Yes sir, that says lottis. Not lotus. Although, you might as well pronounce them the same way and save yourself the embarrassment of sounding weird when you discuss this post. Why the distinction? Because we’re about to go on a journey down the South Lottis trail, kids.

It’s been a bit since we last made a post. So on the 22nd we hit the trails in order to bring all you fans a hot slew of new words and pictures. Actually, the original hope was to reach Henry Lake, but the Fossil Ridge Wilderness is a harsh mistress. Speaking of harsh mistresses, the weather in the greater Gunnison area had chosen this very weekend to dash our delusions of springtide and dump the snowflakes. But because we love you guys, and to spite safety, we hiked anyhow.

If you’ve been reading our posts up to this point, you may be thinking “Gee, these guys aren’t very good at reaching goals.”

Well, first of all, shut your face. Second, the true goal is never actually or original destinations (though those are nice). The real goal is to get outside, to explore, and to experience nature in all its glory. In that sense, we do pretty well. But I’ve been spouting exposition for long enough.

As stated, the original destination was Henry Lake in the Fossil Ridge Wilderness. There are two possible routes to the lake, and we had decided to pursue the South Lottis trail route, beginning in Taylor Canyon. Despite snow and bad roads, we made it to the trailhead at 9 in the AM. Fortunately, the trail had been well padded down by snowshoers and skiers prior to our arrival, and so we required the trappings of neither of those hobbies. The temperature was amiable. It seemed as if we were to be quite fortunate for our hike.

About 2 miles in, it started. The curse of post-holing struck. For those not in the loop, post-holing is what happens when you put your foot on some seemingly stable snowpack, but as soon as you transfer all of your weight, you fall through. It’s one of the most inefficient ways of moving ever. And it’s cold.

Even with our feet frequently punching through the snow, we carried on. There were uphills, downhills, rivers, streams, rocks, trees, and every good geographic feature Fossil Ridge has to offer. Except a lake. At 5.5 miles in, our trail vanished into the snow. We bowed our heads in solemn agreement with reason and turned back. Our tracks had become obscured due to wind and continuing snowfall, so the post-holing issue quadrupled. With gritted teeth, we pushed onwards.

As you might have guessed, we eventually made it back to the trailhead. Henry Lake hadn’t been reached, but we still had hiked 11 miles in the snow and ice, and made it up to 10,445 feet altitude. It was 5 hours well spent.

~Ty and Sky

(Pictures courtesy of Skyler Stanley, words courtesy of Tyler Brant.)