Sam search update #5, 30 Jul 01 (Sam [maybe] spotted in South Fork)
As my daughter Natalie and I left Colorado Springs on Friday morning for the South San Juans I got a call on my cell phone shortly after 7 A.M. Someone had spotted what they thought was Sam near South Fork Colorado--about 70 miles north of where I lost him in the South San Juan Wilderness nearly one month ago. At first she said she thought it was a wolf, but her husband said, no it was a malamute. She told me the dog was near Alpine, about four miles east of South Fork and headed north "towards the mountains".
I drove directly to Alpine from Colorado Springs, arriving around 10:30 A.M. After driving around the area for the next four hours looking for Sam I checked into a hotel in South Fork where I let my daughter relax and watch TV and read while I continued to search. Talking to many people around South Fork I found one person who insisted she saw Sam in Del Norte, fifteen miles east of South Fork the previous day.
I don't know if this was a wild goose chase or not. Friday evening I drove a 25-mile four-wheel drive loop north of South Fork looking for him. Saturday I left our hotel early for a ten-mile run from South Fork to Alpine and back, then spent the next four hours driving around between South Fork and Del Norte and side roads. Finally, I gave up.
Natalie and I drove the "Silver Thread" scenic drive from South Fork to Lake City, stopping in Creede to talk with the Forest Service. They knew of Sam from my previous efforts and took new posters when I let them know I thought he might be making his was north in the direction of Colorado Springs.
After having lunch in Lake City, Natalie and I drove 15 miles towards Cinnamon Pass, turning left beforehand to start up the trail to Cataract Lake. It took us three hours to backpack just over four miles to above Cataract Lake where we camped that night. The small lake we camped by at 12,000 feet was alive with small freshwater shrimp-like creatures. We made spaghetti and tea before retiring to the tent. Sunday morning we were up at 530 AM, and after braving the cold (slight frost), were on our way up Half Peak as the sun rose. Natalie was feeling the altitude though and turned back to the comfort of the tent, while I continued on to the top of Half Peak, elevation 13,852', one of the high 100 peaks of Colorado.
The course was mostly as described in Gerry Roach's excellent new Guide to CO's 13er's. I found though that instead of going west from the small lake above Cataract you should continue to follow the pack trail for a quarter of a mile beyond the small lake then find a spur trail that continues to the small drainage leading up the broad slopes of Half Peak. Take care not to continue to follow the pack trail once in the drainage because it goes south and up to a saddle in the opposite direction of the peak! You have to break from the trail and go north until you reach the south ridge. The rest is precisely as described by Roach. A satisfying "classic" class 2 ridge climb, mostly following established "way trail". From the high lake it took me an hour and a half to ascend, and an hour to descend back to the lake. Reaching the summit at 8 A.M. I was treated to a chorus of coyotes from Square Basin far below to the north. A pika (summit mouse) darted in and out of the summit rocks. The San Juan Wilderness of mountains extended in all directions as far as the eye could see: I spotted Vestal and Arrow Peak to the south, and Wetterhorn, Matterhorn, and Uncompaghre to the north among the many peaks.
Steve Bremner