INDEPENDENCE PASS

Independence Pass was originally known as Hunter Pass. It is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the United States. The elevation on the Continental Divide in the Sawatch Range is 12,095 ft. The pass is midway between Aspen and Twin Lakes, on the border between Pitkin and Lake counties. State Highway 82 traverses it. The is the highest elevation of a paved Colorado state highway on a through road. ~wikipedia

The land around the summit is flattish, windswept, lonely, and covered by sparse vegetation of grass and delicate tundra plants – the treeline is a thousand feet lower down – and yet all around are higher mountains, especially to the south and east. Several shallow pools line the road around the pass, and patches of snow are likely to remain for most of the summer. There are no visitor facilities at the summit, just a large carpark and a short, paved loop path leading to two overlooks of Lake Creek valley and surrounding peaks. A longer trail (2 miles) heads southwest, following the continental divide, to an unnamed peak 700 feet higher up. ~http://www.americansouthwest.net

Aside from traversing Trail Ridge Road in RMNP, Independence Pass is my favorite to drive. The road gets a wee bit narrow in spots, but the views are incredible.

Independence Lake Trail Head

1: N39 07.484 W106 34.909 — 0.0 miles : Independence Lake Trailhead

2: N39 07.577 W106 34.996 — .15 miles : Linkins Lake Trail split + Wilderness Boundary

3: N39 07.833 W106 34.889 — .48 miles : Cross Roaring Fork River to east side of valley

4: N39 08.205 W106 34.694 — 1.0 miles : Steady climb in expanding upper valley

5: N39 08.543 W106 34.189 — 1.8 miles : Independence Lake (12,487′)

6: N39 08.920 W106 34.035 — 2.35 miles : Lost Man Pass (12,810′)

7: N39 09.119 W106 34.048 — 2.75 miles : Lost Man Lake (12,482′)

We returned for another look and hike. This time we made it a wee bit further up the path amidst the thin mountain air. Our previous trip in 2016 we made it to the Roaring Fork River crossing (3) and this trip we made it to the upper valley (4). Some day we’ll make the entire journey round trip.

Roaring Fork River

water flow from Linkins Lake above

Upper Valley

EXTRA

INDEPENDENCE PASS

Independence Pass was originally known as Hunter Pass. It is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the United States. The elevation on the Continental Divide in the Sawatch Range is 12,095 ft. The pass is midway between Aspen and Twin Lakes, on the border between Pitkin and Lake counties. State Highway 82 traverses it. The is the highest elevation of a paved Colorado state highway on a through road. ~wikipedia

HISTORY

On July 4, 1879, a group from Leadville struck gold in the uppermost Roaring Fork valley below the pass. Four miles to the west, they established a settlement in the upper Roaring Fork Valley that eventually took the name Independence from the holiday on which it was established. The pass, the lake from which the Roaring Fork rises and another nearby mountain all took that name as well. The Twin Lakes and Roaring Fork Toll Company, established to build a road through to the camps in the lower Roaring Fork Valley, improved the original path over the pass sufficiently enough by 1880 that horses could be used for the trip. ~wikipedia

Independence Pass Photo Map

We drove to Independence Pass from Aspen. A few miles out of Aspen you will see Difficult Campground. The name cracked me up a bit; it sounds really inviting. I am sure it is a wonderful place to camp.

State Highway 82 Views (ascending)

The road grade from here steepens and your field of view widens as you ascend to the pass. The conifer trees blanketing the mountain side is simply beautiful and the aspen trees glowed yellow in places.

Weller Lake Trail

Part way up the pass we decided to pull off, stretch our legs a bit and hike around. You are immediately enveloped in the conifer trees once on the trail. We spied a stump where a squirrel had eaten its fill of pine nuts.

Independence Lake Trail Head

Just before Independence Pass in a great place to pull off and hike. The air is a wee bit thin here and we moved along the trail slowly. We didn’t venture all the way up to Independence Lake. We gained some altitude and took some pictures; then returned to the comfort of the SUV.

Independence Pass

The scenery at the pass (and all along the 44 mile route) is some of the most spectacular in all Colorado, and perhaps the finest you can view from a major highway, The road runs right beneath many great mountains including the highest in the state (14,433 foot Mount Elbert), and rises well above the treeline into the stark Alpine tundra zone. We passed many lakes, rivers, steep-sided valleys, thick forests of fir and extensive aspen groves. In the Fall, the aspen groves glow yellow; it is quite beautiful.