Impression Evergreen

The Utah desert Eastern Utah’s vast desert country is a lonely landscape that appears to be devoid of any type of life. The treeless terrain is tinted yellow as the otherworldly environment of rock and dirt exhibits a certain stark beauty. Forming a rigid backdrop, a range of striated book cliffs punches into a boundless, blue sky. Anything but flat, the trails are a rollercoaster of ups and downs, offering panoramic views from the summits of sandy overlooks. Utah is an absolutely gorgeous state with some of its most spectaculars places preserved as National Parks. Passing through this arid backcountry may seem dull at first but if you look closely, there is an understated charm in the vast expanse of hazy buttes painted with colors of soft pastel. A lonely landscape Treeless terrain Panoramic views Stark beauty Understated charm

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