No idea. But I suck at mountain guessing. Give us a clue!
Posted by Mel Ladewig on June 17, 2008 at 10:29 AM
Sorry about the evergreens. Its Pikes Peak from the South Slopes. The GPS coordinates would be approximately N38.45.455, W104.59.505, elevation 11,120ft The trees in this area were absolutely beautiful and it looked much different than I expected.
The south slopes are an issue of contention in Colorado Springs. Colorado Springs Utilities has refused to open these areas to the public for over 100 years. The North Slope reservoirs finally opened in the 1990s, but despite public pressure, Utilities refuses to open the south.
I headed out on Saturday morning to do some exploring. I've been up in this general area before and going back over the maps I found a couple roads I thought might offer some interesting views. So this morning I hopped in the jeep at 4AM and headed up for FR 379. The plan was to check out spur FR 379A to the top of Almagre Mountain and see about shooting sunrise on the Peak from this different location. Then I wanted to continue on FR 379 to the junction with FR 376 and see where I could go.
The answer to these questions was "not where I wanted to go".
FR 379A runs up Almagre just fine. About 400 feet from the summit you reach a gate which says something to the effect of "to protect the environment, this area is closed". Then the gate has sharpened rebar spikes welded to it and pointing outwards as if were some sort of torture device. In reality, its meant to puncture your radiator should you try to drive through the gate. Way to fit in nice with your neighbors Utilities. It would certainly be possible to go around this on foot, but I was out for exploration! I wish I'd taken a photo of the gate though.
So back down FR 379A and west on FR379. In a short while I met up with the junction for Eagle Rock Trail. From here, it would all be new terrain for me. In a short distance I encountered a rocky descent that opened into a nice meadow and this is where the photo above was taken.
Continuing around the meadow I climbed up a small mountain and found a place with more potential for good alternative views of Pike Peak. At this point, I didn't stop for any photos as I did have obligations back in town and the light was not so great. The area to look at is N38.46.101, W105.0.668, then hike up the ridge to the north. There will be a dirt road and two reservoirs in the foreground and a clear view of the south face of Pikes Peak if you were to shoot sunrise or sunset from this location.
After this the exciting part of trail emerged. As I descended from this mountain towards the junction with FR376, I nearly put jeep shiny side down. Runoff has cut deep trenches in this section of trail and as I rounded a corner, the front passenger tire fell into a hole. The jeep was teetering on two wheels on a steep off camber slope. I punched the clutch and let it roll down the slope, saving the jeep from a potential rollover. A couple hundred yards later and I was on the graded FR376. On FR 376, I found CS Utilities has placed another of their radiator piercing gates before you could reach Reservoirs 4 and 5.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on June 17, 2008 at 12:07 PM
The alpen glow that morning looked like red stained glass through the trees. This was well after the peak glow, but might give you an idea. Wish I'd been sitting on top of Almagre already for this show.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on June 17, 2008 at 12:08 PM
A view along FR379A heading up Almagre. This is about 1/4 mile from the gate.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on June 17, 2008 at 12:09 PM
View of Colorado Springs, 5,000 feet below.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on June 17, 2008 at 12:15 PM
View of the meadow where I took the first shot. There was a larger meadow just below this, but it had some fencing in the meadow. It seems someone had taken to driving through the mud holes
Anyways, hope you enjoyed the tour of a less frequently visited, but close to home location.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on June 17, 2008 at 12:18 PM
BTW, Jack gets 1/2 point (for guessing two mountains) and Les gets 1 point. Points can be redeemed for nothing.
Discussion
14 repliesI'll add a bit of info after someone gets the right mountain.
Jack
Jack
The south slopes are an issue of contention in Colorado Springs. Colorado Springs Utilities has refused to open these areas to the public for over 100 years. The North Slope reservoirs finally opened in the 1990s, but despite public pressure, Utilities refuses to open the south.
I headed out on Saturday morning to do some exploring. I've been up in this general area before and going back over the maps I found a couple roads I thought might offer some interesting views. So this morning I hopped in the jeep at 4AM and headed up for FR 379. The plan was to check out spur FR 379A to the top of Almagre Mountain and see about shooting sunrise on the Peak from this different location. Then I wanted to continue on FR 379 to the junction with FR 376 and see where I could go.
The answer to these questions was "not where I wanted to go".
FR 379A runs up Almagre just fine. About 400 feet from the summit you reach a gate which says something to the effect of "to protect the environment, this area is closed". Then the gate has sharpened rebar spikes welded to it and pointing outwards as if were some sort of torture device. In reality, its meant to puncture your radiator should you try to drive through the gate. Way to fit in nice with your neighbors Utilities. It would certainly be possible to go around this on foot, but I was out for exploration! I wish I'd taken a photo of the gate though.
So back down FR 379A and west on FR379. In a short while I met up with the junction for Eagle Rock Trail. From here, it would all be new terrain for me. In a short distance I encountered a rocky descent that opened into a nice meadow and this is where the photo above was taken.
Continuing around the meadow I climbed up a small mountain and found a place with more potential for good alternative views of Pike Peak. At this point, I didn't stop for any photos as I did have obligations back in town and the light was not so great. The area to look at is N38.46.101, W105.0.668, then hike up the ridge to the north. There will be a dirt road and two reservoirs in the foreground and a clear view of the south face of Pikes Peak if you were to shoot sunrise or sunset from this location.
After this the exciting part of trail emerged. As I descended from this mountain towards the junction with FR376, I nearly put jeep shiny side down. Runoff has cut deep trenches in this section of trail and as I rounded a corner, the front passenger tire fell into a hole. The jeep was teetering on two wheels on a steep off camber slope.
Anyways, hope you enjoyed the tour of a less frequently visited, but close to home location.