Fri, 23Aug - Leadville Ghost Town, Cottonwood Lake & Thunderbolt Mtn

Mostly easy hiking in shaded woods today with a few grand views.  You hike through Leadville.  All I saw of this former mining town was some old rotting log cabins.  Actually I thought it was too early and didn't realize I had passed Leadville as I was expecting a lot of rusting objects and confusing side trails according to Leys map.  Not realizing it I didn't poke around the cabins to see if there was more to see of the ghost town.

At Cottonwood Lake I pushed on to Thunderbolt Mountain to have my lunch on the summit.  The sign said the side trail to the peak was 1/4 mile but it lied.  Easily over a mile round trip but it was a nice view from the top.  I should have anticipated it with a name like thunderbolt mountain because on the summit I was hit with strong wind, rain, and a lightning and thunder show.  Grabbed a quick picture and ran from the summit.  Fortunately the rain cleared as I rejoined the CDT and there was a nice rock overlook I could enjoy my lunch on.

The next section of trail over Bison Mountain was new and was cut through tall dense young pines that made you feel like you were in a green tunnel.  The spring I wanted turned out to be a mud hole so I pushed on farther than I planned to get to a small creek to camp.