Thunder Butte 9,836' (Douglas County Highpoint) 10/05/03

Another more ambitious attempt after physical therapy. This time I felt no pain whatsoever in my knee, but my heart and lungs found this challenging. Guess it's time to move on to bigger things. This was a really nice hike nonetheless. The pullout to the east off the road was easy enough to find. A few minutes of stretching, and I was on my way following the highest contour toward the saddle. The initial part of the hike is in no way representative of the remainder; enjoyably flat. No trail makes for a feeling of freedom and creativity. I chose the line that lost the least amount of elevation, heading west for some distance before I followed a broad spine that intersects the saddle. On the way, there was a clearing that displayed Thunder Butte well (photo on right).

The hike up was beginning to get steeper in short order. I realized that the way I had to stop and rest would not bode well if I were adventuring as I had earlier in the summer in places such as the Marooon-North Maroon traverse. A couple more hikes and I should be up to par. Make no mistake about it, if you follow my route (to the west more than necessary) under the prow, the slope must be 30 degrees, and is tiresome. The final boulders to the summit were interesting because of the trees in the way (burned) which had been staining my hands and shirt all morning. The hike to the summit was an hour and ten minutes, which was faster than my descent (largely due to my level of caution when descending because of my knee). This was a really fun experience, and I didn't miss my trajectory back to my truck by more than a few feet - very refreshing on a bushwhack adventure.