We left Blue Lake Campground around 10:45 a.m. and headed uproad to what we called Steep Mountain campsite. We rode through an alpine meadow in the direction of the Steep Mountain Trailhead. A mile into it and we encountered a snowdrift. We wisely decided that it was a no-go when brave Mr. Siggi took two steps into it, and sunk to his knees. We returned to the alpine meadow, hobbled the horses, and put the cow bells on them. Pete then took off, with shovel in hand, to see if he could shovel a path through the snowpack. He returned, and said that we’d have to consider our one other option, which was to try and get a ride from Cuchara to La Veta, and then continue on from there.

Next: Dispatch #6: Backtracking