Electric Pass pics continued...

We met a nice guy who jogged the entire trail from 9,500 to 13,500 feet. It was really nice to talk a bit about what it means to hike up to somewhere so high and spectacular as this - so, well, we got him to take a picture of us, hehe.


Hiking back down through the large basin - sooooo many wildflowers!


Another picture hiking down - it looks really steep, and it was, but the switchbacks made the incline not so bad.


Walking down you could see Cathedreal Lake, which is where our last stop would be...


This is a pic from right at Cathedral Lake - definitely that nice alpine-lake blue...

Aspen Highlands Mountain - steeeep

This hike is pretty nice - it's a really long one up the access road (and through trails that shortcut the access road) but goes to around 12,000 feet and is fairly moderate hiking MOST of the time. The last mile is insanely steep, which is always fun to look up and say, "Yeah, I'm gonna hike that." It was really nice and a great view, and I felt up reaaaally high. I ate my lunch on the porch of a closed cafeteria which I'm sure is busy in the winter. Climbing back down though, was very tough because of how steep it was for the first mile down. Halfway down the steepest part my quads AND glutes were shaking already! This made what would normally be an easy last 3/4th of the way down really really slow and difficlt because my knees kept giving out, I suppose because my quads couldn't support them. The next two days I was definitely walking like a pregnant woman. Seriously. But it's another mountain that I love looking at the top of when I'm driving to work and thinking, "I've been up there! I've WALKED up there!!!"

A nice view:


Perty.....


These guys were just chillin' at the ski lift on the top of the mountain, they stare at me as I walked by...


And at one point on my way back down, one of them followed me a little ways to see what I was up to, I suppose, but I thought it was cool, and just looked back and him and said, "Hey buddy!"


A picture of the climb down that I knew would be tough, but had no idea it'd be THAT tough. You can't even see the slope in this pic because it disappears downward...

The Grottos

The Grottos is a pleasant little mountain-walk where you can walk a fairly flat trail in a circle and pass by ice caves that in the winter have icicles hanging all over the place, but in the summer, they're just neat - and a section of a creek that waterfalls very nicely, called the Cascades. Here are some photos!

Aspen Mountain!

This is the mountain on which you can take the Gondola down for free if you hike up, which is a saving grace because it would SUCK to hike down. One of these pictures is from after Bill threw a frisbee golf disc because there's a frisbee golf course up there, he's taking a break walking up a really steep part of the mountain from where the tee was. There is also one in a nearby town called Snowmass where I have indeed gone to play with Bill before. If I haven't mentioned it already, Bill is a good friend from college. The last two photos are of the mountain range you can see from the top. I love this hike. Hiking is getting easier and easier as I get acclimated...

My first hike of the summer - Buttermilk

This is the mountain across the street (I love saying that) - and it was a beautiful day!


Clyde pointed out, while he was up here at the beginning, how the shadows of clouds are so defined up here...


This photo's a little washed out, but I still like it a lot. I loved this tree, it was all knotted and colorful and provided great perspective against the mountains behind it.


Hehe - this was Bill's phrase of the month (my hiking buddy this day), indicating that this scenery was definitely, definitely "not lame potato." Can you see if written on the rock?


Just a gorgeous view...


Aha - you may have already seen this one, but I had to include it again. I need to do stuff like this more often.