Chief Mountain - A Pedestal for Panoramas

Chief Mountain

Rising out of Colorado’s Front Range foothills, Chief Mountain is a rocky pedestal for panoramas. The top juts up just above tree line and offers some of the best views in Clear Creek County.

All of the area’s big peaks can be surveyed from this single spot. Massive Mount Evans looms to the west while beyond, the distinct contour of Grays and Torreys is unmistakeable.

Bulky Longs Peak has a block-shaped summit that can be clearly seen to the north. Down south towards the Springs, Pikes Peak is barely visible as a ghostly apparition painted with pale blue.

During this season, all is quiet so the lonely mountain is delighted to receive guests. Squawking for attention, a pair of gray jays swoop close by and mingled amongst the rocks, chipmunks scurry for cover.

Traveling up Squaw Pass Road, yellow aspen are an obvious indication that fall is here. As pretty as it is now, I’d like to come back in a month or so and see what this place looks like when buried under a foot of snow.

Rising out of the Front Range foothills

A rocky pedestal

Above tree line

Best views in Clear Creek County

Massive Mount Evans Wilderness

Grays and Torreys Peaks

Bulky Longs Peak

Pikes Peak is pale blue

All is quiet

A lonely mountain

Fall is here

I'd like to come back when there's snow

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lair O' the Bear and Dunafon Castle

Image
The restored Dunafon Castle Lair O' the Bear Park is nestled in a steep canyon about six miles east of Evergreen, Colorado. John and Matilda Johnson emigrated from Sweden with their two young boys and purchased the narrow meadow in 1902. They named it Mountain Nook Ranch, built a four-bedroom house and raised Red Durham cattle. Their two sons, Finis and Francis, attended school in nearby Starbuck, now known as Idledale. It was originally named for John Starbuck who won the town property in a poker game. John Johnson was a master gardener and his popular, fresh produce was sold in Evergreen and Denver. They planted over 200 cherry and apple trees in the area. If you look closely many can still be found throughout the park today. The unruly Bear Creek sculpted the beautiful scenery and provided the needed irrigation for productive crops but it also wreaked plenty of havoc. There was a constant fear of extreme flooding. The Lariat Trail (Highway 74 today) crossed Bear Creek s
Read more

Clear Creek - A Transparent Torrent

Image
Clear Creek at Golden, Colorado On a gorgeous evening in Golden, Colorado, Clear Creek is undeniably liberated from winter's icy grasp. As the cold season draws to a close, we are challenged to emerge from our dark den. The great thaw continues and soon this silent stream will be transformed into a transparent torrent, flowing below a series of rustic bridges. Off towards the setting sun, a deep gorge was hewn by this wonderful waterway. Rushing down out of the foothills, a deluge of glacial water causes the snowy banks to collapse. Bordering the rock-filled river, bare trees are unable to divert the air of changing seasons. Packed with deep snow, the canyon trail is mired in an eternal shadow. Backlit beneath billowy clouds, the blue mountains remain anything but glum. A cheerful spirit permeates the entire landscape. It's on a special night just like this that I'm reminded. When an extraordinary light shines down from above, it reveals a certain truth and bea
Read more

The Brook Forest Inn - Ghosts, Germans and Gold

Image
The Brook Forest Inn is southwest of Evergreen It was the summer of 1943 near Evergreen, Colorado and the Brook Forest Inn was a luxury resort nestled in a stand of lodgepole pine at the base of Black Mountain. Carl was at work in the nearby livery stable when he learned that his wife, Jessica, had been unfaithful. Jessica also worked at the inn and she was preparing the Monte Carlo Room for that evening's guests. Carl stormed in, confronted her and a violent altercation ensued. Fueled by a jealous rage, Carl strangled Jessica to death. Overcome with guilt, Carl returned to the stable, constructed a rope noose and promptly hung himself. The stunning tragedy shocked the idyllic mountain community. A few years earlier, before the outbreak of World War II, a suspicious group of German tourists checked into the hotel. They claimed to be on a bicycle tour of America. Come to find out, they were actually spies. They used the place as a headquarters while they studied and mapped
Read more