Day 27 - Echo Lake - Boulder, Co.

Well if you have had the time to read all of this dribble that I am writing, you may be wondering if I really did ride Mt. Evans.  The short answer is YES and I do not think that I will be doing it again.  It was not a hard ride at first but near the top the wind and weather got to be a real test as you will see.  OK, so you want to see for yourself.
I will start with the sign, which of course has my last name - well the same last name on it.  This is at Echo Lake which is at 10,600` elevation and the campground (just behind me) where I stayed last night.

The next picture is just before I started the ride, at about 9:00 AM and as you can see the weather was a little overcast.  The temp. was about 65 and no wind but I wore arm & leg warmers (and took a few other layers for the descent)- more for the sun exposure.  There is just a sliver of Echo Lake in the distance below the snow capped mountain - looking west.

About 2 miles up the road I stopped and had a view back down to Echo Lake with a better view of the mountain range beyond.  You will be seeing a LOT more of those mountains, trust me.

At about 10 miles into the ride I saw a lot of cars stopped by the side of the road and this is what caused all of the excitement.  A mountain goat and her babies heading up the hill to who knows where. 

The babies were calling out to the parent who would go ahead a ways and then wait for the little ones to catch up.

As you can see a few more clouds are building and I am now above the tree line (the point at which there is not enough oxygen to support plant growth.  Looking north west and there are no guard rail on the side of the road.

This is what is left of a structure that had been at the summit since 1939.  It had a small snack bar and observation deck on the top level with a great view of the 360 degrees panorama.  This is the place that I visited in 1971 on a road trip from Washington,D.C. with a friend in my new VW Karmen Ghia.  I was sadden to find out that it had been destroyed from a gas explosion in 1979.  They left the foundation as a reminder.  The plaque is mounted in what is left of the building and tells it`s history.  If you click on the picture, you will be able to read the story - assuming you really care!

Here I am a the summit of Mt. Evans for the second time in my life but this time under my own power.  YAHOO!  That is the same mountain range in the distance that you saw behind Echo Lake.  You did not think I could do this without getting myself  in one picture!!!!!!  I later heard that the temp. factoring in the wind chill was 32 -34 degrees at the top - even though in Denver (which is a mile high & only 50 miles away) temp. was about 90 degrees the same day.

As you can see from this picture, the weather was not getting any better so it was time to descend.  The threat of rain, especially at this altitude would not a good thing - can you say "hypothermia" !!!!
Going down was interesting due to high winds / bumpy roads / car traffic & having to be braking all of the time to keep my speed down (that one is for you Debbie).

Here is Summit Lake (even though it is not at the summit) which is about 5 miles below the top of Mt. Evans.
Elevation about 12,800` and still cold.
Below is a shot of a big lake off to the side of the road and about 1,000` below me.

I could not pass up the chance to show how high the snow banks were on the side of the road.  This is one of the biggest and was about 20`  high and just beside the pavement (visible in the foreground).  I was told by another cyclist I met on the way up that just one week ago this road was closed due to snow. 

Another look at the clouds building told me to quit stopping to take pictures and get down the mountain.

Back down at Echo Lake and green trees (or for that matter trees at all).  It started to sprinkle a little just as I got to my truck and held off while I dissembled my bicycle to stow it in the back seat.  Good ride which took 2 hours going up and 1 hour back down.  I can cross that one off my "Bucket List".
I guess the thanks go to Mary for suggesting that I do Mt. Evans while in the area.  Of course I told her that I did not think I would included it in my travels.  Thanks Mary!
I will be staying in Boulder with a good friend until Tuesday morning.  It will be a vacation from my blog until about Wednesday.  I still hope to ride from Estes Park, Co. into Rocky Mountain National Park.  The only problem is the road through the park (that goes up to 12,200` or so) got a dusting of snow two days ago.  I will have to check to see if it is passable. 
That is all for now.