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.

[Past trip photos: September 2016 Independence Pass]

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.