On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Wag
After a good soaking in the previous afternoon’s thunderstorm and following a well earned early nigh to bed, we up and on the trail again at 4:30 AM the next morning to climb the next two peaks. Knowing the trail back to Twin Lakes, we made quick work of the initial climb up to the high basin, and just before reaching the lakes we split off on the trail to Eolus and North Eolus.
A view looking at Windom reflected in a small pond near Twin Lakes.
Heading into the hanging valley that leads to the Eolus group
Blankets of wildflowers on the way to Eolus.
We climbed to a saddle between Eolus and North Eolus, and were greeted with this view of a pair of high 13,000 ft peaks, Pigeon Peak and Turret Peak. Although these peaks do not reach the coveted 14.000 ft mark, both are members of the Colorado Centennial Peaks, the 100 highest peak in Colorado,
looking to our left from the saddle we saw Eolus, along with the access ridge, the Catwalk. the Catwalk is a 100 yd long ridge, about as wide as a sidewalk, with a drop of several hundred feet off either side. Once you have crossed the Catwalk, there is a few hundred feet of scrambling to the summit.
A view taken while scrambling off Eolus and heading towards North Eolus. Our route up North Eolus hugged the edge between the sun and shadow up the ridge
Looking towards Sunlight (left) and Windom (right) with Sunlight Spire between the two peaks.
A view in to the distant peaks of the Needle Range
sab
Those are really spectacular.
I am glad you hiked them so that I wouldn’t have to (//). If I had hiked them I would have had to carry oxygen.
Wvng
@sab: My lungs hurt just reading the post.
Jharp
In my old age heights make me nauseous. Bridges, tall buildings, mountains, even freeway ramps.
And even looking these photos makes me queasy.
I think it has something do with losing my eyesight. Also I now get seasick. Something that never happened in my younger years.
Oh well. Good thing there is lots of flat ground where I live.
HinTN
The reflections in the little pool and the green all around is just fabulous. Have enjoyed being “with” you as you have this adventure.
pat
Just thinking of that sidewalk with a hundred-foot drop off either side makes me dizzy.
But what impressive mountains, and terrific photos. Thank you!
Anne Laurie
@Jharp:
Probably your inner ears, not your eyes. As we age, the delicate balance mechanisms tend to wear out, and people who’ve never had problems find themselves getting dizzy / motion sick. (I’ve had mild vertigo most of my adult life, and my balance issues have definitely gotten worse now that I’m 65.)
Although, if you haven’t had a vision check recently, you might ask your eye doctor whether your eyes are ‘out of sync’ — if one eye is more/less ‘corrected’ than the other, some people find themselves getting dizzy…
J R in WV
Wife had strangely off vision, one eye was nearsighted, the other eye was farsighted. Her cataract surgery back in early spring corrected both eyes for distance vision, she tried to get along with “readers” for closeup vision, but of course couldn’t see distance wearing readers.
So now she has prescription trifocals for closeup reading and computer work, but the majority of the lenses are just clear glass with the usual coatings. 3 pairs, one spare pair and one pair of sunglasses for driving in the daytime. Finally happy after fussing all summer about her new eyes.
The mountain photos are great, but I’m with the others who are glad you can climb up there so I don’t have to. We’re good up to near 10,000 feet, but after that not so much.
mvr
Nice photos!
Of course the water shots are the ones that call to me. I keep thinking “fish!”
I have a friend, Gordie, who likes to go for the highest point when I want to find the fish or wildlife. Once hiking in the Oregon Cascades I could feel my knees (deformed at birth and fixed with dad made braces out of electrical conduit in my youth) start to get tired enough that I knew that if I went further I’d have some trouble getting down. So I had to stop some distance from the top while Gordie went the rest of the way. That was unusually good judgement for me. But I find going down harder on the knees than climbing up.
I do enjoy these photos. Thanks!
frosty
@mvr: You’re right, going down is a lot harder on the knees than going up. We bought trekking poles a couple of years ago for our trail walks*. Helpful uphill, essential downhill, both to take the weight off and for stability.
* I hesitate to call them hikes after seeing this series. Beautiful country that I would never tackle.
DM59
Excellent commitment to the hike. Envious to say the least. I can see helmets are a good thing. Thank you for the photos.
JanieM
Wonderful photos of an amazing landscape that most of us will never get to. I’m especially liking the pics with people in them — they show both the fact that people can navigate that terrain, and at the same time the outsized scale of the terrain in relation to people. The breathtaking beauty of the high country comes through loud and clear.
Bad eyesight, bad knees from hiking and basketball, vertigo — don’t get me started.
Wag
@frosty: At age 59, trekking poles are a godsend. They make this possible.
Xavier
I remember the wildflowers above timberline from when I lived in Colorado. They covered the ground, but you had to get down on your hands and knees to see them.
susanna
Great series of photos. I join those who relish the beauty from others’ climbs and discoveries. The pics alone can transport my thoughts and feelings to pure enjoyment and moments away from the mind-chatter.
That said, I was good until the last photo, which I thought was well-framed with the close large boulder-?, but looking beyond that spot, my stomach took it personally.
Keep posting!
Victor Matheson
@Wag: Ah, yeah, this is the catwalk I remember! In my memory it was a very strange combination of simultaneously being wide and flat enough to not be scary but with really serious drops off either side to make it terrifying.
Wag
@Victor Matheson: your memory serves you well. In some ways, being able to walk without needing to hold on to anything made it a bit more terrifying than a class 3 where you have 3 points of contact at any one time.
MissWimsey
OMG! I learned this lesson the hard way. I recently returned from a trip to Iceland where I tried hiking up to the rim of a volcano. I made it to 850 feet in about .75 miles before I cried uncle. The trek back down was harder on my knees than anything I did that week. I needed trekking poles. @mvr:
Wag
@MissWimsey:
Awesome trip! Which volcano!? We went to Iceland and climbed Snæfellsjökull. Iceland was amazing. I think the BJ community deserves an OTR post from you!
And yes, get yourself some trekking poles!
MissWimsey
@Wag: it was Fagradalsfjall in Reykjanes Peninsula. It erupted in early spring. It had stopped spewing lava weeks before I got there so all I saw was volcanic rock but it was still amazing! My pictures from my trip are in the queue but I’m unsure when they will be posted. I am loving these photos in the meantime :)