We finally tore ourselves away from the view of the glacial lakes and turned to the 1 mile hike behind us. That might not sound like much down here around sea level. But now we were near 12,000’ in elevation. That means it’s colder, windier and less oxygen! Just being in Colorado at a mere 7,000’ elevation can make one winded walking across a parking lot. Now we were climbing up an easily paved path over the tundra….and huffing and puffing! There were lots of little signs a few yards from each other. These were wonderful spots to allow us to catch our breath and enjoy the scenery!

We are not allowed to walk on the tundra, because the soil is thin and fragile. Alpine flowers, as all plant life on the tundra, barely grow more than a few inches, hugging the ground to stay warm. The ones that are red and blue use their colors to capture ultraviolet radiation to help them keep warm, sort of like natural anti-freeze.

Here are some alpine sunflowers. They are also called Old Man of the Mountain due to dense, tiny hairs that cover them. These hairs help them to diffuse ultraviolet radiation, hold in heat and protect against water loss. It always faces east, away from the prevailing winds. Blooming only once, it can take several years to bloom. I think I read up to 30 years but now I can’t remember where I read that and I have 5 Rocky Mountain flower books open on my desk right now!

Pegmatite quartz….

Now the full shot…see the pegmatite quartz with the mica schist on top?

This was as high as we could hike.

 What a gorgeous view!

And another view...

These are mushroom rocks. The top is mica schist and the bottom is granite, which eroded at different rates.

Mountain Harebells…this same plant is the bluebell of Scotland.

We are now at the top of Trail Ridge Road at the Alpine Visitor Center. There is a huge glacial cirque behind the visitor center, that is covered with snow. It was formed by the Fall River Glacier.  Both times here we’ve seen elk in the valley below. Here’s a marmot looking at the snow instead of the camera...

On the other side of the parking lot is the short hike that will take us as high as we will get…12,005’ Appropriatly named Huffer Hill, every few steps up begs you to stop and look around at the view while your breath catches up with you!

Halfway up, looking down at the glacial cirque where the visitor center is perched.  All these rocks on the tundra you see are not left by glacial deposits.  Instead they have been thrust up by the constant freeze and thaw cycle at this elevation.

Looking towards the Fall River Valley where we went horseback riding…

Here is the back of Ypsilon Mountain and Mummy Mountain.  There's a big marmot who daily comes out to lay out on a rock to enjoy this view.  We saw him but I didn't get a close up of him.  But if you use your binoculars, you can see him!

At the top of the world!!