I and two girlfriends made an attempt to summit one of Colorado's lesser 14-teeners in the Sawatch Range late Saturday... secondarily, we'd try for some SOTA contacts on 2 metre's
Leaving as late in the day as we did, there was never a thought of making the summit that afternoon. We camped high above treeline, above 13,000 feet- in time to enjoy a spectacular sunset. After dark I turned on my HT and made a contact over 120 miles to the south. We joked about the long distances of these handheld's; how neat this was,--and all the while J_____ was sending photos thru a distant 'cel on her 'phone to friends across the country.
But by next morning the weather was changing. The forecast (the beauty of 'cel coverage at that altitude) wasn't calling for storms until late in the afternoon, but we knew better.
discretion being better part of valor-------
-----we packed up and headed down.
Within an hour we were walking thru thick clouds- by the time we reach our vehicle at the trail head, the summit was enshroud'd and thunder was rumbling.
Undeterred, we had come prepared;
Bathing suits
For not far away awaited a mountain resort with a wonderful outdoor hotsprings.
_____________________________________
Home by sun down
SOTA summit contacts- Zero, but a perfect score otherwise
Lauri
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