Blogs from Rocky Mountains, Colorado, United States, North America - page 2

Der Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) bietet hochalpine Landschaften fuer Naturliebhaber, Wanderwege und jede Menge Felskloetze in mehreren verschiedenen Taelern. Und wegen letzteren sind wir natuerlich hier. Die Zustiege zu den Bouldern sind beschwerlich. Mit dem Crashpad, wetterfeste Kleidung, Wasser und Essen fuer einen Tag auf dem Ruecken zieht man auf 3000m los und wandert zum Teil eineinhalb Stunden. Zuerst geht es noch ueber gut ausgebaut Wanderwege. Zieht es einen jedoch in den Upper Chaos Canyon - das Gebiet mit den meisten und besten Boulderproblemen -, dann geht es noch eine halbe Stunde am Ende ueber ein riesen Geroellgebiet. Man fraegt sich ab und zu, warum man sich das eigentlich antut. Man bewegt sich ueberhalb der Baumgrenze und schnelle Wetterwechsel und Gewitter sind haeufig. Die Landings (Flaeche unter den Bouldern auf denen die Crashpads liegen) sind ... read more

25 June 2013 – Tuesday – It was a bit brisk when I got up this morning and as I load up everything in my truck before I retire in the evening it didn’t take me long to get going up the pass again. The climb became steeper with many switchbacks but the views from higher up were awesome. I stopped several times to savor the views. When I got closer to the top I was thinking about how hard this was on my truck but I was committed and the possibility of ever turning back never entered my mind. So eventually as in all my climbs I reached the top of Independence pass at 12,095 ft. Although it was late June the ponds up here were frozen and the surrounding mountains had snow on them. ... read more

Saturday June 22 – It has been a busy few days. I have invested most of yesterday and today in updating my trips in my blog and in doing homework on a trip I am planning for next week. To me a weekend is when you stay home because it is crowded everywhere, unless there is a special event locally I wish to attend. Denver has something going on every weekend. When I was younger I probably would have gone to most of them, but nowadays I tend to avoid crowds. Sunday June 23 – I’ve been up since 7AM doing homework on my planned trip wandering around the mountains a bit next week. The plan is to go southwest out of Denver on 285 to Buena Vista and then North on Hwy 24 till I ... read more

Friday June 14 - Trail Ridge Road and back to Denver – Today I got up early and loaded up my truck with the stuff I had in the Bear Proof Bin and eased into Estes Park using the Hwy 34 bypass, for breakfast and Internet at MacDonalds. After checking out the Internet I slow rolled through Estes Park downtown for one last look for this trip and then went back on Hwy 34 again on the West side of town and went back into Rocky Mountain National Park at the Fall River Entrance. I continued on Hwy 34 past the Sheep Lakes being careful not to run over any Mountain Goats or tourist, and continued past the turn off for Old Fall River Road and the Alluvial Fan. When I reached the intersection of Hwy ... read more

June 12 – Wednesday morning - I'm at the Macdonald's in Estes Park having breakfast. I had a good, although a bit challenging drive up here yesterday as I came up on the "Peak to Peak Hwy” instead of the more usual (and advertised so tourist can take full advantage of shopping and restaurants), route though Bolder or Golden. I camped overnight at the Longs Peak campground and drove from there this morning. When I arrived at the main intersection of Hwy 34 and 36 in Estes Park the the MacDonald’s, Safeway, Visitor Center, a Shell station that had gas for $3.59 a gallon and etc were all there. As usual I took advantage of the cheap coffee and free internet at the MacDonalds. They have Wi-Fi and several tables with electrical plugs next to them. ... read more