Fall ’23 Rock’s First Expedition!

Written by: Anton Migdal and Isabelle Rosewater

Following our arrival in Leadville, we spent the first few days getting accustomed to sleeping in tarps, practicing packing our backpacks, and rationing food for our first backpacking exped! We started at the Timberline trailhead, with our first scenic view by Virginia lake. As we continued to explore the Sawatch mountains on and off trail, we were rewarded with scenic alpine views, hacky sack circles, and self-cooked warm dinners, consisting of fajita rice and beans, stir fry noodles, and backcountry pizza! We took a break in Douglas City after 3 days of backpacking and met up with HMI staff to have our first climbing adventure, bouldering at a nearby spot. There we had a wonderful taste of what the rest of our trip would look like, challenging ourselves and encouraging each other to push our limits and have fun.

The topographical and most scenic peak of our trip was our hike to Heart Shaped Lake. There we had epic views of the Mount Massive ridgeline and took a polar plunge in the gorgeous clear lake. After an unbelievable 6 days of sunshine, we ended on a slightly rainy note for our last night of backpacking in the Sawatch, after which we returned to HMI.

After a quick lunch at the HMI campus, we took the short yet beautiful drive to Buena Vista. We were greeted by rain showers, foiling our plans to climb the next day. Despite the rain, we kept spirits high with hot chocolate and laughter around a warm fire, heading to a nearby town the next morning to learn about the native peoples of Colorado. Spirits rose when the sun finally came out, meaning we could climb. Our last day of expedition was spent top roping at Bob’s rock, introducing us to what the rest of the semester has to offer.