Wordless Wednesday: nature's best soundtrack

Wordless Wednesday: misty moisty

Riding **really** high

As I've written previously, I've done some high climbing and high riding on this vacation.

But a few days ago I hit a new high altitude, at least for this trip.

Since we were up so high, my phone actually worked and I was able to check the altitude with my handy free app: 12,100'. That's pretty dang high! (However, to put it in some perspective, that's about the altitude of one of the Sacred Valley towns we visited on our trip to Peru!)

I guess I could really impress you and say that we climbed up there, but that would be wrong. No, we rode in style in my brother-in-law's classic Blazer, which we have lovingly named The Beast.

Yes, it's definitely not a roadless wilderness area, fortunately...

...in fact, it's not really wilderness at all. Where we were is right across US 50 from our cabin, and is the site of several century-old mining sites. We stopped at a couple to take some pictures...

Henry's particularly fond of shots through picturesque windows and walls...

As interesting as the cultural history of the ride was, though, it's the scenery that's the real draw...

From the road, which takes you pretty close to the summit of Mt. Taylor (elev. 13,599'), you can easily all the way to Monarch Mountain Ski Area (look between the clumps of trees to see the runs on the distant slope; we're hoping for better snow this winter so we can be sliding down those slopes soon!):

We have really put The Beast through its paces. The road up Taylor was a little narrow, but very well maintained and almost a freeway compared to the jaunt we took a few days later. We drove up to Boss Lake, where we've occasionally camped in the past. 

What a gorgeous place! But it's quite an ordeal getting up there, even in The Beast, with the gear ratio set to "crawl" and the hubs firmly locked! A few times we thought walking might have been easier. Although the rocky road wouldn't have been much fun in boots, either.

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Unfortunately, I'm down to my last few hours up here for the summer. Tomorrow I head for home. This has been a great time in the mountains, especially getting to do and see all the new things and places. I've also enjoyed the various visitors that have kept me company. But although I'm about ready to go home and back to work, to what will be a rather exciting fall semester, it's always hard to leave this valley.

After all, it's been a special place for us for so long! 

I'll close with a couple of pictures that illustrate this deep connection. They were both taken on the drive up Taylor, only 30-some years apart...

picturesque tree in 1981

same picturesque tree in 2012

Riding high

I was able to get some pictures from my brother-in-law's camera (thanks, Nelson!) and so can now tell you about our really fun Summit County bike trip last week.

Our ride started, thanks to the good folks at Mountain Wave, at nearly the TOP of Vail Pass, at the large rest area you see above. 

For the gravitationally challenged, or for readers unfamiliar with mountainous topography, this means that we were riding DOWNhill most of the day. This is much preferable to riding UPhill.

Here we are, ready, to go. (Our van driver also doubled as photographer for his charges.)

As preferable as downhill riding is to uphill struggling, however, you can see in the background of this shot, which also shows how very nice the bike path is, there were quite a few folks that had things backwards and were coming UP to the pass. We figured they were just poor frustrated Tour de France watchers that got inspired by watching those guys do this. [It doesn't affect me that way!]

I'm glad we were coasting. It's a lot easier to appreciate scenery like this if you're not in serious oxygen debt.

That's one side of IH-70 you see here. For the first part of our ride our path was safely tucked between the eastbound and westbound lanes of this major Colorado highway.

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Now, later on, I became intimately acquainted with oxygen debt, or, at least, a need for more of the old O2.

After we stopped for our yummy lunch at the Butterhorn Bakery in Frisco, and took a little tour of their excellent historical park, (see this post) we headed home for Breckenridge. Via bike rather than bus.

A quick google for the relative elevations of these two towns will show anyone with 4th grade math skills that on this leg of our ride, we'd be going UPhill. Not anything like the grade those people headed for Vail Pass were experiencing, but uphill, all the same.

My own self-esteem and pride of accomplishment were much stroked by the fact that I was able to ride this 9 miles or so. Without, so they said anyway, slowing my companions down excessively. 

We did have to stop for rest breaks often; however, there were nice places to do this, like the stream you see here. So I don't think anyone minded the breaks.

Next time I might opt to pass on the uphill section, but for sure the coasting ride is something I'd love to do again.

Wordless Wednesday: Super-roadcut on I-70

Vintage wheels

Just a sampling of the super-cool, and super-lovingly-maintained, cars on view at today's Angel of Shavano* Car Show in lovely downtown Salida, Colorado:

Great way to while away some time in town. 

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*Said "angel" often appears when enough snow accumulates in a gully along an upper slope of Mt. Shavano, a 14'er easily viewable from town (it's the highest peak in the shot I took from atop the "S" (for Salida; it's in the background of the Corvette shot above) hill in this post). My sister and I both somewhat dispute the "angel" moniker, thinking it looks a little more wraith-like, but I guess an angel is a more positive totem than a ring-wraith, especially if you're considering climbing that high!

Even higher climbing

It's a little disconcerting how easily you can be mistaken about really important landmarks when you're out "in the wild."

Last week I told you about a hike we took to Waterdog Lakes. I really thought the lake in the photos in that post was Upper Waterdog. When, in fact, thanks to corrections from ever-helpful husband, it was not.

It turns out that you have to walk up another 10-15 minutes to get to the upper lake. Which, in my opinion, is even more scenic than the lower.

The difference is whether you're below treeline or just at treeline...

Upper Waterdog Lake, just at treeline

[Lower] Waterdog Lake, below treeline

The dramatic rock formations on view when you're just at treeline, imho, are really spectacular.

And I should have remembered that. After all, I've often said this mountainside is one of my top 3 (or so) favorite places in the world.

So I need to apologize to brother and sister for misleading them about this pair of lakes. And, guys, you'll just have to come up here again so that I can take you to the right one this time!

My hiking companions on today's excursion were really energetic and decided to climb on past the upper lake, up to the divide on the ridge above (taking a route that we took, although then we were coming down, in 2009). 

energetic climbers at the foot of the ridge

I was pretty impressed with their level of fitness, but not enough to join them. I walked back down to the highway, and drove up a few miles to meet them. But I was pleased to note that I didn't have to stop nearly as many times on the way up the trail this time. Perhaps some acclimatization is beginning to occur!