Elbert! Err... Black Mesa

As the end of our time drew near we drove south to Leadville. We planned to hike up mount Elbert. We were on a tight schedule at this point and as we drew closer it began to rain, and rain. We tried to find an internet site, given that this was the dark ages, and eventually called someone on the cell phone to look at the forecast for us. It did not look good. Instead of waiting around for ages and arriving home too late for Tiff to start work we just kept on driving.

We headed along some out of the way routes and it was very late at night as we angled through the top of New Mexico. The road was dirt, instead of pavement as on the map, and completely overrun with wildlife. I almost hit prong-horn, mule deer, and elk. Luckily for them and my car I dodged them all. It was late at night when we arrived. We just camped next to the parking lot. No one was around and it did not seem that anyone minded.
Since we went to sleep well after midnight, morning came quickly, though I actually felt fairly well rested. There was another group who arrived near that time. We started on the hike which follows an old dirt road for most of the way. There were some nice creatures about, both large and small.




The granite monolith makes it seem a bit like a cemetery. At least it is easy to find. Sometimes when the top is so flat like this it takes a bit of effort to figure out just where the top really is.


You can see in the shot below why finding the top might be difficult with no marker, especially back in the days before GPS units were a dime a dozen.