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  1. #1
    Boothill's Avatar
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    Independence Pass/Cathedral Lake Colorado

    the girlfriend and myself went down to the Aspen Colorado area for some camping/hiking and to watch "stage 2" of the Pro Cycling Challenge that was between Gunninson and Aspen and had to go over both the Cottonwood Pass (elevation 12,126 feet) and Independence Pass (elevation 12,095 feet) before ending in Aspen

    we got there monday night and got camp set up (elevation 9400 feet) and pretty much did nothing that night after making the almost 600 mile drive

    on the 2nd day we wanted to go to the Maroon Bells and do some hiking, but the only way to get down there is by shuttle bus and and neither of us were to excited to do that, so instead we stopped by the forest service office to get some info on other hikes and ended up hiking to Cathedral Lake (elev. 11,866 feet) it wasn't a very long hike, only 2.5 miles one way, but we gained 2000 feet elevation in that span, the views were absolutely gorgeous, we started a bit late in the day to do the hike all the way to Electric Pass

    the 3rd day we got up and headed up Independence Pass to stake out a spot for the race and ended up about 100 yards down the Gunnison side where we could see 3 of the switchbacks, the crowds on the summit were crazy, there were about 3,000 people within the last 200 meters of the summit, just like the scene on summits of the Tour de France, with just one lane wide enough for the riders and then having to jump out of the way of the cars

    on the summit were the following.....a guy dressed as a female sumo wrestler, the Vail bunny, 2 guys and 2 girls dressed up as cowboys and cowgirls riding stick horses with bull whips, cookie monster, a 4 piece bluegrass band, a gorilla, a chicken, a bee, a guy in lederhosens and a giant cowbell, and of course jimi hendrix, and that was just within 100 yards of the summit

    went into Aspen following the race and just hung out and have some dinner and a few drinks before heading home the next day

    here are some pics from the trip, hope you guys enjoy them, if you ever have the chance to visit this area, i highly recommend it

    my hammock setup, hennessey ultralite explorer and warobonnet bmj about 10mi. down for independence pass colorado

    the gf's hyperlite with my bigger explorer tarp

    on the way up to cathedral lake





    cathedral lake, the water was crystal clear


    view for the top of independence pass


    just one of the switchbacks on independence pass the cyclists had to climb

    fans on top of independence pass for the pro cycling challenge, this was about 3 hours before the cyclist arrived, lots more people showed up by the time the race arrived

    some of the campers that spent the night on top of independence pass for the race, this is about 1/3 that camped out


    boot
    The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us. ~Bill Watterson

  2. #2
    Senior Member ^shane^'s Avatar
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    Beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to take my gear to Colorado for a long hike and hang.
    "One of the best things you can do in this world is take a nap in the woods." ~ Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

    "While it may be a lot of work, the view is best from the summit." ~ an anonymous staff member of Philmont Scout Ranch

    Enjoy the day
    Shane

  3. #3
    Senior Member Alamosa's Avatar
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    Wow, that brings back some great memories. Nice report. Thanks for sharing.
    We must, indeed, all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately. - Ben Franklin
    (known as a win-win on this forum)

  4. #4
    Boothill's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ^shane^ View Post
    Beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to take my gear to Colorado for a long hike and hang.
    it's a great place for just that, wish we would of had a few more days to do some more hiking, don't get that kind of elevation here, 7200 feet tops

    Quote Originally Posted by Alamosa View Post
    Wow, that brings back some great memories. Nice report. Thanks for sharing.
    you have some awful nice country there too, really like the bozeman area, spent some time around there, the gallatin gateway and big sky a few years ago, hiked to the top of lone mountain for the resort there, that was a pretty good hike....gasp gasp

    boot
    The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us. ~Bill Watterson

  5. #5
    Senior Member Fronkey's Avatar
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    Awesome pics dude! I really can't wait to make it out there next summer for some hiking. Thanks for sharing and glad you had a good time.

    Fronkey

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