It seems like it was just yesterday I was walking in autumn colored leaves.
Wait! It was just yesterday, just before the sun set.
Not surprising for this time of year, it snowed 4 inches last night and this morning.
The Mountain Bluebirds didn’t seem to mind.
In a couple of months, the temperatures will be colder and the water frozen over. Meanwhile, this snow will melt within a day or two and we’ll be back to our Indian Summer.
One thing I like about the trains that run through the mountains here, is that it’s living history. The Union Pacific Moffat Subdivision (as it is known today) was originally built around 1903 and is still in use today. That makes it roughly 110 years old.
On September’s outing with Rob and Sherrie (I’m a little behind in updating this blog), we picked up where we left off from our July outing when we explored the eastern side of Moffat Tunnel (6.1 miles long, under the Continental Divide) and the old route over Rollins Pass.
East Portal Moffat Tunnel, November 2010
We headed over to the west side of the Moffat Tunnel, in Winter Park. As luck would have it, we caught Amtrak’s California Zephyr emerging from the tunnel. (It helps to have a scanner radio to hear the train communications.) Compared to the east portal of the tunnel with is large concrete structure and huge venting system, the west portal is unassuming.
Amtrak #5 "Califorina Zephyr" emerging from the Moffat Tunnel
Because this is a photo heavy post the rest are behind the cut. And some of these photos benefit by clicking to see the larger versions.
There was nothing morbid about it. I wanted to visit the site of a plane that had crashed 40 years ago in the wilderness, where the wreckage still remained. One of the main reasons this interested me: it was going to be a very challenging hike physically, also one where I would have to plot the course myself since there are no trails to the site.
Well actually, the route started at a very popular trailhead, and the first couple of miles were spent passing people and their dogs on the trail. I wasn’t in the mood for people. I couldn’t wait to take the detour that would take me off the trail, up steep mountain sides, past beautiful unnamed lakes, and over snowfields where very few people tread.
Unnamed lake looking towards South Arapaho Peak, the one I climbed a few weeks ago.
