Them Thar Mountains

By Jason O. Nungesser July 18, 2021

Just outside my truck last evening.

For the past few weeks, whenever the weather became too hot, I'd decided to go into the mountains where the elevation keeps the air a little cooler. For example, a couple of weeks ago, when the temperatures in Denver were about 100 degrees Fahrenheit I headed up to the mountains for some much needed relief. The temperatures where I went were in the low-70s. A stark contrast to the sweltering heat in the greater metropolitan area.

I decided to go again these past couple of days and while I didn't share any photos from previous trips, I decided to share a couple from this outing because ... well, why not? I shared a couple to Twitter and other social networks (don't worry, I didn't go back to FB) and only yesterday remembered I have a blog.

Yes, yes, I'm an idiot, but who really reads blogs anymore? It's all short posts and memes.

On this particular trip, I spent the first night in a very busy place and that's not what I was looking for when I decided to go into the mountains. Unlike people who like to "let loose" when they're in the woods, I prefer peace and quiet and this trip was no different.

Some wildflowers

The location I ended up at was one I'd discovered a couple of summers ago but with Covid foiling everyone's plans last year I didn't get a chance to try it out again. But this week I decided to give it another go and hope it wasn't as busy as it was my first time, which happened to be the Fourth of July.

I took the exit at Empire, CO and followed the road to the Jones Pass turnoff. From there I followed the two lane road to the Y and took the right that immediately turned into a very bumpy dirt road. I followed the road taking the next right in the next Y fork, then up, up, up.

The area I camped wasn't as far as I remembered, so I decided to explore for a while and the next thing I know I'm somewhere above 11,000 feet above sea level and have to turn around because the dirt road is covered in snow that high.

Because the road is narrow, I had to put my truck in reverse and travel down the mountain backwards until I found a pull-out that allowed me to turn around.

At the top, just before I had to turn around, a Jeep was dropping off a couple of mountain bike riders who were going to hike through the snow to the trail at the top that they could then ride to Georgetown, CO. Whether it goes to Georgetown, I don't know, but they were sure it did and I have no reason to doubt them.

Without further adieu, here are some photos from that trip: