mount audubon
i took the day off work today. why? my dad and i decided to go hiking up a mountain - a 13,223 foot mountain to be exact.
obviously you don't climb the full 13,000 feet, but you might as well as the air is as thin as a human should be able to handle. it's hard to breathe, but it's fun to climb. (colorado boasts over 50 fourteeners all but one being south of i-70. long's peak is the only fourteener in northern colorado - remember that name)
the day started out at 5:30am when i got out of bed. i packed my bags, ate my blueberry cereal from whole foods along with chocolate milk, and we were off. we stopped at starbucks on the way.
we got up to the base about 7:45 and were about the 5th car in the lot. we were on our way about 7:50. first off, we saw a sign warning us of mountain lions. beware. we were. we climbed up some switchbacks and saw some intriguing mushrooms. whatev. there were also some pretty wild flowers that i had to capture - including colorado's state flower, the rocky mountain columbine. after the switchbacks, we reached timberline.
for those of you who don't know (especially easterners), timberline is the altitude that trees don't grow anymore. some places it's higher than others, but here in colorado it's about 11,000ft.
timberline allowed a beautiful view of the front range (the eastern slopes of the rocky mountains) and the continental divide. long's peak came into view at that time to the north.
now, long's peak is interesting. again, it's the only fourteener (mountain of 14,000 feet of elevation or higher), but it's "twin" mt meeker is next to it with an elevation of less than 14,000 feet.
winding up to the summit of mount audubon proved that there is still snow in colorado in july (no, colorado does not have snow all year round - just in some of the mountains).
the rocky trail led us to the top and climbing to the top wasn't bad. we reached the top about 10:00am and enjoyed the view. we enjoyed the view, now you can enjoy the pictures.
*if you happen to watch the video, i kept saying pike's peak instead of long's peak. pike's peak is the famous peak near colorado springs that was first discovered by zebulon pike. "america the beautiful" was written by the katharine lee bates while visiting pikes peak..."for purple mountain majesties." forgive the mistake, and know that i meant long's peak.
obviously you don't climb the full 13,000 feet, but you might as well as the air is as thin as a human should be able to handle. it's hard to breathe, but it's fun to climb. (colorado boasts over 50 fourteeners all but one being south of i-70. long's peak is the only fourteener in northern colorado - remember that name)
the day started out at 5:30am when i got out of bed. i packed my bags, ate my blueberry cereal from whole foods along with chocolate milk, and we were off. we stopped at starbucks on the way.
we got up to the base about 7:45 and were about the 5th car in the lot. we were on our way about 7:50. first off, we saw a sign warning us of mountain lions. beware. we were. we climbed up some switchbacks and saw some intriguing mushrooms. whatev. there were also some pretty wild flowers that i had to capture - including colorado's state flower, the rocky mountain columbine. after the switchbacks, we reached timberline.
for those of you who don't know (especially easterners), timberline is the altitude that trees don't grow anymore. some places it's higher than others, but here in colorado it's about 11,000ft.
timberline allowed a beautiful view of the front range (the eastern slopes of the rocky mountains) and the continental divide. long's peak came into view at that time to the north.
now, long's peak is interesting. again, it's the only fourteener (mountain of 14,000 feet of elevation or higher), but it's "twin" mt meeker is next to it with an elevation of less than 14,000 feet.
winding up to the summit of mount audubon proved that there is still snow in colorado in july (no, colorado does not have snow all year round - just in some of the mountains).
the rocky trail led us to the top and climbing to the top wasn't bad. we reached the top about 10:00am and enjoyed the view. we enjoyed the view, now you can enjoy the pictures.
*if you happen to watch the video, i kept saying pike's peak instead of long's peak. pike's peak is the famous peak near colorado springs that was first discovered by zebulon pike. "america the beautiful" was written by the katharine lee bates while visiting pikes peak..."for purple mountain majesties." forgive the mistake, and know that i meant long's peak.
4 comments:
sweet vid, sean.
looks just like pa... kinda. :)
Great pics. It's cool to see the Twin Peaks from the south rather than the north or east. Seeing you and dad, I'm struck by the pics I have of dad and Pat and me attempting Longs in '96. You were 12 and definitely not into the mountains at the time. It's been fun to read how much you've been enjouing outdoor rec in NoCo this summer. I've bene having a great time commuting on my "new" rid this week. Keep it up - Le Tour or Bust!
Get on it, Marian, you're so, like, last spring.
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