Karen at the junction of the Fall Creek and Notch Mountain trails
Breaking for a water refill at a small creek crossing
Karen amongst a field of wildflowers in the Holy Cross wilderness
There were all sorts of flowers like this on this side of the Holy Cross Wilderness
More varieties of flowers
More flowers
We pulled up to the Notch Mountain Shelter around 8:30pm
I was glad there was still daylight, as the views of Holy Cross were spectacular from this vantage point
A fireplace inside the shelter
I made my bed on top of the picnic table inside to keep off of the cold concrete floor
Karen's took the corner lot
Great views of Holy Cross from the warmth inside the shelter
Views of Mt of the Holy Cross as seen from inside the Notch Mountain Shelter at 13,080-ft
The shelter seen during sunrise Saturday morning
Karen in front of a beautiful sunrise on Saturday morning
We left the shelter just before sunrise, around 5:45am
Mt of the Holy Cross, as seen from the Notch Mountain Shelter
The vertical element of the namesake cross is the couloir running down the face of the mountain, the horizontal member is still partially visible as well
A plaque, placed in memory of the first photographer to capture the beauty of this mountain on film
Views of the mountain were spectacular in the morning alpenglow
Mt of the Holy Cross as seen from Pt 13,248
Jim on the summit of Pt. 13,248, with Holy Cross in the background
Karen, on the summit of Pt 13,248
The remainder of Halo Ridge, as seen after passing Pt 13,248
Karen on Halo Ridge
Mt of the Holy Cross, reflected in the Bowl of Tears
The Bowl of Tears
Another view of Holy Cross and the Bowl of Tears
We couldn't get enough of these views
Another reflection in the Bowl of Tears
The lower Tuhare lake
The upper Tuhare Lake
Jim picking his way along the talus of Halo Ridge
A look back along the long Halo Ridge, Pt 13,248 is center
Proof that we were on the summit of Pt 13,373
On the ascent toward Pt 13,831
Karen, on the summit of centennial Pt 13,831
Jim on the summit of centennial Pt 13,831 (with Holy Cross behind)
The Notch Mountain shelter is a tiny spec in the center of this picture on a grassy section of the ridge
Karen, on the way to the summit of Mt of the Holy Cross
A look back at centennial Pt 13,831
Success! The summit of Mt of the Holy Cross (#39 for Karen, #37 for Jim)
Standing on the highest point of the summit
Holy Cross, as seen from 400-ft below the summit on the standard route, about where we retreated during our hike last year
The Angelica Couloir is shown ascending toward the upper right, in our opinion, this route is out until next year
Karen at the crossing of East Cross Creek
Dipping my bandana into the cold water turned out to be a good idea for keeping me cool for the remainder of the hike out
Karen on the way back up to Halfmoon Pass, with beautiful views of the Holy Cross wilderness behind
Jim at the same spot
Spectacular views of the Holy Cross Wilderness on the way back up to Halfmoon Pass
