Yesterday I Broke Out In To A Sprint Up A Mountain And Pumped My Fist. Lower Crystal Lake Review.

Then I primal screamed at the top. True story. It started out as a morning run. Then Soul’s Too Loud came on and, man, that song! Here’s the setting. The night before I camped outside Breckenridge at Lower Crystal Lake. I’d heard about this on a site I like called The Outbound (no plugs or affiliate dollars here, just a cool site). You can get to Lower Crystal Lake 1 of 2 ways. You can hike there (and carry everything on your back if you’re camping) or you can take a vehicle, such as a 1992 Land Cruiser named Christine, and mash your way there over big rocks, steep climbs and a couple of stream crossings. I chose to mash.

You start out climbing just next to Breckenridge’s Peak 9 through a forested area. I won’t say boulders because that would be offensive to those who actually know how to off road, but there are several large rocks to navigate. There are also plenty of holes, dips and un-even areas in the road, along with some water crossings.

So I took it slow, stuck my head out the window to check clearances and plan my route around big obstacles, and made my way up. After a while, you clear the tree line and get to a sort of open field, at 12,000 feet. It’s easy to forget that until you see snow patches all around.

Sorry for vertical video, was posting on Instagram story for likes and attention

Upon arriving to the lake, there was surprisingly another truck. It was weird at first because this entire family was haphazardly crammed in to their truck, not talking. When I rolled up they motioned to look right in front of me, where a mountain goat and her baby were making their way toward us. This was a fantastic moment. They came alongside my car and I could have pet her if I wanted. But, signs everywhere at trail heads and what not say “keep wildlife wild,” so that’s what I did. I think what made this so spectacular is it was truly their natural environment. I’ve seen elk, deer, and other large mammals along this trip, but they were always close to visitor centers or other established campsites, probably searching for human food after years of exposure to it. But this time, this was in the pure wild. And mountain goats are extremely rare to see, even at a distance. So up close was really special. Also, mountain goats are jacked because they climb mountains their whole life.

This was the top car camping site I’ve had yet. Naturally I chatted up the family and plugged the blog, and they left shortly after the mountain goat sighting. I parked right next to the lake and had this beautiful slice of the Rocky Mountains to myself. On one side I had 13,852′ Crystal Peak and its stream carrying snow run off to the lake, bonus points for sleeping to that sound. Then a 180 degree vista of peaks and valleys on the other side. Bliss.

Before dark, I hiked to the other side of the lake, by the inlet where the snow run off enters and dropped a line in hoping to catch myself a trout dinner. I didn’t. But luckily I had some sausages for back up. I returned to my truck to find 4 ice cold rocky mountain beers (Coors Lights) and a note telling me to enjoy Colorado. People Are Mostly Good.

Weed is legal in Colorado. For those purists out there think of it as having a whiskey, minus the bad decisions, hangovers, and in extreme cases, waking up next to regret. I sampled the local product, an indica, which has super relaxing effects. This is relevant to set the stage for one of the most tranquil nights I’ve ever had. Let’s switch over to what I wrote in my journal during this experience.

“6/25

Lower Crystal Lake. ROUGH road here, several miles. Have to get down tomorrow. This is a memorable one. Back in elevation. Snow on ground. Crisp nights & alpine lakes. Tonight I sat Indian style behind tailgate, hatch open, and stared at the sky & listened to the sounds for a long while. Maybe best night sky. Sounds of stream and f*cking mountain goats.”

Note that later on I found another nighttime chill position. I kept the lower tailgate open and closed the top hatch. Then I laid down in the truck with my head poking out the tailgate, staring up. This was warm and comfortable, felt safe from nighttime boogie monsters, and gave me an un-obstructed view of one of the most beautiful skies I’ve ever seen. These are the times I wish I had an SLR with long exposure to capture it. An iPhone just cannot capture night skies. When it was time to sleep I opened the sunroof shade and could see the moon move across the sky.

Fast-forward to the morning and the lead up to my fist pump run. I woke up to the sun on the other side than it was the evening before, offering a new perspective on an old view, and made some coffee. The stream was still making it’s noise. The mornings waking up in nature are the absolute best. I did some more fishing and realized I would have been better off using my bare hands catching the ones jumping out of the stream instead of my fishing rod. That’s okay though.

After my coffee I started walking up the trail that curves around the lake and up the peak, listening to The Revivalists. Then I started jogging. Then I started sprinting. And before I knew it my truck was far in the distance, along with any problems, stress or anxiety. And I fist pumped, while running, with no one watching. I turned around at about 13k feet and took it all in. On the way down I primal screamed. Not because it was the pinnacle of excitement or anything, but because I could, and it felt great. It’s a weird feeling to scream as loud as you can. Then add that it doesn’t make a dent in your environment because it’s so vast and it’s yet another reminder of how small we are.

As far as what’s next for me, I’m currently in Denver. I’m leaving Christine in some long term parking and heading to Chicago on Friday to see friends and family. When I come back in a few weeks I think I’m going to stay a while. Denver has a good vibe and everything I want. I interviewed with a food truck here and can get a job cooking if I want. I’m definitely at least going to stage. I need to see if I have the chops to handle 1 cover+ per minute in an 85 sq. ft. space.

Thanks for reading.