Day 59 - Red Rocks to Hanging Lake

I don't linger around a place much. My plan today was to drive to Red Rocks Amplitheatre in Denver then to Telluride then to Vail then to Hanging Lake then to Aspen for dinner with a friend.

Red Rocks is used for athletic training when there isn't a concert. The famous outdoor theatre, set among red-colored high rocks, similar to those from Garden of the Gods, was filled with army rotc candidates running the rows up and down and climbing the outer walls. See pic. I wanted to see a concert here but the last few days were rainy and I didn't care for the performers.

Next was Telluride. The ski resort town was quaint and the surrounding moutains still snow clad, but without the ski slopes open, this wasn't much of an attraction. Vail was even more empty. Then came Hanging Lake. Wow. The stretch of highway through the Glenwood Canyon was the prettiest stretch of highway I've driven on-- the roads engineered in such a way that they melted seamlessly into the canyon. The final piece of environmental mastery demonstrated by this interstate road construction was the fact that the road went through a tunnel instead of curving an easier-stretch that would've ruined the special hanging lake.

Now, Hanging Lake is one of the most popular hikes in Colorado! After a 1000 foot elevation gain rocky one mile hike up, I came to the beautiful lake-- with a large waterfall and crystal teal-blue waters, all set high up on the side of the canyon, hanging. I hiked under the falls and spent some joyful time on a log near their fall, before having my picture taken facing the falls. A quick hike up further revealed a second higher but less scenic falls but one with a special feature: water thrusting from the middle of the cliff, having tunneled there from above. Cool.

Once back on the highway I received a text from my friend; he wasn't feeling well and the weather in Aspen was terrible. He suggested I divert to Black Canyon of the Gunnison instead, so I did. I arrived at Black Canyon Park's remote north rim just before sunset, having spent the last twenty minutes driving along dirt roads to the park. Ohh the views. The mountains nearby perfect in symmetry. The black canyon a terrifying-haunting beauty.

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Day 161 - JMT Purple Lake and Tully Hole

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