6 July 2022
Goose’s House to Ridge above Alta Lakes and back
(9 miles +2,300/-2,300 feet).

In August this year I was planning to do a long section hike on the Washington section of the PCT with my buddy Goose. He and I met on the PCT last year, when we hiked about 250 miles together.

But Goose recently had surgery for a shoulder injury and won’t be able to carry a big pack for a bit.

So instead he invited me to his home in Telluride for a few days to do some day hiking in one of the most beautiful parts of one of the most beautiful states.

Sweet!

The Colorado monsoon was acting up yesterday and threatening to pour on us this afternoon, so we decided to keep it simple and do one of Goose’s favorite hikes from right outside his front door.

What a crazy beautiful place he lives in!

We followed ski runs and forest roads up, up, up to Alta Lakes, where we found countless dewy blooms at their peak.

It was quite a glute-buster doing the ascent up to Alta Lakes, but totally worth it!

We stopped for lunch a bit early at Middle Alta Lake (oops – my fault!).

We climbed above middle Alta Lake to a beautiful ridge at the top of one of the highest ski lifts.

At the top of the ridge we decided to call it, as the clouds rolled in and threatened to open up. We followed ski-runs around a large plot where Oprah is building a house!

We beat the rain back to Goose’s place, where he treated me to dinner fresh from his new pizza oven!