Abundant wildflowers, sunshine and blue skies on Sunday before temps dropped on Monday
On Sunday, my husband and I drove up the 14-mile unpaved Rollins Pass Road, once a railway roadbed, to Corona Station, which in the 1920s had a railroad depot, wooden tunnels and even a hotel at something like 11,500 feet above sea level. All that remains are some boards and simple foundations. En route to the Corona Station site we passed brown forests devastated by pine bark beetle and clearcuts where logging operations have created open meadows where lodgepoles once grew.
From the Corona parking area, we hiked up toward the High Lonesome/Continental Divide trail junction, then dropped down to King Lake, to a lush valley and then up first to Betty Lake and then Bob Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. Though the calendar page had turned to September, abundant wildflowers and shirtsleeve temperatures made this a summer hike. Yesterday (Monday), the weather turned cooler and some of the high peaks received the season’s first dusting of snow. Here are some images of our hike, which we decided was the last this year that would feel like summer
The Drive
Beginning of the 14-mile Rollins Pass Road from the Winter Park (west) side.
Pine bark beetle devastation is acute in Grand County. Clear cuts have created meadows were once there were forests. As early as next year, I expect to see wildflowers in those meadows, and not long after that, aspens should come in. They are always the first after logging or fire.
The ski trails of Winter Park/Mary Jane, across the valley, look like a trail map come to life.
Old trestle at Rifle Sight Notch, one of three (almost) intact wooden trestles along the route.
The Hike
At the 11,671-foot top of Rollins Pass is Corona, now just a parking area, historic marker and fallen timber. The story behind the name is that a railroad worker from Mexico, awed by the sight is said to have exclaimed in Spanish, “This is the most beautiful sight. This is the crown of the world !” Corona is crown in Spanish.
Once a weekend getaway by rail, Corona had a train station with tracks inside a wooden shed and snow tunnels on both sides for protection from the fierce winter weather. In 1913, a hotel/restaurant was built, also that connected to the station by a tunnel. Usually, guests would just dine inside the hotel. When the Moffat Tunnel was bored under the Continental Divide, and the Rollins Pass line was essentially abandoned. This is for above the beetle zone, so we put the beetle-kill out of our minds as we drove up beyond the treeline into the tundra. Read the story of the construction and maintenance of this amazing but short-lived rail route over Rollins Pass.
Sign atop Rollins Pass at the Corona site.
What was once a railroad stop at the "crown of the world" now is a parking area lot for recreationists,
The Rollins Pass Road accesses the west side of the Indian Peaks Wilderness.
Looking down at King Lake from just below Rollins Pass.
King Lake -- appropriately named since the crown should be above him.
Yellow paintbrush.
Two shades of red Indian paintbrush, esepcially treasured so late in the season.
Betty Lake lis roughly at treeline. A trail along the south shore leads to the onward trail to Bob Lake.
Cold, clear Bob Lake nestles in a beautiful high cirque.
Sunday’s sunshine and warmth didn’t last. Monday, Labor Day, was noticeably chillier. Winter Park sent out a press release on Tuesday indicating that the high mountains got some snow. Today, Wednesday, is chilly and rainy in Boulder (5,400 feet), indicating that it is probably snowing in the real high country. Sure, there will be some Indian Summer days for more hiking, but that means ski season (and snowshoeing season) are right around the corner in the Colorado mountains.
