Loved. To. Death.

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Jorts
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Re: Loved. To. Death.

Post by Jorts »

It’s a dumb conversation. Great. You know solitude better than all of us who have ever parked next to another vehicle along a highway before hiking into the middle of nowhere. Cool. You win the oneupmanship award for solitude.
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Re: Loved. To. Death.

Post by Dobsons »

This thread has taken an interesting turn... when I was on Jagged this last summer I hadn't seen anyone for a day and a half since leaving needleton area including summits of knife point, jagged and peak six. It felt pretty much like solitude but then that was ruined when I saw an airplane fly by at 30,000 feet of elevation with 200 souls in it. No solitude to be had anywhere these days...

I'm with Jorts, whom I have been with on several of my Gore outings. Once I leave a trail in the Gore I rarely see anyone in fact I have never been close enough to another person off trail in the Gore to even say hi. We were on Y last year on a beautiful fall afternoon and I recall the Y summit register having only a handful of log entries in the past 10 years. At the same time I could look across summit county to Greys and Torreys and realize there were probably 1000 people on those trails at that same moment. Yes there are some very rarely visited areas in Colorado. Many 7000 foot peaks don't get visited every year I am sure. In terms of close to Denver, amazingly beautiful 13ers, off trail Gore trips have provided me with a great feeling of solitude in comparison to all the other surrounding 13ers in Summit county and the front range. Maybe I have just been lucky...

In regards to Booth trailhead closing I have never been lucky enough to snag a parking spot there anyways and I always appreciated a little warm up in town before a stout west sided Gore lake approach anyways so no skin off my back if they make access to those trails a bit more difficult. If it keeps a few tourists out of lower booth valley then all the better!
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Scott P
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Re: Loved. To. Death.

Post by Scott P »

Jorts wrote: Fri Mar 19, 2021 10:04 pm You win the oneupmanship award for solitude.
Think of it as an open invitation, rather than a oneupmanship. I just invited anyone interested to come on a trip (you included). Only in my dreams am I ballsy enough to visit such places solo for extended periods.

Besides, it was you that took issue with my statement: Anyway, I don't think I have ever climbed a Gore summit on a summer weekend and not seen people, even on the so called "obscure" peaks. For some reason my simple statement seems to bother you. I guess ignore it if it bothers you that much. Personally I found the discussion rather interesting. I meant no harm to you by discussing what I consider solitude.

Have a good night (and I don't mean that sarcastically). And if you do want to come on a trip, you are still invited, even if we disagree on the definitions of not seeing anyone.
I'm old, slow and fat. Unfortunately, those are my good qualities.
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Re: Loved. To. Death.

Post by ltlFish99 »

Scott P wrote: Fri Mar 19, 2021 4:36 pm Luckily, only a small part of Colorado is like that and there are many places you can go in Colorado and not see a soul (even on holiday weekends).

Although it is sad that this has to happen, I still find it humorous that some still tout the extremely well known and crowded Gore Range as some secret or unknown. I think this shows that it is not.
The Gore Range has been very well known and very crowded for many years now. It's not surprising that something like this happened.
That is certainly true for a lot of the popular destinations in the gore. It is also a place that on a couple of weekends we found it quite empty during overnight adventures.
One weekend, the only other person we saw was a a forest ranger.
Of course, going somewhere overnight tends to be less crowded than day trip destinations.
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Barnold41
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Re: Loved. To. Death.

Post by Barnold41 »

My favorite part of Booth is seeing people in khakis or jeans. And then not seeing them past the falls 8)
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Re: Loved. To. Death.

Post by ltlFish99 »

Tornadoman wrote: Fri Mar 19, 2021 4:55 pm
Scott P wrote: Fri Mar 19, 2021 4:36 pm Luckily, only a small part of Colorado is like that and there are many places you can go in Colorado and not see a soul (even on holiday weekends).

Although it is sad that this has to happen, I still find it humorous that some still tout the extremely well known and crowded Gore Range as some secret or unknown. I think this shows that it is not.
The Gore Range has been very well known and very crowded for many years now. It's not surprising that something like this happened.
I would say the Gore Range trails are moderately busy in my experience. Never seen numbers above 20 or 25 or so on any trail (which may be luck); while 100+ is common on Front Range trails. The peaks seem pretty quiet, may or may not encounter 1-2 other parties on a summer weekend. Just what I have seen, and I haven't even done the more obscure peaks yet.
When a friend and I hiked to gore lake some time ago, there a lot of cars at the trailhead.
Then the usual happened, after 2 miles practically no people could be seen and we did not see anyone at all after 3 miles until re returned.
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Re: Loved. To. Death.

Post by pvnisher »

If you go further than 2 miles from the car you'll be mostly alone anywhere but on a 14er.
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Re: Loved. To. Death.

Post by aholle88 »

pvnisher wrote: Fri Mar 19, 2021 11:24 pm If you go further than 2 miles from the car you'll be mostly alone anywhere but on a 14er.
This.

Prime example, Cheyenne canyon in Colorado Springs is my backyard. There’s cars lined up everywhere on nice days, weekdays and weekends alike, good luck driving up to the upper parking. You won’t find a spot lower down either. It’s madness. BUT, even with hundreds of cars everywhere, I rarely see/pass anyone past the first couple miles of trail. Heck, even at the Garden of the Gods, running the outer loop is pretty empty other than the couple of popular spots (Siamese twins, etc). No, it’s not the solitude that Scott is talking about. That’s a different thing entirely. I did San Luis this past winter and it is a different feeling knowing you are for sure many miles from the nearest human. But, it’s still being alone for >90% of your hike/run and that’s what most of us want when looking for “solitude.”
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Re: Loved. To. Death.

Post by SchralpTheGnar »

If you include the trailheads, roads, and being able to see people with high powered telescopes then yeah, you gotta go to the desert. But I know of 13ers that I’ve hiked in summer a half dozen times and saw 0 people after the first few miles but I’m not telling anyone. I’ve even done a few 14ers like that too but those I’ll tell you, little bear and el diente
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Re: Loved. To. Death.

Post by jbchalk »

I was trying to remember all of my Gore ridge runs and climbs and I do believe I have actually never run into another party or single soul on one of these on the climb or ridge itself (other than folks in my own party). Of course folks at the trailhead and writhing first few miles or so in the valley, but never ever on the meat and potatoes of the day. Special to me. I’m with Jorts on this.
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SchralpTheGnar
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Re: Loved. To. Death.

Post by SchralpTheGnar »

I thought I was having fun and enjoying solitude on my ridge scrambles but now I’m not so sure.
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Re: Loved. To. Death.

Post by pvnisher »

kebabratres wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 8:26 pm do your part during hunting season by hunting the invasive denver tourist
If you weren't born in Colorado then GTFO.
I wasn't, so I left.
You're welcome.

#modestproposal
/Sarcasm
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