I took this picture of Pike's Peak in Pike National Forest at the Crowe Gulch scenic overlook/ picnic area, elevation approximately 9000 feet. I scrambled up to the top of a jumble of granite boulders above the picnic area and had this view as a reward.
It was a cloudless day, and I had just descended from near the summit of the peak. Couldn't get all the way up, because a massive snowstorm shut down both the last few miles of the highway and the last mile or so of the cog train. So, instead of summiting at 14,000+ feet, I settled for about 13,600 feet. Still the highest I've ever been, with the Olympic Mts. and Mount Fuji both earning honorable mention.
It also turned out to be fortuitous that I traveled to Pike's Peak and the Pike National Forest...because today, the entire region was beset by thick fog. Cherie and I tried to go back so she could see the Peak (she was conferencing all day yesterday), and instead, we saw nothing. The fog was so thick at 9,000 feet that had I tried to take the same picture a day later, it would have looked like I took a picture of nothing. Couldn't see 5 feet in front of us -- it got so bad, we turned around at about 10,000 feet, because it you couldn't even see headlights coming at you from a few feet away -- it was just too dangerous, so we drove back down and stopped at Phantom Canyon Brewing Company for some libations. Yum.
1 comment:
To be honest, you didn't really miss anything at the top of Pike's Peak. I took the train up there once. All you get is a nice view and a tourist trap visitors store. You got all you needed at 13,600.
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