Silver Queen and The Peak Hike

Riding the Silver Queen up the mountain. Danny, Renee and Axelle are in the seat ahead of us.

The reward for all the difficult uphill walking are the views!

This is a T-Bar lift. It's hard to believe that ski's actually touch the
ground (snow) when people are riding on it.

We had to walk through some snow to get to the start of the hike up.

Once again, Axelle loves the snow.

Danny and Axelle wait on Hallie before they turn the corner to start up the Peak Trail

Sky Pilot

Danny and Axelle are inside the tiny yellow circle at the top of the photo.

My little friend snacks on a cashew I gave her

Checking me out to see if I have any more

Riding the lift back down

View of the town of Crested Butte from the lift.

Danny saved the most strenuous hike for Axelle's last day to give her time to adjust to the altitude. The plan was a hike to the very top of Mount Crested Butte. After a very filling breakfast at Izzy's, we went back up the mountain to the resort. From the resort, we rode the Silver Queen lift high up toward the mountain peak. From there all of us, yes even me and Renee, hiked up the trail toward the start of the Peak Hike. It was difficult, but the view rewards were so worth it. Renee and I had no intention of even trying to hike to the Peak, but Danny was hoping she and I could get close enough to be able to see them at the top. There is a small clearing at the base of the actual ascent where Renee and I took a seat on a big rock to wait. As you can tell from the picture, our view of them was only possible with the binoculars we brought with us. The height is deceptive as to how far away they really are. Danny, Axelle, and Hallie started out together, but Hallie just wasn't able to make it all the way up. The trail became very steep and her balance and knees just wouldn't allow her to progress, so she sat down and waited for them to come back. After an hour or so from leaving us, Danny and Axelle arrived at the top. It took awhile for them to come back down because Danny was waiting on Hallie. She's a cautious hiker and it takes her awhile on steep descents. All together, Renee and I waited two hours at the bottom of the trail. We were thoroughly entertained by a little chipmunk that must receive a lot of attention from passing hikers. I gave her a couple of nuts from my trail mix and she was bold enough to try and sneak some more from my pack. There was another set of women that came up with a big bag of sunflower seeds just to feed her. She would climb into their hands and eat from them also stuffing her cheeks full! As if that hike wasn't enough, later that day, Danny and Axelle rode the new zipline course on the mountain.