Stardate 2016.759

Wunderbar! Autumn in the Sky!
Several days ago I had the opportunity to play hooky and ride up to Jones Pass in Colorado's Clear Creek section of the Front Range. This may have been my last altitude ride for the year, as winter is just around the corner. A classic Indian Summer day greeted me. Even better, I mostly had the high mountain basin and pass to myself.

Jones Pass is suspended at an elevation of 12,451 feet between Bobtail Benchmark (12,803 ft) to the north and unnamed Point 12,700 to the south. The Jones Pass road to the pass is well maintained. It also is very steep, narrow and loose. Some high clearance cars could make the grade. However, it's narrow in places and passing protocol might be a problem for some 4x4 drivers. During the snow months the road is used by a snow-cat operation ferrying backcountry skiers to the powdery goods in the high basin.

I got a bit of a late start due to helicopter operations on Berthoud Pass. Having a "thing" for helicopters – any aviation event for that matter – I really didn't mind the stop. For me, it was kind of a mini-airshow.






The day was rather rustic.




Clear weather was forecast for the day. However, "puffer" clouds did start building fast.




Steep, loose and up a constant grade, I would have liked one more tooth on my rear cassette gearing.




Jones Pass is top center of the following pic.




Fireweed is vibrant pinkish-red in life and snowy white in death.




Ta da – Jones Pass high atop the Continental Divide at 12,451 feet. I'm facing the Pacific Ocean.



Looking south along the Continental Divide Trail. The box in the lower center of the photo is a trailer with solar panels and antennae. I'm not sure what it is; perhaps it's a radio repeater of some sort. The skiff of snow seen on the north aspects was about one week old. Except for the year round drifts, the snow from the last storm melted fairly quick.



The distant serrated peaks rising behind the sunlit ridge in the foreground is the Gore Range. There may be some Mount of the Holy Cross peaks to the far left, as well. In between the Gore Range and Jones Pass is the Blue River, a major drainage and valley in this area.



The high points left to right are Pettingell Peak (13,553 ft; rank 219), Hagar Mountain (13,195 ft; rank 462) and Coon Hill (12,757 ft). Note: Rank is simply rank in elevation compared to other state peaks. Normally I rank only peaks above 13,000 feet of elevation.



From Jones Pass, the Front Range kind of steps to the east and continues north. To the northeast the Front Range encompasses the Indian Peaks and Rocky Mountain National Park (distant left in photo).



The northern end of the ridge that wraps around Bobtail Creek to Hager Mountain has some northerly snow. There's a nice little avalanche path at about the lower center of the photo. Actually, all the chutes above treeline (and many below) can be nice little avalanche paths. Colorado has a shallow and cold snowpack and is very dangerous in regard to backcountry travel and avalanche potential. We lose people yearly. I may do a blog post later down the road on Colorado avalanche characteristics.



I have no idea how this peak became known as Coon Hill. Perhaps it was a rabid raccoon tormenting climbers? I do know the peak is rather stately, piercing the sky at 12,757 feet.



Autumn is in full swing, and the lush, green alpine tundra (sing it Julie Andrews), sprinkled with myriad colors of flower, has turned to soft and warm earth-tones of varying color. It's an awesome time of year.



Despite expected incision from the small stream, the coniferous trees growing to the left of the stream appear to be growing on an ancient lateral moraine.




I love fall!




To the southeast rise Engelmann Peak (13,362 ft; rank 348), Robeson Peak (13,140 ft; unranked) and Bard Peak (13,641 ft; rank 176).



Unnamed point 12,316 makes for a good parting shot before entering the trees and coasting down to the pickup. A very good ride came to an end all too quickly. The ride was a stiff climb up to a scenic pass, even though the route is an occasionally graded 4x4 road. You'll earn this one.




More from the Pacific Northwest is on the docket. I hope you enjoyed this exploit. Thanks for reading.

Adios

Stardate 2014.789

Season of Wither Ex Duobus

At the end of my last post I was taking a breather high on Alpine Pass, directly above the Denver, South Park and Pacific narrow gauge railroad's Alpine Tunnel. I was in the Krummholz, admiring the expanse of tundra above me. If you're wondering, the Krummholz is the alpine tundra/subalpine forest interface. In short, treeline. Here, tree growth is stunted and more shrub-like. Often, trees and shrubs are wind-trained, resulting in feathered branches parallel to the prevailing wind. Above this zone, natural shelter is quite limited.


It was getting late and I needed to decide my fate. If I continued on with the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), and ended up hike–a-biking most of it, I probably would get back to the pickup after dark. Most of the CDT was on northerly and easterly aspects, and I knew much of the trail would be filled in with drift snow until I intercepted the Tin Cup Pass jeep road. If I did something stupid, and ended up spending the night up high, in a fairly remote basin, I was in for a long, cold night. I was about two hours late arriving at my current location. Drats... Very reluctantly, I chose to backtrack.


From my lofty perch I walked to the west side of the pass to look at the remnant buildings of Alpine Station and the west portal. What caught my eye first was the abandoned turntable that appeared to be weathering well.


Alpine Station and the west portal may be reached by 4x4. The northerly faces of 12,630-foot Paywell Mountain (left) and Point 12,314 (right) tower above upper Middle Quartz Creek.


From Alpine Pass, I was able to zoom in on 14,197-foot Mount Princeton. In my opinion, Mount Princeton may be one of the more stately 14ers in Colorado. Snowcatcher and I summited Mount Princeton as one of our early dates.


The day wasn't getting any younger, nor the wind any warmer; I bid farewell to the tundra and started down. It didn't take long to pack the bike down to the east portal. It did take a while to hike all the way back up to the pass to retrieve my sunglasses.


Actually, it was nice to backtrack and see the same topography basking under an afternoon sun angle. Another autumn has come and gone. It was a good year for color variety.


Approaching St. Elmo, I wondered what sort of historians the aspen have been. Over time, did they take notice of how many indigenous people, pack animal trains, steam-powered trains, jeeps and high-clearance vehicles have worked their way up the grade? If only the trees could tell their tale.


Some patches of aspen were making their final stand.


Most of the original dwellings of St. Elmo appear to be owned by private residents. There is no ghost to it. Just about every window had a "keep out" or "no trespassing" sign in it. That killed the photographic vibe for me. On the other hand, the locals are inundated with tourists during the warm months. From that standpoint, I can understand all of the signage. Nonetheless, it's a quaint little retreat for a handful of people.


The above building was rather rustic. I think it may have been the old livery.


Some stands of aspen were unique. Their long skinny boles, sporting smallish tufts of leaves on top, bending with the wind are a good example of wind training.


Small pockets of aspen hidden amongst the coniferous were still colorful.


The drive down Chalk Creek Canyon had a yellow glow to it.

Another adventure has come and gone. See ya on the next one.

Adios

Stardate 2014.775

Season of Wither Unam Partem

I desired a final, high elevation mountain bike ride before the icy grip of winter takes hold in the high country. Although the higher realms have received snow this year, webcams filming high peaks, along with a week of decent temperatures, indicated a bit of a melt-off. I decided on a loop consisting of the occupied ghost town St. Elmo, the Alpine Tunnel, the Continental Divide Trail and back down North Chalk Creek to St. Elmo. The loop is above 10,000 feet in its entirety. It also is highlighted by four-miles of seldom-traveled Continental Divide Trail that undulates across the tundra between 11,650 and 12,400 feet elevation. It was a date. Hair on fire, I was off to the Sawatch Range, Colorado, for a day of high adventure.


After an easy cruise through Colorado's Front Range and across South Park, I made my way up Chalk Creek to St. Elmo. The town is an official, historic ghost town inhabited by people with private holdings. As can be seen in the photo, 120/240-volt single-phase power has been brought in. Modern ghosts, I guess.


The ride to Alpine Tunnel is up the old Denver, South Park and Pacific narrow-gauge rail bed. At one time, the railroad provided transportation between Denver and Gunnison. It's an easy pedal. As the views expanded, I noticed most of the Aspens have dropped their leaves. A little snow could be seen on northerly aspects of Point 12,870, as well. In regard to the previous sentence, if a high peak is unnamed, its elevation is used as its name.


Old mine relics dot the forest between St. Elmo and the ghost site of Hancock.


At one point, a town resided here. This is all of Hancock that remains. Hancock sat at 11,050 feet and primarily served the Alpine Tunnel workers; mining came second.


At Hancock the route heads west toward the Continental Divide over unmodified history. Motorized vehicles are not allowed up the final three miles of rail grade. In places, old rotting railroad ties are still visible, as shown above.


Riding along a north aspect, the ground began icing up around 11,300 feet.


There was more snow and ice than I had anticipated, even on north aspects.


In places, the rail grade was cut into the cliff face.


The views continue to broaden. Despite the snow and wet areas, I was able to stay in shorts as the day warmed up nicely. Yet, there was a swirling frozen nip in the air.


After an easy nine miles up consistent grade, the final 100 yards to the east portal came into view. The grade swings to the left into the hillside.


Above is what remains of the east portal. The west portal has been sealed, too. Four-wheel-drive access to the west portal is from Pitkin, or possibly from the east via Hancock Pass or Williams Pass. The Alpine Tunnel took more than two years to build and was in service by Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad between only 1882 and 1910. The tunnel sits at an elevation of 11,523 feet and is 1,772 feet long.


Access to the Continental Divide Trail is in the vicinity of the east portal. It's a short hike-a-bike up to 12,000-foot Alpine Pass.


After a good grunt gaining the Pass, the vistas open up to...


...miles and miles of one of my favorite landscapes – alpine tundra! If you look close in the right center of the pic, you can pick out the Continental Divide Trail. Hint, look for snow. It was time for an executive decision. After a short lunch so I can savor my surroundings, of course.

Stay Tuned

Adios