{"id":10701,"date":"2018-03-18T06:00:11","date_gmt":"2018-03-18T11:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/traun-photo.com\/dan\/?p=10701"},"modified":"2018-03-26T08:16:25","modified_gmt":"2018-03-26T13:16:25","slug":"independence-pass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traun-photo.com\/dan\/independence-pass\/","title":{"rendered":"INDEPENDENCE PASS – Rocky Mountain High #Colorado"},"content":{"rendered":"

INDEPENDENCE PASS<\/h1>\n

Independence Pass was originally known as\u00a0Hunter Pass.\u00a0 It is a high\u00a0mountain pass\u00a0in the\u00a0Rocky Mountains\u00a0of central\u00a0Colorado\u00a0in the\u00a0United States. The elevation on the\u00a0Continental Divide\u00a0in the\u00a0Sawatch Range is 12,095\u00a0ft. The pass is midway between\u00a0Aspen\u00a0and\u00a0Twin Lakes, on the border between\u00a0Pitkin\u00a0and\u00a0Lake counties.\u00a0\u00a0State Highway 82\u00a0traverses it.\u00a0 The is the highest elevation of a paved Colorado state highway on a through road.\u00a0 ~wikipedia<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

HISTORY<\/h3>\n

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\u00a0Roaring Fork Valley\u00a0that eventually took the name\u00a0Independence\u00a0from\u00a0the holiday\u00a0on which it was established. The pass, the lake from which the\u00a0Roaring Fork\u00a0rises and another nearby mountain all took that name as well.\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup>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.\u00a0\u00a0~wikipedia<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Independence Pass Photo Map<\/h3>\n

\"Independence<\/a><\/p>\n

We drove to Independence Pass from Aspen.\u00a0 A few miles out of Aspen you will see Difficult Campground<\/a>.\u00a0 The name cracked me up a bit; it sounds really inviting.\u00a0 I am sure it is a wonderful place to camp.<\/p>\n

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State Highway 82 Views (ascending)<\/h3>\n

The road grade from here steepens and your field of view widens as you ascend to the pass.\u00a0 The conifer trees blanketing the mountain side is simply beautiful and the aspen trees glowed yellow in places.<\/p>\n

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Weller Lake Trail<\/h3>\n

Part way up the pass we decided to pull off, stretch our legs a bit and hike around.\u00a0 You are immediately enveloped in the conifer trees once on the trail.\u00a0 We spied a stump where a squirrel had eaten its fill of pine nuts.<\/p>\n

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Independence Lake Trail Head<\/h3>\n

Just before Independence Pass in a great place to pull off and hike.\u00a0 The air is a wee bit thin here and we moved along the trail slowly.\u00a0 We didn’t venture all the way up to Independence Lake.\u00a0 We gained some altitude and took some pictures; then returned to the comfort of the SUV.<\/p>\n

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Independence Pass<\/h3>\n

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,\u00a0 The road runs right beneath many great mountains including the highest in the state (14,433 foot\u00a0Mount Elbert<\/span>), and rises well above the treeline into the stark Alpine tundra zone.\u00a0 We passed many lakes, rivers, steep-sided valleys, thick forests of fir and extensive aspen groves.\u00a0 In the Fall, the aspen groves glow yellow; it is quite beautiful.<\/span><\/p>\n

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State Highway 82 Views (descending)<\/h3>\n

The beauty continues on as you descend from the pass toward Twin Lakes.<\/p>\n

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EXTRA<\/h3>\n