Tag Archives: hiking

Sunrise Lunar Eclipse

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This morning there was a total eclipse of the moon at sunrise.  The moon set in the west while the sun rose in the east.

Click photos for a larger version

Sometimes I do things the hard way.  I could have just parked beside the road and got some decent photos.  No, I had to try and hike to a nearby mountain top through more than a foot of snow.  The early morning cold fogged my judgment and I left the snowshoes in the car.  It made for slow going.

. . .

When it became apparent that the mountain top was still 20 minutes away and it looked like the moon was going to set before then, I stopped and found a clearing.  I never made it to the mountain top.

. . .

There was quite a bit of air pollution in the east and the sunrise was very red.  The snow in these photos is reflecting that reddish light from the east.

. . .

Due to the mountains and Colorado being a bit too far east for this eclipse, totality occured after it was below the horizon.

Second Snow

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The second snowfall of the season was deep and pretty.   I live for those mornings that dawn bright and sunny after it snows.  The snow glitters white and the sky a deep blue.  It’s a blue that only is seen at high elevations.

As usual, click the photo for larger versions.

I was up early and hiked to one of my favorite nearby hilltops.  I’d live up on top of this if there was any way that I could.  The hilltop doesn’t seem to have an official name and I’m still working on making up a name of my own.

Mt. Thorodin in the background

Ski area upper left. Town and reservoir right of center.

Glorious sky

Deaf-like silence in this cotton world.

Introspection

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I hiked up to Pawnee Pass (elevation 12,700 ft.) this week.  The tundra above tree-line is entering its autumnal phase of dark reds and browns.  Coupled with the rocky aspect of the area, things were not looking very verdant. It was a cool 55 degrees up on the pass.

Niwot Ridge above treeline. The gold colors are a harbinger of autumn.

It’s seems like every year at this time, I become a little bit manic, oscillating between angsty elation and quiet introspection.  The volume control on my dreams is cranked way up. I need some quiet inside my head.

Mother Ptarmigan keeping an eye on me and her three chicks that are nearby. In the winter she will turn all white.

I have a big birthday that ends with a ‘0’ coming up. I know it’s just a number, but I’m starting to feel a generational gap. I used to feel that pretty much anybody over the age of 20 was still in “my group”.  Perhaps being single makes me more delusional in that regard.   These days I’m starting to feel there is a more of a boundary to the lower end of “my group.”

At the top, Lefthand Reservoir. Below that is Long Lake. Unnamed lake at the bottom.

I’m okay with that. It’s just a bit of perspective shift. The views of life from up on the pass were great!