
We tried to stay optimistic, but in the end the weather ruled the day.
It’s that time of summer, when the “monsoonal flow” brings regular wet weather to the state. The forecast for last weekend looked less than ideal for any sort of outdoor adventure, but we had made plans to go on a backpacking mission, so we headed out anyway. It’s hard knowing not going, right? The goal was to climb Electric Peak (13,598 ft.), in the Northern Sangres, from North Brush Lakes.

1.0 mi. to go? It depends where you’re going. It was about eight miles total up to the the lakes from the trailhead.

Crazy wildflowers on the trail up to Electric Pass.
As anyone who was out last weekend can attest, the forecasts were accurate and the weather was terrible. We did attempt Electric in the wind and fog, on the off-chance the weather might clear or we might climb up through it, but in the end the wind and rain proved to be too much. We were soaked at 12,500 and had to turn back.

Random wildflower trivia– sunflowers always face east and can be used to orient your general direction.

Purple Fringe and water droplets
It was still a fun outing though. We saw a new group of lakes and camped in another beautiful basin with no one around. North Brush Lakes are worth a visit. Actually, camping in inclement weather can be fun in itself.

This post marks Electric Pass and the boundary between National Forests.

Electric Peak was about one mile and 1,200 feet up somewhere out in the clouds. Not only did the weather fail to clear, but it started to rain. We turned back.

On the descent we caught a glimpse of the summit, and then it disappeared for the remainder of the day.
There’s a silver lining in turning back. Actually, in our opinion the whole situation is a win-win. It would’ve been great to get the summit, but it’s also nice to look forward to returning to Electric Peak another time. We can use the opportunity to explore a different valley and see something new. I bet it will be pretty fun.

Soaked. The lakes are in view below.

But it was a pretty day for the flowers and a memorable trip to a new place.
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