Climbed Mt. Princeton, Almost
On September 18, 2018 I climbed 14er Mt. Princeton. Because I was sick the previous the 2 weeks
and because I missed a key turn by 1.5 miles and expended extra energy, I missed getting to the top by a few hundred yards.
1 - Fall colors on the drive from Pagosa, 35 mi east near the cutoff to the Big Meadows Reservoir
2 - Mt. Princeton
3 - The day before the ascent, I rode my new electric mountain bike up an old mining road to scout the route to the top. All seemed fine.
4 - Camped at about 10,800 ft
5 - The next morning, a bike flat made me walk a bit more than planned. I ended up walking up the mining road about 1.5 miles too far!
6 - I had missed the trail head. You can see the skinny trail below me, zoomed in.
7 - I had gained several hundred feet, so rather than walk back down and then up again, I traversed across this mess
8 - Looking back on the traverse i did. Very loose rock!
9 - Finally got to the real trail., looking back
10 - Just work my way up this.
11 - See the trail across the rocks on the lower left?
12 - From the ridge, looking south, Princeton Resort below. I came up the north east side.
13 - The trail kind of dissapears
14 - And steeper
15 - Don't go that way!
16 - A little after this I quit. I was sick the previous the 2 weeks and because I went way off the route and expended extra energy, I was too pooped to make it the last few hundred yards to the very top.
17 - On my way down. Where is the trail?
18 - Finally down to the trail I missed. See the white cliffs?
19 - These White cliffs
20 - The trail turns back to the old mining road. I, by mistake walked further up the road and traversed across the rocky mountain side.
21 - This is where I left the bike with the flat tire. By now, I was regretting not going to the top.
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