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TriP Reports

Fairview Peak at long last

1/28/2017

3 Comments

 
Trip Date:  Jan 28 2017

Fairview peak is one of the most visible and distinguishable mountains from Boulder.  I've been seeing this mysterious, dusty red peak for years but didn't know what it was called.  Despite it's visibility, it was very hard to figure out which what mountain I was actually looking at.  It didn't seem that anyone on the internet knew about this mountain.
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Almost every morning on the drive to work I'd see it from the stop light at Baseline at Foothills and my curiosity grew into an obsession.  I couldn't help but be reminded of Richard Dreyfus's character in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".  I don't think I ever had dreams about this mountain but I came pretty close.  If I ate more mashed potatoes I'm sure I would have started molding it's shape at the dinner table.  Maybe I should try this at the next dinner and Susan and Duane's house?   
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At least part of the reason for Fairview Peaks distinctive appearance was a wildfire in 2003 (yellow region in map below).  The green area is the public Rosevelt National Forest lands.  In hindsight, I'm noticing now that on the way back that I veered off public lands a bit.  

You can explore a map of the area here:  ​http://caltopo.com/m/11PC
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About a third of the way in I found this ominous sign complete with bullets.  I probably should have thought a little more about the 400 empty shotgun shells I walked over in the first canyon...
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Blurry picture of the summit of Fairview Peak
The views from the summit were spectacular.  The desert-like appearance of the top of Fairview Pk and the views of alpine mountains to the west reminded me of Arches National Park.  
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View to the south. I think these might be Mt. Evans/Grays/Torreys etc...
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The views shown in the last two pictures reminded me of one of my favorite paintings:  "Sky Above Clouds" by Georgia O'Keefe.  I recommend seeing this painting in the full size version at the Art Institute of Chicago (96x288in!).  
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3 Comments
jeff grove
2/26/2020 11:33:08 pm

Yup, hard to identify. Obsession. I just managed to get it myself by comparing three different map sources.

Reply
Sierra
4/11/2021 07:27:38 pm

Thanks for the map of the public lands, I went to try to find a way to hike this and I ended up in the cal-wood education center unsure of where I would be able to hike without complications... lol! I will be trying this route tomorrow morning!!! Something about it mystifies me.. seeing it from my window in boulder for so long it gradually caught my eye.

Reply
Travis Briles link
4/11/2021 11:00:10 pm

I realized only in the last few years that the header photo on the main page is a direct shot of Fairview Peak.

Reply



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  • Home
  • Climate Change and Colorado Wildfires
  • Trip Reports
  • Skills/Gear
    • Intro, External Sources and Misc.
    • Food and Water
    • Shelters
    • Backpacks
    • Sleeping
    • Clothing
    • Winter Camping
    • A Shoe Odyssey
    • Foot Care
    • Maps, Navigation and Weather
    • Off-Trail Route Planning
    • The Perfect Headlight/Flashlights?
    • Misc Small Stuff
    • Photography/Camera
    • Gear Repair and MYOG
  • Places
    • Flatirons
    • Rocky Mountain National Park
    • Indian Peaks Wilderness
    • Lost Creek Wilderness
    • Gore Range
    • Glacier National Park
    • Wind River Range
    • Utah
  • Plants and Wildlife
  • Contact
  • To Do
  • About