Colorado Devils Canyon & Bill Moore Lake 9/16/06

[Wisha Haddan H3]

It was the perfect weekend to go see the aspens. I think we hit right at the peak, so if you want to see the colors, you don't have much time left.

I picked up my nephews Eric and Andrew at 830 and headed up to Idaho Springs to meet the group at 930. It turned out to be Alec, Shaggy, Zig and me. We waited for Moon but after a half hour took off without him.

Here we are taking Hwy 103 out of Idaho Springs toward Mt Evans. The turnoff to Devils Canyon is almost invisible from this direction. It was 70+ degrees and a beautiful day to open the sunroof.

[Wisha Haddan H3]

Here are the first bits of color on our way up.

[blindzebra]

definitely need more pics

[Wisha Haddan H3]

Why does work always have to get in the way of a good time


As we topped a rise, this is what popped into view. The trail is a series of loops that go all over and around the mountain.

[Wisha Haddan H3]

Beautiful groves of aspen extend from hillside to hillside

[Wisha Haddan H3]

Here's Shaggy in a sea of yellow. There's still some green up here, so you have another weekend to enjoy the colors.

[Wisha Haddan H3]

Uh-oh, here come's some weather. Here's Mike (Zigsrig) pulling over for a pic.

[Wisha Haddan H3]

This meadow made a great place for a snack.

[Wisha Haddan H3]

Looky what we got above treeline

[Wisha Haddan H3]

Remember that part about the weather?

[Wisha Haddan H3]

But on the other side of the hill ... sunshine and blue sky.

[Wisha Haddan H3]

My nephews Andrew, Eric and myself (left to right). Andrew is over six feet tall, so I took good advantage of the road grade. Andrew is about to enlist in the Navy. Eric is in college thinking about mechanical design.

[Wisha Haddan H3]

Devils Canyon was really a short trail, so we decided to run over the Bill Moore lake. Zig had to get back to town, so that left Alec & Kathy, Shaggy, and us for the rest of the day.

[Wisha Haddan H3]

nice close-up of the mine

[Wisha Haddan H3]

Here's Andrew on an old stone foundation next to the mine.

[Wisha Haddan H3]

It's hard to keep your eyes on the road when there's so much to see all around

[DDWH]

Great pics, looks like a good time!

[Wisha Haddan H3]

Lots of loose rock on this trail. My locker failed (again), and I had a hard time getting up the last hill. This was a good spot for a breather.

[Wisha Haddan H3]

We kept climbing higher and higher. We never quite reached treeline, but weren't far from it.

[Wisha Haddan H3]

Now we're in it. At this point, snowmelt and runoff were turning parts of the trail into mud. It got really slick at the bottom of this hill.