Nate, Forest and I visited the water tank above the campground and some of the small pools upstream from the campground. In the secret pool Forest found tiny frogs and weird-looking bugs.
Cecelia and I hung out with Nate while Forest played with other kids in the campground. Our guests had a choice of Pepsi, 805, Mike's Hard Lemonade, or Pineapple Mango juice. Nate had a Pepsi, which meant I didn't have to drink all eight of them myself. One of the monster truck toys broke, but Nate fixed the wheel with limited tools available and saved the day. Eventually Forest wanted to check out the pools at Hidden Springs. So they took off an hour or two before dark, but Nate "definitely maybe" would be back Sunday morning for the group hike.
Cecelia and I ate a freeze-dried dinner and relaxed until Dima and Matthew arrived. We all drank beer and talked about the good life. Earlier I had confronted the music blasters and they had slightly reduced the noise level, so life was even improved on that front. But now we had a couple new neighbors who enjoyed yelling at each other. Oh, well, it didn't affect my sleeping at all.
On Sunday we woke up early to be ready around 8am for the group hike to Rabbit Peak and beyond. Nate and David were meeting us at the trailhead at the opposite end of the campground.
The fire road has a long, flat part which David, Dima, Matthew and Nate bypassed via a steep ridge. I'll let them describe that adventure.
Cecelia and I enjoyed the gentler and shadier stroll through the canyon. Then we turned left before the Monte Cristo mining operation and headed out of the canyon where we rejoined the guys.
Further up the road we found the narrow summit path that leaves the road and climbs the south ridge of Rabbit.
There are several ways to gain this ridge from the road, and between the group we utilized three different routes. But eventually we all filed onto the main path and worked our way to the top of the peak.
We enjoyed the views and placed Eispiraten swag in the cairn. It was a beautifully clear day. A little warm but not unbearable like during the summer. The guys eyeballed the big loop with Granite and Roundtop in view. Dima, Matthew and Nate decided to advance the mission, while David, Cecelia and I headed back to camp. David wanted to catch football on TV, so we said goodbye after a casual descent from Rabbit. Cecelia and I relaxed and rehydrated at camp until the guys returned mid-afternoon. They looked and sounded tired, except for Dima, who defeats most mountains with ease and energy to spare.
Overall I think this edition of the Eispiraten anniversary was a big success. Let's do this again next year!
