Hoosier Pass

When in Breckenridge last weekend I hiked from the top of Hoosier Pass. This mountain road tops out at 11,542 ft (3,518 m) above sea level and is open year-round; in fact it's the road I take when I go skiing, just driving a regular car.

Since it's a mountain pass, that means that it goes over a low point (in this case over the Continental Divide) and is surrounded by higher mountains. In fact, you can see four 14,000-foot (4,267 m) mountains from here, a couple of which I've climbed many years ago.

In North America, the Continental Divide separates the Atlantic and Pacific watersheds; any rain or snow that falls to the east of this pass eventually makes its way to the Atlantic ocean, and any that falls to the west eventually ends up in the Pacific. I hiked my way up a little above treeline, to around 12,000 feet (3,657 m) above sea level, and enjoyed the views very much.

With snow on the way (even at my house), high-elevation hiking season is probably over for this year.

Our World Tuesday