Piper Meadows

After a failed overnight at Rae Lake in June because of the relentless wind, I decided to give the area a second try. But this time, I opted for the gorgeous Piper Meadows, a less-known area below Piper Pass. To get there, the same trail is used to Elbow Lake until a left turn marked by a cairn takes you up to the meadows.

Elbow Lake outlet, the beginning of the Elbow River

For early September, the weather was stunning. In the low 20’s Celsius, just how I like it and with a bluebird sky as a bonus.

The entryway to Piper Meadows is somewhat narrow. Not seen on the picture below is the valley carved by the Elbow River. The trees actually sit on a plateau.

The V-shaped treed area in the middle of the picture is the entrance of the Meadows

It’s a narrow single-track trail. More like a well-used game trail or what I would call a wilderness route. Fall colors were starting to show up on the vegetation on the ground. Late season wildflowers were in full bloom and were competing against the dying ones for the last rays of sun of the season.

The trail became quite faint as I approached the entrance of the Meadows. But the path to take is always obvious, going around boulders and trees.

Looking back at the trail that led me up to the Meadows

And here I was. A view that a single picture can’t make justice to. It’s a big alpine meadow like I absolutely love them! Pushing on over the pass would give a motivated hiker a few days worth of secluded and unmaintained trails. I had no intentions of climbing up there though. An easy afternoon of exploration was all I needed that day.

The trail to Piper Pass, on the right side of the brown bump

I looked around for a good camping spot. The options were endless. I prioritized the view on this one. And it definitely couldn’t get any better than this. I enjoyed what these mountains had to offer for the rest of the day. Between lounging under the sun and exploring every corner of Piper Meadows, I was a happy camper.

Panoramic view of Piper Meadows from higher grounds

Piper Pass and the very steep trail that leads up to it

An underground spring ran next to my camp. It made the perfect spot to eat dinner. Alpine meadows can often be dry areas so late in the season so finding a reliable water source was a welcomed surprise for my overnight stay.

Mount Rae doesn’t look impressive from my tent but it’s one of the highest peaks in the Front Range, towering at 10558’ of elevation.

My map showed a little blue spot higher up behind my camp. I had to check it out. A few minutes of walking and indeed, a little tarn!

But the most spectacular feature was by far what should logically be named “The Claw”. Looking small from afar, a close-up view of it reveals two massive rock pinnacles.

Another view at “The Claw” with the glacier covered in rock dust below

As I was all done with my usual camp chores of eating, cleaning my dishes, filling up my water bottle and so on, I noticed that the clouds were starting to move a little faster and a few wind gusts were putting a lot of pressure on my tent. My first reaction was to think about Rae Lake… I was in the same situation... once again. It was too late in the day to bail out of the Meadows. A quick check on my satellite device now showed overnight winds peaking at 95km/h almost triple the speed the forecast was showing when I was at the trailhead a few hours before. Nowhere in the meadow would be a good place to camp tonight.

The best place to relocate my tent from the very exposed plateau I was currently on would have been in the trees to shelter me from the winds. But a quick glance at the treed areas with my binoculars proved to be deceptive. All these areas were heavily slopped, less than ideal.

The best I could do on such limited time before darkness was to climb down from the plateau and pitch my tent at the base of a small rock band. The ground was hard and my tent pegs were firmly inserted, my guylines as taut as they could be and my tent set up as low on the ground as possible.

I went to bed (sort of) hoping that my shelter was able to support such winds. My last look at the sky wasn’t reassuring. It was like I was in a live time-lapse with the clouds passing by in a blink of an eye…

And then this happened… non-stop… for 8 hours.

Saying I woke up the next morning would be a lie. I actually didn’t sleep at all. It was the longest 8-hour night of my life. Scary too, by moments. It was hard to come up with a plan in case my tent would get picked up by the wind. The truth is that it was hard to even think about anything. The constant pounding of the wind and clapping of my tent fabric made it unbearable to do anything but to hold on to my hiking pole, the only thing that was holding up my tent. Over time, the pole was digging into the ground, making my tent fabric looser and therefore even more prone to catch the wind. I was hoping I had forced my stakes hard enough into the ground… The sun finally rose but the wind never stopped. I made it safely through the night and for a very rare time, I couldn’t wait to get out of the mountains.

The morning was still beautiful. Ironically, the only time I could’ve enjoyed the golden hour, I just wanted to start hiking as soon as possible. Such is life in the mountains and I accept it. I’ll always be at the mercy of the elements and it only takes a bad decision (camp location) to pay the price. I had made my homework and checked the forecast but perhaps trusting my instincts will be more advisable for next time.

It was smoky in the distance. Strange, as no wildfires were burning in the Rockies these days. Maybe the wind was carrying smoke from the wildfires in the States? Anyhow, I hiked as fast as someone coming out of a sleepless night can hike. Sometimes with the wind blowing on me, sometimes using it to almost carry me on the trail.

I took one last look at Piper Meadows before heading towards Elbow Lake. What a beautiful place, yet another one to check off my list. I intend to go back there since it’s so easily accessible. But I’ll probably stick to a day hike!

I can’t conclude without a positive thought… the one I had while driving back home. My tent! I am so happy I got to test its limits. From the fabric to the construction, the stitching, the guylines… BOMBPROOF!

Little Elbow River

Wonder Pass

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