Celebrating the Journey

I hope this newsletter finds you safe on a relaxing and profound Memorial Day, if you celebrate. Also, I’d like to celebrate 26 weeks of this newsletter by sharing a visit to a special and very accessible place.

Okay, the cliffs next to Juniper Pass in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains aren’t exactly “accessible” except to the local animals, like bighorn sheep and those new arrivals, the mountain goats, that live near here. Birds also, of course, as those—and noisily defiant squirrels—are the only animals I’ve seen here. This overlook is on Arapaho National Forest land, next to a wilderness area that has been only shared in this publication from a distance: Mount Blue Sky.

I call this lovely location “accessible” because it is a short drive up Highway 103 either from the west in Idaho Springs, or from the east in Genesee, near Evergreen. Roughly halfway from either direction is Juniper Pass. Just a little west of the actual pass, two giant cliff faces make for a local point of interest.

There are picnic tables and other amenities, including a memorial bench from 1936, created by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Of course, the clifftops are accessible by more than just mountain goats and bighorn sheep, as the northern side of these south-facing cliffs are gently curved, making for an easy hike to the top.

On the south-facing sides, climbing the cliffs isn’t advisable without special gear. Some anchors have already been hammered into the rock at the western apex of the cliffs, however, I’ve never actually seen them being used.

Juniper Pass leads into the Upper Bear Creek valley and wilderness area. This weekend, if I read correctly, there was a rescue of stranded hikers in the alpine area above Guanella Pass, on the western side of the Mount Blue Sky complex and massif. In addition, the tallest paved road in the country, Trail Ridge Road, in Rocky Mountain National Park, is still closed, due to recent gusting snow (despite the traditional Memorial Day weekend opening target).

But the weather on this side of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains couldn’t have been more temperate and mild. When the clouds covered the sun, the temperature fell, but then quickly recovered in the returning warmth as they passed.

The cold and snow were never very far, but the impact was merely indirect. The winds were gusty and mildly tempestuous, several times, before calming again while filming over Juniper Pass.

I’ve been visiting here for years, and when the highway is clear in the winter, it makes for a cold journey. That is, despite being a destination for taking photos, Juniper Pass always feels like a midway point on a journey, neither at the start nor end. Like a midway point on a stairway, not the top or bottom, but a perfectly fine place to rest or observe the Colorado HIGH SKY.

During the Winter—at sunrise, no less—I fully expected to be all alone in this remote edge of the wilderness, no matter how easy it is to access. But in the middle of the day on the cusp of summer, it was both awe-inspiring and a little disquieting to be all alone, to have all this to myself like some little world!

Thanks for reading all the way to the end. Also, please have my gratitude for sharing a recognition of this journey—while in the middle of its happening!