Desiring a leisurely change of pace after our recent tiring backpacking treks, Claudia and I decided to go car camping this weekend up on Stony Pass in the San Juan Mountains east of Silverton, Colorado.
Autumn on Stony Pass
September 2012 | San Juan Mountains, Colorado
Purple and Gold
Golden autumn tundra contrasts with the purple mountains near Silverton.
Stony Pass Sunrise
A spectacular sunrise over Stony Pass, east of Silverton - September.
Stony Pass Peak Sunrise
Sunrise atop Stony Pass Peak, looking over the high rolling tundra of the northern Weminuche Wilderness towards the Grenadier Range - September.
Stony Contours #2
Golden autumn colors on the rolling tundra near Stony Pass - September.
The contours and textures of the tundra around here make for fantastic abstract photo opportunities with a telephoto lens, especially with the golden autumn colors!
Stony Contours #3
Golden autumn colors on the rolling tundra near Stony Pass - September.
Stony Contours #4
Golden autumn colors on the rolling tundra near Stony Pass - September.
Hiking along the tundra above Highland Mary Lakes.
We spent the second day doing a fairly long day hike from Stony Pass to a high point above Highland Mary Lakes. Big dark clouds in the afternoon had us scurrying back to the safety of our truck!
Cunningham Gulch Sunset
Rich sunset light illuminates the golden autumn tundra of Cunningham Gulch, with the Grenadier Range in the background.
Tacoma on tundra
Though we love backpacking and getting out into the wilderness, the truck camping sure is deluxe from time to time!
As a side note, we really enjoyed our new truck mattress from The Foam Factory – a 4″ thick “Lux High Quality Foam” mattress. The standard 39 x 75″ size fits perfectly in the Tacoma truck bed between the wheel wells, and ships with a zipped cover for under $100 bucks! A great deal, I think, considering the options, and so much more comfortable than our regular camping mattresses!
Anyhow, autumn is here, the aspens are looking good and changing color quickly, and I look forward to lots more hiking and photography in the coming weeks!
Related Posts
