Mount Evans: The Casual 14'er

Hiking a 14'er isn't for everyone. The term 14'er is used to identify a 14,000 foot mountain in the Rocky Mountains. I will admit, some of them can be a rough hike depending on your physical shape and/or if you are coming from lower elevations. Even coming from 5,000+ feet in Denver it can be a literal "breath taker" while going up (I'm here all night people... my jokes are hi-larious). Once you're up at the summit of one of these gems, you have a front row seat to miles and miles of "breath taking" views (like I said... real knee slappers). With that being said, I would recommend to anyone, and everyone, to go up at least one 14'er in your life.

"But I'm not as young as I used to be" you say? "I'm only in Colorado for two days, there is NO WAY I will be adjusted to the elevation in time to go up a 14'er" you explain? "I just don't have the time" you affirm? "Uh..... BABIES!" you declare? (I take it you mean you have a or multiple babies... unless you... are a baby?)

That doesn't have to stop you! Thanks to relatively-modern-ish engineering you can experience a 14'er by driving to the top! This is a great opportunity for anyone and everyone, even if you are physically able to climb a 14'er but don't have the time to do one.

View of Summit Lake from the peak of Mount Evans

This marvelous high peak of Colorado is called Mt. Evans (you can also drive up Pike's Peak, but if you ask me, it costs too much cash-$$$ and the view doesn't come close to that of Mt. Evans). When you turn onto Route 5 by Echo Lake Park south of Idaho Springs, CO, you'll come across a typical gift shop where you can find anything from shirts to books (except you can't find any good picture magnets... and being a picture magnet collector myself, that was highly disappointing).

When you go past the gift shop you come to a typical pay booth you see at so many recreational areas and national parks. The nice thing about this booth, however, is you can completely skip it if you want! That's right... free access! There is a catch though. Along the way up to the peak, there are three "developed" areas, which include a nature center, Summit Lake (which might be worth $10 alone) and the Peak itself. In order to park and enjoy those features, you have to pay a $10 user fee. Otherwise, driving on the road and using the un-developed pull-offs are completely free of charge. Honestly, the entire fee goes to maintaining this wonder, so you might as well pay the equivalent to two coffees at Starbucks and get over it. It is going towards a good cause.

But I digress...

As you drive down Colorado Route 5, you will pass a nature center run by the Denver Botanical Society. The center is small itself with a room with some diagrams, but it has some hiking trails and the Walter Pesman Alpine Garden are attached to it with some ever awesome bristlecone pine trees (known to be the oldest living things on earth). I suggest stopping and checking it out on the way down the mountain.

Bristlecone pines (right) at the nature center on Mount Evans

Once you get past the nature center you are beyond the tree line and it is all view after view after view.

View east from the road going up Mount Evans

When you find a pull off, make sure you stop and get out of the car to walk around. If you are visiting in June-July, make sure you check to see if the alpine wild flowers are in bloom. There are dozens of species, all hugging the ground so they don't get ripped up by the wind. To preserve this beautiful habitat, make sure you only walk on rocks and don't step on any vegetation. A single step could kill the plants in this fragile ecosystem.

Spring bloom in the alpine

The next developed site you will pass is Summit Lake. You can either hit this on the way up or down. I prefer doing things in reverse order, so I suggest hitting it on the way down (especially if you are there early in the morning; you will want to get to the top before the crowds come). Summit Lake is beautiful and is a great opportunity to get some amazing photographs. The Summit Lake drainage is an alpine marsh land. The summer melt seeps into the still frozen soil (called permafrost) where the melt water then pools towards the surface. Since Mt. Evans can experience freezing temperatures throughout the year, this constant melting and freezing of the summer melt and permafrost layer creates a very wet, undulated landscape, which has in turn provided lots of road damage for visitors to navigate. :)

Summit Lake Mountain Park

Before you leave Summit Lake though, make sure you at least take the short walk to the Chicago Lakes overlook. Summit Lake and the immediate surroundings is a great place for Rocky Mountain goats and bighorn sheep, so keep an eye out!

Mountain goat at the peak of Mount Evans

Twinnies playing near the peak of Mount Evans

You can't technically drive all the way to the summit, but there is a parking lot at 14, 130 feet. To get to the summit, you have to walk the last 134 feet on a 1/4 mile switch-back trail. The views from the top are just breath taking. There are a few landmarks by the summit parking area. The Crest House was originally built in 1940 and was at the time the highest structure in the world. It was designed to resemble a star with giant windows overlooking the Denver area. Sadly, in 1979 a propane explosion destroyed this piece of history, leaving only it's rock wall ruins behind. Now, it has been converted into an look out and is widely used as a wind block for visitors. The other landmark is the University of Denver telescope observatory built in 1996.

View north-east from the peak of Mount Evans overlooking the observatory and Crest House ruins.

Mount Evans can be hiked, instead of driven, for those who would rather climb this great mountain. Even if you are only walking the last 1/4 mile trail, maybe people who are not adjusted to the altitude will experience altitude sickness, so drink lots of water and take it easy.

If you only have a short visit to the Denver area and want to get up a mountain to see 360 degree views but don't have time to hike a mountain or just physically can't, go check out Mount Evans... you won't be disappointed.

Geoformation of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Black Canyon: so named on account of its steep and narrow body which makes it difficult for sunlight to penetrate to the very bowels of this magnificent 48-mile long geologic structure. The resulting shadows make the rocky walls appear pitch black and you often can't see the bottom. With an average drop of 34 feet per mile, the ancient Gunnison carves through the tough 1.7 billion year old Precambrian gneiss at a dismal <1-inch every 100 years.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

What was that? You asked if the Precambrian gneiss is so tough to erode, why didn't the Gunnison River find softer rock to carve? I mean, that is the basic concept of watershed hydrology; water goes where it is resisted the least. Well, you see, the mighty Gunnison River, which is 15 million years old itself, was trapped.

Sit back, relax, have some wine (a lot of wine?) and let me tell you an 'old as stone' story about how the historic Black Canyon was created... 

Canyon Formation

Between 40 and 70 million years ago, 1.7 billion year old Precambrian metamorphic gneiss that formed during the Precambrian era went through a massive uplift (known as the Gunnison Uplift) during the Laramide orogeny. What is the Laramide orogeny you ask? Well, without getting into too much crazy plate tectonic and geology talk, it is what made the early version of the Rocky Mountains. After this massive upheaval of tough metamorphic rock... lots of volcanos went off. When I say lots, I mean a lot a lot. All of the West Elk Mountains, La Sal Mountains, Henry Mountains and Abajo Mountains contributed to burying the newly risen gneiss in several thousand feet of volcanic ash and debris.

Looking down into the beast

*Disclaimer... I should say I use the term "newly risen" loosely, since technically the volcanic eruptions happened more than 5 million years after the Gunnison Uplift.

Anyways... that's a lot of volcanic shit! Er... debris. If you don't know your geology, volcanic debris is soft in the way rocks go. In water erosion terms, it is easy carving. When the Gunnison River was formed 15 million years ago as a mere run-off from the La Sal and West Elk Mountains, it started carving through that 'soft' volcanic rock with ease.

After the Gunnison carved itself a nice canyon of least resistance, Mother Earth decided to literally shake things up a bit. Another uplift occurred roughly 2 to 3 million years ago and literally trapped the Gunnison in its present course. With no where to turn and no softer rock to escape through, the river started the slow erosion of the gneiss from the Gunnison Uplift at a rate of 1-inch every 100 years.

Vertical cliffs of Black Canyon

Present Day

The current Black Canyon of the Gunnison is one of the most spectacular sites one could see in Colorado, yet it is relatively under visited due to its remoteness. The river course is practically the same as it was 2 to 3 million years ago thanks to that tough metamorphic gneiss. The raging waters of the river are only a whisper from the rim. Since the river is now damed, the flow is much slower than the 12,000 cubic feet per second, 275 horse power it once was, causing an even slower erosion.

Some interesting tid-bits:

• At its narrowest point, the black canyon is only 40 feet wide.
• There is a 2-mile section of the canyon that drops 480 feet in elevation.
• The Black Canyon drops more in elevation over its 48 miles than the entire 1,500 miles of the Mississippi River.
• While the Black Canyon averages a drop of 34 feet per mile in elevation, the Grand Canyon only drops roughly 7.5 feet per mile

Oh... and it has some killer sunsets...

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Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is located approximately 250 miles from Denver, CO, 15 miles east of Montrose, CO, and 60 miles west of Gunnison, CO.

Want to know more? Visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park's website to learn about camping, rock climbing, fishing, wild life viewing and other opportunities.