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A short off trail hike from the flat above Trailside Meadow gets you to the top of a knob with this amazing view of the trail you've just hiked up, and beyond towards the Owens Valley.
In the foreground, at our feet as we look down, is Mirror Lake. Above and to the the right of Mirror Lake is the meadow called Bighorn Park. If you're backpacking you may have stayed the night at nearby Outpost Camp. Off in the distance just above Bighorn Park is Lone Pine Lake. In the far distance beyond that is the the Owens Valley with the town of Lone Pine and the Alabama Hills. You can see a large part of the trail from Mirror Lake up, and bits and pieces of the trail even farther down. How many people can you find hiking on the trail? How many going up? How many going down? Can you find the hidden tent that's way, way off trail? |
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From the Devil Canyon overlook, looking north along the main channel of Bighorn Canyon.
If I remember the stratigraphy correctly, the top layer of the canyon is formed from the Madison Limestone, which is over 350 million years ago - same age and similar in appearance to the Redwall Limestone that makes up part of the sequence in the Grand Canyon (although not the rim, as this is exposed here). |
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The Mount Evans Scenic Byway is America's highest paved automobile road. Drive from 8,700 feet at Idaho Spring where you turn of Interstate 70 to 14,240 feet to the summit, and you will pass through 3 life zones, passing ancient trees, lakes and forest to the land above timberline. It can be 90 degrees in Denver and 40 degrees at the top of Mount Evans. Mountain Goats and Bighorn Sheep will greet you as you climb to the top of the world.
All 14 miles of the road from the entrance station to the Mount Evans summit parking area (14,130) are paved. From there, you can hike the last 130 feet (about 1/4 mile walk) to the top at 14,264 feet. After you have made this climb, you can tell all your friends: "I climbed a 14,000 foot mountain in Colorado on my vacation!" |
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Looking west from the main road in Bighorn Canyon National Recreational Area (the canyon is the other direction), there are beautiful sets of tilted sedimentary layers - reds, tans, greys, etc.
This view is located inside the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Refuge as well (part of the refuge is located inside the recreational area), although we did not see any mustangs in this particular location. |
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From the Devil Canyon overlook (Devil Canyon is the dry side canyon that joins the river in the middle of the pan) - Bighorn Canyon National Recreational Area (Montana). |