Mount Elbert // Black Cloud Ridge Route

 I followed the Black Cloud Trail from Highway 82 up to the southeast ridge of Mount Elbert. The trail to the ridge is steep, but I made good time. There are a couple of nice stream crossings, and a meadow helps the mind wander away from the relentless ascent. Otherwise, I followed the ridge route to South Elbert, then descended into a col, followed by the final upward push along a narrowing ridge filled with patches of thick snow and old cornices. Finally the summit of Elbert, and then the relentless descent, minus having to regain the summit of South Elbert, which was a bit tiresome. Black Cloud is a nice route...much more interesting than the standard Elbert routes due to the airy ridge walk.

Map of Black Cloud Trail in Google Maps.

 

South Platte River Origins

 I journeyed east to the South Park basin, north through Fairplay, and entered a deep beautiful mountain valley/gorge just past Alma that led me to the Wheeler Lake trailhead. I quickly hiked to a place of cascading water next to Magnolia Mill, and then trekked west into a glacially carved alpine valley. The trail led me across a small stream that steeply descended from an alpine lake above. That lake was covered in winter ice and snow, and was surrounded by towering cliffs and mountains. I had reached the origin of the South Platte River...a river that flows out onto the Great Plains, eastward across Nebraska, and then empties into the Missouri River next to the town I grew up in called Plattsmouth. It's always impressive to be able to jump three feet across a river that eventually widens to around a quarter mile many hundreds of miles downstream.

Google map of Wheeler Lake and the South Platte River starting point.