Colorado Vacation: Sea level to 14,000 feet

I grew up in Beach Haven on Long Beach Island in Southern New Jersey. What a wonderful place to have spent my childhood, teen, and young adult years, prior to moving to the mainland. This picture was taken on the beach in Beach Haven, New Jersey. This is the beach where, while growing up, my sisters and I spent most of our time, during the summer months, swimming, sunning, and surfing.

Now that I have told you a little bit about myself, and where I come from, it is time to get back to our adventure that led to the summit of Mt. Evans in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

Now, the time to leave for the Philadelphia International Airport has arrived. Our flight out of Philly to Denver was non-eventful. My husband's brother and sister-in-law met us at the Denver International Airport. The elevation of the airport is around 5,000 feet above sea level. Their home is in the mountains, west of Denver at around 9,000 feet in elevation. At the time of our trip, their place of residence was considered to be Golden Co., but was later changed to Black Hawk, Co. This was our first trip to Colorado and the scenic drive to their home was incredible.

Once we settled ourselves in, we talked about our itinerary for the coming week. We decided that we would get up early the next morning, and take the journey by car, to the summit of Mt. Evans, for our first day trip, thus beginning our adventure.

The drive towards Mount Evans, in Clear Creek County, passes through Idaho Springs and then climbs up towards the summit of Mount Evans. On the way we had lunch and enjoyed the scenery of Echo Lake and the surrounding area. Echo Lake is at elevation 10,600 feet.

It was an absolutely beautiful and warm August day as we started our trip. As can be seen from the picture, the sky was incredibly blue with only a few clouds. There was very little wind and the mountains and sky reflected off the water as if it was a mirror, a picture, perfect day. In the stillness, at this point in time, we wondered what the weather would be like at the summit, time would tell.

The Mount Evans Scenic Byway, a 14 mile paved road that leads almost to the summit, is the highest paved road in North America. The parking lot near the summit is at about elevation 14,130 feet.

The scientific or Latin name is Pinus aristata. The Bristlecone Pine Tree is a very interesting tree. The trees grow very slowly. The mangled trees and branches are intricately weaved into strange windswept shapes.

We walked the short trail that winds through the trees. This picture was taken at the Mount Goliath Natural Area. The oldest Bristlecone Pine at this location may be in excess of 2,000 years old and grows at an elevation of around 11,500 feet.

Bristlecone Pine trees have been documented to reach 4,000 years old and they may even grow to the ripe old age of 7,000 years! That is, without question, unbelievable.

It is amazing that these trees can survive the bitterly cold, windy, winter environment that they inhabit at the treeline on Mt. Evans. The treeline is where the habitat changes from forest trees to the alpine plants and flowers.

This unusually looking alpine plant, with its silvery to white tinted leaves and flowers, appears to be in full bloom. The small yellow flowers are quite delicate in their beauty, as they carpet the rocky alpine tundra above the treeline. As the plants and flowers were right along the edge of the road, they were easily accessible for picture taking, without disturbing any of the plants, as I am sure they are protected.

This survey monument is part of the National Spatial Reference System and was established by the United States Forest Service in 2005 to Commemorate 100 Years of Public Service.

Elevation - 11,504 feet

Summit Lake, a high alpine lake, as seen from above, is situated to the north of the summit and is cradled in a basin called a cirque. The lake and nearby cliffs were formed by the erosive activity of a glacier in years long gone.

The area surrounding Summit Lake provides habitat for rare alpine-arctic plants, some of which are found only at the Arctic Circle, and represents the southerly boundary where these plants grow.

To the east of Summit Lake is Summit Lake Flats and outside of Alaska, may be the only area of permafrost located in the United States. Permafrost is where the ground has been permanently frozen for at least two years.

Along the way we made some friends. Guess whom, the mountain goats. Look at how shaggy their coats are, as it is well into the summer months, short as they may be. The goats year round habitat is above the treeline, however in severe weather, during the winter months, they may venture below tree level for shelter.

This is a picture of the remains of the gift shop and restaurant that was destroyed by fire. The ruins are above the 14,000, foot level.

As we ascend in altitude and hit the 14,000 foot level, in less than 48 hours, when I think back prior to our trip, I remember how concerned I was about how altitude sickness might affect us. While we did visit family in Wyoming a few years prior to this trip and experienced no problems, you never know what the future holds. I know that not having any problems in the past doesn't guarantee that we will not have problems in the future. I made sure that I had my water containers with me at all times, as even at home I try to drink lots of water when we are hiking and figured that I would probably need it even more in the drier climate and at the much higher altitude.

We did not allow the extra time; we should have, for our bodies to adjust to the higher altitude. I feel that we were very fortunate not to have had any problems. Maybe because most of the climb to the summit was by car and the fact that we did not have to over exert ourselves, helped to ward off any symptoms.

If you should have the opportunity to travel to Colorado, please allow extra time for your body to adjust to the higher altitude. There is a sign, somewhere near the summit that outlines the hazards of Altitude Sickness, Hypothermia and the dangers of Lightning. We did not have our own picture of the sign so I included a link to a picture of the sign. See the link for the Wikipedia article below.

This is a picture of the trail that leads to the summit from the parking lot. It was still very warm, which I understand is quite unusual at this elevation. We were very fortunate, to be able to leave our jackets in the car. For me to not wear a jacket, it has to be warm! We could not have picked a better day to make the trip to the summit of Mount Evans. The final climb from the parking lot to the summit is a short climb of about 134 feet in elevation along a switchback trail.

We are looking down, from above, at the parking lot and observatory.

The parking lot is at an elevation of 14,130 feet.

The observatory is at an elevation of 14,148 feet and is operated by the University of Denver and is amongst the highest optical telescopes in the world.

Both my husband and I at one time worked for a Land Surveyor, so when my husband saw this he just had to take a picture.

The USGS Bench Mark shows an elevation of 14,258 feet for the summit of Mount Evans. Some sources show the summit elevation at 14,258 feet and others show 14,264 feet.

Improvements in cartographic (map making) accuracy, since 1955, has resulted in an increase of six feet in elevation. The actual elevation of the summit of Mount Evans is 14,264 feet.

Picture of me at the summit of Mt. Evans. The U.S. Geological Survey Bench Mark shown above is situated between my right foot and my walking stick, how exciting!

Even though the clouds were starting to build, the weather was still incredibly warm, as you can see, I am not wearing a jacket,