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| Backpack | 17.00 Miles |
2,500 AEG |
| | Backpack | 17.00 Miles | 2 Days | | |
| 2,500 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | co·nun·drum (noun): a confusing and difficult problem or question.
A conundrum indeed, when you find yourself hip-deep in snow without any snowshoes and miles to go before reaching your intended destination of alpine hot springs. We were not expecting there to be quite that much snow as the first few hours had been easy sunshine hiking through the beautiful Elk Mountains. The last 3 miles were covered in several feet and was turning into an exhausting slog of frequent deep post-holing. The difficult question on our minds was... turn back, or keep going?
We decided to cautiously soldier on, slowly but surely, and we finally arrived to find that we had the entire place to ourselves (except a lone porcupine, who was partying by the hotsprings but vacated as soon as we rolled up). We were pretty cold and wet upon arrival, and as soon as we set up camp (in the only campsite not covered in snow), we made a beeline for the hotsprings. The warm water was incredible and I'm pretty sure I now know what an ice cube feels like when it's melting. We relaxed in the pool, watching the clouds roll in from the valley below us. It was wonderfully peaceful and we wanted to stay forever in the hotsprings but it started snowing a bit so we made our way back to camp to hunker down for the night.
We awoke to about 4 inches of fresh powder for our hike out the next morning, which made for some amazing views of the surrounding snow-capped peaks. It was a tough hike due to the conditions but absolutely worth the effort. Spring is a tricky time to do this hike but I would love to go back and see Conundrum in the summer as this is one of my favorite areas of Colorado.  |
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