Hike At Cottonwood Pass - The Continental Divide Trail - July 7, 2007
My friend Ron from Colorado Springs visited me this weekend in Buena Vista.
Ron wanted to do some kind of hike, but admitted he wasn't in the best of shape and hoped
I would take him on a moderate trail. Thus, I took him to the Continental Divide Trail
at Cottonwood Pass and hiked to the first unnamed peak south of the pass. It is a fairly gentle uphill trail and the point is maybe 0.5 miles one way.
(Photo above: The well-known and well-photographed westerly view of the tundra
pool and mountains at Cottonwood Pass.) |
A photo of Ron standing in front of the Cottonwood Pass sign. C'mon ... we had to take this standard photo that tourists always take! ;) |
Now the Continental Divide Trail pretty much runs along the Continental Divide and is a long-term work in progress.
In this area, west
of the divide comprises of Gunnison County, while east of the divide comprises of Chaffee County. |
The Colorado wildflowers were just beautiful. |
I think this was
a special spot and moment for Ron. Upon reaching the top, Ron walked down
just a bit and gazed at the view of all the mountains. |
At the top, here's the view of Cottonwood Pass. 14ers Mt. Harvard, Mt. Columbia and Mt. Yale can all be seen (left to right) in the background. |
The view of the Continental Divide facing the south. I hiked up to that unnamed point to the right on July 4, and my photos can be seen
here. |
The view to the west includes Taylor Park and Taylor park Reservoir. |
The view to the southwest, which includes Henry Mountain, according to my topographical map. |
