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!