Epic Solitude and Scenery in the Wetterhorn Basin, Uncompahgre Wilderness, Colorado (and the solar eclipse)

Donna is off visiting cousins in Chicago and traveling with same cousins to Saint Louis area to take in the total solar eclipse.  I head down to SW Colorado for a quick 3 day 2 night backpack into one of my favorite wilderness areas, the Uncompahgre Wilderness.  This time I go in at the West Fork of the Cimarron River.  I arrived at the trail head and got hiking around 3:30 in the afternoon and made it into the upper end of the West fork valley and found a great campsite with great views of Coxcomb and the surrounding peaks.  Up the next day and on the trail at 8 AM for what turned out to be an epic 11 hour dayhike into the Wetterhorn Basin.  Up 1000 feet to Wet Pass, down 1000 feet into the Wetterhorn Basin, up 1200 feet to Wetterhorn Pass, looking into the Henson Creek drainage (Capital City; Lake City), and then back down the 1200 feet to the floor of the wetterhorn basin, back up 1000 feet to West Fork Pass and finally down 1000 feet to my camp, about 8- 10 miles and lots of vertical and absolutely gorgeous...well worth the effort.  It was also the day of the solar eclipse, and as fate would have it clouds moved in just about the time the eclipse occurred but still managed to point my camera at the sky and nabbed a few photos.  The Wetterhorn Basin ranks near the top of beautiful hikes I've done...stunning wildflowers and mountain scenery.  I managed to lose the trail a few times, got caught in a big hailstorm on top of wet pass coming back and had trouble finding my camp, but what an epic day!  Hiked out the third day and headed home...did not see one other person the whole time, except right at the trailhead.