Spaghetti Western
As soon as Reed’s alarm signaled our 7 AM wakeup, it was clear that rain was on its way. We quickly packed away our tents and scarfed down some oatmeal and coffee for a quick breakfast, then packed the van. After a communal teeth-brushing in the public bathroom, we were back on the westward road. Next on the iternary was our first stop of the day: Fort Kearny (or at least what was left of it).
The visitor’s center was closed, so we just strolled around and tried to imagine what the fort once looked like and where the different buildings were placed: smithy, mess hall, quarters, offices, etc. The weather was pretty miserable, but it was something to be expected from an arduous journey west, and a necessary trial to follow in the footsteps of the first westbound settlers and explorers.
Go West!
Sam points westward at Fort Kearney, an important waypoint on the Oregon Trail heading west.
Our next goal was to make a beeline for Fort Collins, CO. There was little to do but stare at the plain Nebraska countryside and see who could count the most cows while we waited for mountains to surface over the horizon. Every ten minutes or so, we would peer ahead and ask if those were mountains waiting in the distance. As soon as we entered Colorado, it was expected that mountains would just be right before us immediately, but instead we had to practice patience.
Driving through Nebraska amidst severe winds.
Finally, we spied some tiny blue forms in the distance. NOW we knew we were in Colorado. Fort Collins turned out to be a hip little city with a lot of character. We stopped at Gearage (a pseudo-REI) to pick up some gear and, more importantly, advice. We met with Mitchell, an employee and mountain-climbing fanatic that Reed had spoken to previously. He launched into detailing the process of building up to scaling the mountains of Colorado. Very excitedly, he laid out a tangible plan: first, hike up to Chasm Lake near Longs Peak to build some conditioning; second, take a rest day; finally, tackle a 14-er, namely Grays and Torreys. His excitement clearly rubbed off on us, and we were pumped for what the next day would bring.
Outfitting shop in Fort Collins, Colorado
Our next decision was to drive to Estes Park. Hopefully, once there, we could find reasonable camping grounds. We found ourselves weaving through the Rockies and ogling the beautiful slopes; when driving, it was hard to resist gazing at them. However, seeing as I didn’t want to send us careening over a cliff, I fought the urge as best as I could.
A view on the journey
On drive from Fort Collins to Estes Park
We ended up at the Estes Park Mountain Shop, where we found much-needed and affordable trekking poles. Next was the matter of securing a campground. We went across the street to a KOA building to ask for a pricing on two nights. The woman behind the counter quoted us $157. She clearly saw the surprise on out faces, and commented, “It’s Estes Park.” We then proceeded literally five minutes down Highway 7 and found camping for $30 (take that, KOA).
After setting up camp, next came the matter of dinner. Spaghetti MRE was suggested, and we all begrudgingly agreed. After waiting half an hour for the water to boil, we dumped in the spaghetti, and proceeded to dig in. Needless to say, it was completely sub par spaghetti whose only redeeming factor was that it was warm. Perhaps to take our minds off the food, Sam suggested we walk around the campgrounds while chowing down on our meal. We strolled all the way up to a scenic rocky overlook of the mountains, cold spaghetti still in hand. As the night closed in, we decided to try what Mitchell suggested, and tackled the hike to Chasm Lake. Unfortunately, this would mean we would have to wake up at 3 AM. Despite this, we were excited to finally start climbing some mountains.
Estes Park Mountain Shop
