Back in Kansas & Medicine Bow Peak Climb

   We're now back in Bonner Springs, KS after a final 2 day stay at the Vedauwoo's in southeastern Wyoming. We left Friday morning and drove 626 miles to St. Joseph, MO in 11 hours, the longest day and most miles I've driven the RV in one day. Saturday's drive to Bonner Springs only took 1 hour, giving us plenty of time to go see our son Jared, Breanna, and grandson Brody in the afternoon.

   I still have a couple of posts about our time in Wyoming. This one will be about a day climb I made of Medicine Bow Peak. I got a late start and was concerned that perhaps bad weather may set in if I didn't get up and down quickly. After a one hour drive from Saratoga I started up the mountain at 9:06 am. It's not a very hard climb but at high altitude it really works on your lungs. Starting elevation is around 10,600' and ends at just over 12,000'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn't make it down in time before a thunderstorm developed. With lightning and hail falling it was a scary descent. I had to hold my pack on top of my head to keep the hail from pounding away.

 

 

 

After starting back to Saratoga I ran into a snowstorm at the top of the mountain. I had to stop 4 times to clear snow and slush from the windshield. The wipers actually stopped working each time. Once I drove down to the 8000' level there was no snow at all. When I got back to Saratoga it was 80 degrees!