Journal
Amtrak to Grand Junction, Backpacking in the Big Blue Wilderness, return.
July 18 through 27, 2003
Troop 7, Ann Arbor
By Gary Hochgraf

Cast of characters:

Venture: Scouts in Troop 7 at least 13 years and first class, willing and able to tackle the wilderness experience.
Venture Leaders:
Bill Riker, SM; John Schramm, ASM; Bob Hospadaruk, ASM; Beth Hospadaruk, training coordinator
Venture Scouts:
Luke Hospadaruk, crew chief; Max Hospadaruk, Austin Riker, Sam Bates, Daniel Burgener, Brian Mackie-Mason, Allen Eyler, Brendan Schramm, Garrett Schramm, Andrew Copp, William Diebolt.

Core: Scouts in Troop 7 not eligible for Venture, but willing to tackle the wilderness experience. Mostly 11 and 12 years old.
Core Leaders:
Rich Polich; Nancy Terhar, ‘doc’; Carol Burgener, treasurer; Jill Greenburg, committee chair, Gary Hochgraf, ASM
Core Scouts:
Killer Tomatoes: Zach Storey, PL; Chris Ziemba; JD Jooste; William Penner-Hahn
No-Name patrol: Mike Beech, PL; Allen Samaha; Maxime Goovaerts; Joel Burgener
Starfleet: Nate Polich, PL; Andrew Mackie-Mason; Kyle Mattimore; Jeff Bertram


Friday July 18
Thirty-one scouts and leaders met at the Ann Arbor Amtrak station at around 8:00am. But we were supposed to be 32. Kyle was missing so with 10 minutes to go I called his house. His mom answered and was quite surprised that we were to leave today. She had Saturday on her calendar. Kyle was still in bed but fortunately he was all packed. So I told them to meet us in Jackson, the next station. The train was about 15 minutes late, so there turned out to be plenty of time. Crisis #1 averted. The train arrived, and the conductor had 32 seats blocked off for us, which was very nice. So we boarded, and put our packs above, and the boxes near the door, and rolled off towards Chicago.
We arrived about on time, hung around Union Station, then boarded the California Zephyr to Colorado.
We are organized into eight patrols, one adult and three scout patrols in Core, and similar for Venture. Venture consists of 11 older scouts and four adults. They’ll be backpacking the whole week and bag a few 14,000 foot peaks. Core is the younger scouts, 12 of them plus 5 adults. We’ll be doing day hikes and drives from a base camp. I’m a Core leader.


Saturday July 19
Woke to a beautiful sunrise over the eastern plains of Colorado. The terrain became more interesting as we entered the South Platt River Valley, and after a while we saw snow capped mountains in the distance.
After Denver we climbed up and up, with many switch-backs, tunnels and beautiful vistas. The highest point was 9000 feet at a 6 ½ mile long tunnel. There was no snow near the train, but the higher peaks had patches.
Some of the boys are busy defeating monsters on their Game Boys, some are playing cards. One group of card players is playing poker and blackjack, using packets of ketchup (1pt), mustard (5pts) and relish (10 pts) from the snack bar. Very clever. The adults are mostly watching the scenery, reading and dozing.
After the high pass, the train goes through three canyons on the Colorado River. Many people are using the river for recreation. First we noticed people swimming in the river beside the train. They had packs on their backs, kickboards in front, and flippers. As the canyon narrowed and the river steepened, we saw more people with kickboards, some swimming, some walking the shore. There were also lots of kayaks, a few rafts, and inflatable kayaks. Then we passed a HELICOPTER! Down in the canyon, at our level at first, with a camera mounted in front. He flew along with us some, and below us. Its not often that one can look down on a flying helicopter. All along the river we saw many more kayaks, rafts, and dories. Every so often along the shore is a boat livery set up.
Often when we pass a boat they’ll wave to us. Sometimes they collectively moon us. It was amusing at first, but its getting old. There’s also many fishermen.
It looks like it would be a great river to spend about a week on.
Arrived in Grand Junction about 4:30 pm, found our 3 vans, loaded them up, and hit the road. But one van had bad gas, so we re-fueled them all and added dry gas, then rolled out of GJ about 5:30, headed for Montrose, CO.
Reached Montrose, and stopped at the house of Virgil Turner, Scoutmaster of one of the Montrose troops. I had been in contact with Virgil by e-mail, and he has been extremely helpful with good local information. He also has two gallons of white gas for us because we couldn’t bring it on the train. It was nice to put a face with the e-mailed words. We exchanged some gifts of patches and a Troop 7 neckerchief.
Next stop was McDonalds (organized mayhem) then on to camp by the middle fork of the Cimarron River, just upstream from Silver Jack Reservoir. It was getting dark, and nearly all the campsites were taken, but we found a good enough place and settled in by the van’s headlights. The stars came out for an impressive show.


Sunday July 20
I was first up. The half moon was high and the sky just beginning to lighten. I walked over to the river (200yds) and looked up to a beautiful eroded cliff face to the East. The river is only 10-15 feet wide, but flanked by braided gravel beds about 100 feet wide. I collected two armloads of bleached and baked driftwood for a morning fire. It was a bit chilly.
Soon all were up & about, breakfast cooking, and Venture packing up. Rich and I drove Venture to their trailhead and sent them off. Then the Core guys hopped into 2 of the vans (nicknamed ‘Dizzy’ and ‘Haw’ by their license plates. The 3rd van was called Chevy, as Dizzy and Haw were Fords) and we drove out to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.
The canyon is impressive. It is 2,700 feet deep, and very steep. At some points it is twice as deep as it is wide! The rocks are mostly gneiss with pegmatite intrusions. At the outlooks, the river was nearly straight down, and the opposite wall nearly as vertical.
We took a 2.5 mile hike along the south rim, and down below the rim a bit too. JD was quite unnerved by the steepness and exposure in many places. So I walked with him, held his hand, and encouraged his progress. Later on he said that he got over his fear of heights on that hike.
Back at the interpretive center, we hung out, admired the view, learned about the natural history of the area, then rolled back to camp. It was quite an awesome place.
Back at camp was the usual routine. Make water, cook… Then the skies, which were threatening, dumped. We had ¼ “ hail, and heavy rain for about an hour. Many of us got into Haw for the worst of it, others were in their tent. We had made a policy of no eating in the vans, so as the rain intensified, there was Nancy, eating her tuna-noodle, in her poncho, in the pouring rain while the rest of us were in the van. So she said ‘the heck with it!” and joined us to finish her dinner. The rain stopped, and we piled out and finished cooking. Everything had mud on it, and some kids were wet and getting cold. So I lit a fire and they all got warm clothes on. Cleanup was more difficult than normal in the wet and mud, and the skies remained threatening all evening. It rained once more in the evening and at least once at night.


Monday July 21
Got up early. The world is wet, but not as chilly as yesterday. We have muffins to cook in a reflector oven, so I made another morning fire. Breakfast went smoothly.
Today we go to Ouray, CO, an historic gold and silver mining town. We chose to drive over the pass instead of the long haul around through Montrose on the main roads. The map says it’s a 4wd road. We found it to be long, twisty and steep, but well maintained, level and uniform. Quite passable in our big vans. And the views were magnificent. Courthouse Mountain looks like a courthouse from its west side. The road is lined with forests of aspen and fir. Lower is the scrub oak we met at Back Canyon. Down in the valley the road was dusty, but it took us to Ridgeway, highway 550, and to Ouray.
Ouray is a tourist town. Summer is their season. You can rent 4x4s and dirt bikes and go tearing around the land somewhere nearby. We found a museum and while Carol and I went to get groceries, the scouts learned some history. The highlight was a jail cell in the basement, with an operable door. Mike especially enjoyed locking people in.
We next drove a short distance to Box Canyon, ate lunch, paid our entry, and did the hike. First up to a catwalk bridge over the chasm, about 30’ wide and 200’ deep.
Then down to the bottom, all the way to the base of the falls via iron stairs and walkways. It was very pleasant and cool down there, with a big rock to climb on and photo ops. A high point for many of the scouts.
Back in town we gave them 20 minutes for souvenir shopping, then treated all to ice cream. The storm clouds were building again as we drove back over the pass. At one section along the road was an accumulation of hailstones in the ground! The ground was white. But soon we were out of the hail area, and the other side of the pass hadn’t had rain all day.
At camp we made a fire to cook our hot dogs and potatoes, then had a light short sprinkle of rain.
Around sunset the sun peeked under the clouds and illuminated the cliffs to the east. Beautiful. So Rich and I took four of the better hikers and walked down the river a short way in the fading light. It was quite magical.


Tuesday July 22
Breakfast and packing went quite well this morning, and Dizzy and Haw soon took us to the trailhead for Courthouse Mountain. The trail was steep, with occasional level spots, about 2 miles each way. The forests of fir and aspen were beautiful with alpine meadows full of yellow, purple and white flowers. We took many rest stops, but when we reached the ridge and looked west the views were worth it. At the next view we looked up at the cliffs of Courthouse. The trail got steeper here, and we were all breathing hard. We climbed through a meadow to a view to Chimney Peak and Silver Jack Reservoir beyond. After lunch, Jill and three scouts stayed there while the rest of us left our day packs and completed the assault on the peak. Very exposed, very steep and magnificent views. The rock is a volcanic conglomerate tuff, and sturdy where it is bedrock, but a challenge on the loose stuff. There were pikas and marmots living between the jumbled rocks. We all heard them, nearly all saw the pikas, and a few lucky scouts saw a marmot. Some of the boys thought the marmot was a wolverine, and the pikas were chipmunks. Some scouts also found a snow cave. From the peak we looked down on towering Chimney Peak, and to the south and southeast we could see Wetterhorn, where Venture was yesterday, and further SE the top of Uncompahgre Mountain, where Venture may be now. So we all yelled to them, but they are about 10 miles away. So we polished off a package of fig newtons, took some photos, and, since the weather was threatening again, headed back down. We re-joined those who stayed below, then back to the vans. This hike was certainly a high point for many of us. It was a major accomplishment for all and the highest peak attained for most of us.
We got back to camp and went wading in the creek. Then I shucked my shirt and went under. It was very cold and fun to drift in the fast current. Very soon all the scouts were summoning up the courage to go all the way in and let the river carry them downstream. The river was only about 2 ½ feet deep and the swim-able area about 20 feet long. Everyone who went in is now cleaner
In the evening we worked on packing for tomorrow.


Wednesday July 23
It took us quite a while to get going, because we had to strike camp. Rich got a fire going early and he and I made about four batches of muffins in the reflector oven. Mike’s ‘No-name patrol’ was the first all packed and ready to go.
Today’s plan is to hike in along the trail that Venture is hiking out on, meet them in the middle and camp there. We cleared out of camp and drove all three vans to the trailhead of the East Fork trail. Jeff wasn’t feeling well, but he managed to hike the whole distance. We took breaks about every half mile and addressed all sorts of issues like pack strap adjustments, water, snacks, and of course, lunch.
At the hour and half hour we called from the front of Core to the rear on our 2-way radios, and about 2 miles in we made radio contact with Venture! They were about 2 miles ahead of us. This really buoyed the spirits of all, but it was still another mile before we met. The lead Core scouts dropped their packs at camp and came back to help the stragglers.
The campsite where we met was great. Right by the river (away from the flies) and lots of space for everyone. Meeting was joyful, and there were no injuries to report either. But Venture had quite an adventure on their first day. The plan was to hike to the head of middle fork, camp, then up and over the pass to East fork, bagging Wetterhorn and Matterhorn peaks on the way. But they turned up the wrong side valley about 2 miles short of the head of the valley. They went in Porphyry Basin, over the pass there (very steep) at 12,900 feet then down to the East Fork valley. The East Fork side was even steeper, and it stayed steep all the way to the river. First was broken rock scree, with a meadow below. But the meadow was just as steep. Some of the group made it down after dark. Those at camp told of looking up the hillside and watching tiny spots of light (flashlights) moving slowly across the slope.
They didn’t do the Wetterhorn, but did go to Matterhorn the next day (not to the top, as that requires ropes and technical rock climbing), and Uncompahgre yesterday (Tuesday).
While we (Core) were on Courthouse, Rich (on top) tried radioing to Jill (at the lunch spot), but Jill didn’t hear just 1000 feet away. However Bob, one of the Venture adults heard the call on the top of Uncompahgre, about 10 miles away! The radio only has a range of 5 miles.
Once tents were set, we gravitated to the river. Just wading was so cold it was more than refreshing. But right by camp was a small waterfall (2’) with a pool below. So we dropped a driftwood log in at the lower end of the pool and placed big rocks on both sides until our dam had raised the water from 2’ to 3’ deep. Then one by one we each (most, anyway) summoned up our courage and ducked in. Wow! Very cold. Very refreshing.
We set up a campfire area out on the gravel bars, then made a log bridge with piers to get to it. We moved a huge log over for seating. It took about a dozen of us to lift it.
Next came dinner, and we out-did ourselves. Five Core adults and four Venture adults brought out our offerings. We had fettuccini Alfredo with ham, red beans and rice, soup, cornbread, pudding, and chocolate mousse. I ate too much.
Daniel and Alan S. made the fire, and we all just drifted in and out as we wanted, and told each other stories of our adventures. It was really fun to be all together.


Thursday July 24
Got up early again, and watched the sunlight hit the peaks and ridges. It was many hours before we had sunlight at the valley floor. Breakfast was great – with all 9 of us sharing. The younger scouts handled their own breakfasts like seasoned veterans.
The Venture guys helped our younger scouts packing up, which gave us adults a break. Very nice. Once we were all packed, we took a group photo, and we were off.
Some of the Venture scouts made it to the vans in about 1 ½ hours. I followed the stragglers, and it took about twice as long. Hiking out was relatively uneventful, as was the drive that followed, except that the vans were very tight with all the people and gear.
We stopped at the Black canyon again, and drove to the upper (East) end, where we could actually drive down to the river. Then we came back to the north rim and the visitor center. Our Core scouts had seen it already, but it was all new for Venture.
From there to Grand Junction was just a long dry drive. We spent the night at the Grand Junction National Guard Armory. We hauled our stuff in, opened the tents to dry, took showers, sorted gear, then went to a Chinese buffet. Special thanks to Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Wagner.


Friday July 25
Mr. Riker woke us all up, and Carol and Jill got donuts for all. The rest of us packed up the tents, gear, and personal stuff. Then packed the vans. After all was done, we found that Amtrak is 2 hours late, but they hope to be only 1-½ hours late when they arrive here. If we arrive in Chicago 2 hours late we miss our connection to Ann Arbor. So we went to the Western Colorado Museum, a short walk from the station. It’s a nice museum. There is a prominent display of a prospector/guide who was convicted of murder, and he ate his victims. But many years later it was found that his story of self-defense was correct, and he was pardoned for the murders. The museum played a role in this later investigation, as did then-modern electron microscopy. They also had Native American pottery, photos, a dentist office, uranium mining stuff, and a large display of arms.
We walked back to the station to find that the train is now 3 hours late. The scouts settled into card games, while we adults worried about what we’re going to do to keep the boys occupied for another hour! Not needed. Eventually the train arrived, and we managed to get all our stuff loaded, and we were off! On the train west our car was too cold. In our new car heading east, its too warm!
We had stopped at a grocery store before embarking. Some of the scouts bought several cases of pop, a Styrofoam cooler, and some dry ice. On the train a can of pop is $1.50, so they were selling theirs for $1.00 and making a nice profit. Going up the canyons of the upper Colorado river, east of Grand Junction, the train slowed due to storms ahead of us. It seems that when the tracks are wet, the signals are unreliable. So they have to stop at every switch and check it by hand. So we’re getting later and later. We missed the grand vistas as we crossed the Rockies because it was dark by then.


Saturday July 26
This morning we are 4 ½ hours behind schedule. And now the toilets in our car don’t work.
We’ve mostly been hanging out in the observation/snack car, and all the adults held a meeting there discussing lessons learned. With no AC there’s no ventilation either, so our car is smelling bad.
8:30 pm we got to Union Station, Chicago. Amtrak has provided a bus to take us to Ann Arbor since we missed our connection. Fortunately the bus has functioning AC and doesn’t smell bad. But the train has much more legroom.
Arrived in Ann Arbor about 1:30am. All the parents came down to the station, collected their kids and stuff, and everybody left.

If I close my eyes, I can imagine I’m standing in a Colorado alpine meadow, surrounded by wildflowers of purple, white and gold. Along the edge of the meadow are aspens – soft and rounded with their pale green trunks. And sharp pointed dark firs marching up the valley walls. Above that, the cliffs, spires, and minarets of bare rock catch the sunlight. I breath the fresh air.