High altitude power nap

Yesterday the whole family escaped the 101 degree heat in Denver to hike near Breckenridge. We hiked up Spruce Creek toward Pacific peak, past five alpine lakes (Mayflower lake and Mohawk are the 2 named lakes), and the impressive Mohawk falls. After some recent rains, the wildflowers were in in bloom, and the clear weather made it a perfect day. This is a great hike - I highly recommend it.


A few years ago, Amy and I would have summited the pyramid-shaped Pacific peak, which requires a steep scramble up a thousand feet of scree and snow, past another unbelievably high lake which lies just below the summit at about 13,500 feet. But now, we've got baggage: 30-plus pounds of kid (Andrew) and another 13 or so for the backpack he rides in. At 3 years old now, he's a good hiker, and on this trip, he walked about 2.5 miles on his own 2 feet. The rest of the time he hitched a ride on daddy's back.

We encountered a few dozen people on the lower sections of the trail, but we had lake #5 (12,440 feet) all to ourselves. A great place for a power nap!