Monday, September 27, 2010

The leaves, they are a changin'

Fall is here officially. And despite the 90 degree temperatures (which I am in NO way complaining about), the trees are definitely already in fall-mode. So Travis and I headed on a hike up Raspberry Mountain to check out the colors. (If you remember last year we missed the leaves completely, so this year we headed out a couple weeks earlier with our fingers crossed.)

The hike is relatively low (a bit over 10,000 ft.) so we were in the trees most of the time. Made for nice shade! We did wonder, however, how we would see the panorama views the mountain promised us. Well, at the top you run right into this mound of boulders that take you above the trees. And by boulders, I mean boulders - huge! A bit of rock-scrambling got us to the top.
That mammoth in the background is Pike's Peak. We could barely make out tiny cars driving up the mountain.

Ah yes, HERE are the panoramic views! Awesome patches of bright yellow throughout.

Enjoying the view and a (very smushed) sandwich. You see, if you put the sandwiches in a Tupperware they take up too much room in the backpack, but if you wrap them in foil they get smashed. It's a no-win!

On the way back - Travis found the perfect hiking stick. Along with several sticks that could be used to kill bears. Yup, I now know how to kill a bear with a stick. Let's hope I never have to put that knowledge to use.

Vivid colors!

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4 comments:

  1. UnknownSeptember 27, 2010 at 2:21 PM

    Great pics! Raspberry Mountain was one of my favorite hikes this year ~

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  2. Josh and ErinSeptember 28, 2010 at 5:53 AM

    gorgeous! how do you kill a bear with a stick???

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  3. PhillipSeptember 28, 2010 at 6:02 AM

    The last pic is so good! You should have it framed.

    It took me a second to realize the next to last pic is of Travis's shadow. For some reason I laughed out loud when I realized this.

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  4. JillSeptember 28, 2010 at 7:14 AM

    Thanks, guys! The hike was great - maybe the last of the season *tear*. Erin, I was told that you need to find a LARGE strong stick and back yourself into a corner of rocks. Then when the bear lunges at you you prop the stick against the rock, hold it at an angle, and when the bear falls into you it impales itself on the stick. More of a branch, really. Hope I never have to test the theory!!

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