How They Built Trail Ridge Road
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- čas přidán 16. 10. 2022
- Trail Ridge Road is the highest CONTINUOUSLY paved highway in the United States. It's also the highest road of any kind within the US National Park System. When you're driving Trail Ridge Road, it feels like you're in another world, in an environment you're not supposed to be in. There's an adrenaline rush as you wind your way up through the clouds and on to the top of a literal mountain.
It's an incredible accomplishment for humans to be able to access this type of environment and this video takes you through that process: why Trail Ridge Road was built, how they decided upon the route, how they actually built it, and why that's so important.
Trail Ridge Road is truly a marvel of engineering and one of the most significant roads in our National Parks. I hope you enjoy this love letter to it.
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Sources and Resources:
NPS Trail Ridge Road Links:
www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisi...
www.nps.gov/romo/learn/histor...
National Register of Historic Places Nomination:
npshistory.com/publications/ro...
Estes Park Trail Editorial
eparkhives.com/pdf/1912-1914-...
Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) History of Trail Ridge Road:
tile.loc.gov/storage-services...
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Images and Music:
NPS (John Marino)
Rocky Mountain National Park
Library of Congress
Denver Post
Storyblocks
For a guy from Florida (flat all around, no matter where you go!) driving on the TRR was an unforgetable experience. Watching your video gave me a whole diferent point of view. I think it has a very important role providing access to the most common guy to an area he wouldn't dare to visit otherwise. We drove Mt Evans scenic byway the day before and felt overwhelmed by the views, the force of the wind, even experiencing snowing for the first time! I'm 53 y/o and it was Jun-27. So you can imagine. It was over 90F in Miami and 34F in Mt Evans around 3pm. Thanks again for your video.
This is what I love about National Parks! They give us experiences in places we never normally thought possible! I'm glad you enjoyed the video, thanks for watching!
I drove trail ridge road twice during a Memorial Day trip. The first day I narrowly escaped a blizzard at the alpine visitors center. Two days later, I learned why they plant those tall stakes along the sides of the road. The high elevation segments were lined with 10 foot walls of snow created by the plows, and only the tips of those stakes cleared the snows. A fascinating experience, with many unforgettable views. Thanks for teaching us the history and building process of the road!
Yeah, those stakes on the side of the road are wild, especially when you drive it without snow. Just to know how much snow there COULD be is insane. You're welcome for sharing the history - I'm happy to do it. Thanks for watching!
You can find similar stakes at Mesa Verde and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
I have been over the Trail Ridge Road twice, once as a passenger in the late 60s and once driving in 2002. I also drove the Fall River Road. Both are experiences you will never forget.
Certainly not. I didn't get to do Fall River Road when I was there, but I think there's enough to keep me coming back to RMNP lol!
Today’s Old Fall River Road is 6.7% grade and about 3200’ of elevation gain. Definitely no more 3 point turns. Very easily drivable by most reasonable passenger cars. Trail Ridge is about 4%. Both are rather modest and uncomplicated to drive by Colorado alpine road standards.
Yes, today's Fall River Road is much more accessible, albeit still more difficult of a drive than Trail Ridge. Not so in the past though!
Why don’t you stop talking and show the road? Or show the places your talking about while you talk? I love trail ridge and have driven it many times. I was excited to see the video! But all your talking instead of showing is boring.
Sorry you talking so much with out the scenery it’s too boring.
My first national park road in 1974, most memorable and inspired me to be a Park Ranger. Good story.
Thank you! And thanks for your service as a ranger!
I agree, what good is having national parks with awsome views , if no one can access them or see the landscape in the interior of the parks!
my dad used to clean the carpet at the alpine visitor center, I love that road.
It's stunning!
Well done sir.
It was a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park that changed my life. As a young boy I had traveled to the Eastern parks and loved them, but nothing prepared me for the majesty of RMNP. It was then and there that the dream of one day living "out west" began. Career and family have kept me in the Midwest, but as retirement grows closer we have begun to dream again. My wife is all in, so perhaps one day...
I believe everyone should experience Trail Ridge Road at least once in their life.
So glad RMNP could provide that experience for you! I hope you can fulfill your dream and visit many more parks along the way. Cheers and thanks for watching!
My wife and I had the pleasure of traveling over trailridge rd in October of 2020 for our 1st Anniversary. Granted this was in the middle of all of these wildfires. We started our trek up the west side of the road. The fires were knocking on the doors of Grand Lake as we drove by. The sky turned a scary blood red color with the sun trying to push light through the thick smoke. Moments after we entered the park the sky cleared and blue skies emerged. 5:54 pm we entered the Onahu Creek Meadow to find elk bugling. As we made our way up trail ridge we saw vast changes in scenery and wildlife. Just before arriving to the Alpine visitors center we spotted a Coyote looking for a bedtime snack. The natural darkness faded in as we made our way down the east side of the road. As we got closer to Estes Park we started to see the night sky burn with red glow coming from the growing Cameron's Peak wildfire. It was one in a lifetime chance to see how mother nature fights to remain. Thank you @national park diaries for taking me on a trip down memory Ln!
Glad I could help Cameron (great name btw)! It really is an incredibly scenic drive and I'm sure experiencing it with the wildfires was altogether awe-inspiring and frightening. Glad you had a good time!
I live in Grand Lake. One hour after you drove thru, the Gates Of Hell were officially opened on us. Glad you had the chance to get one last glimpse of the green to be had.
We visited in 1992, hard to believe that was 30 years ago. An amazing experience. We did a short hike up there as well. I’ve also been on Going To The Sun road but that tops out at 6600 feet.
Very cool, thanks for sharing!
So our most unusual experience on TRR was when we went the first weekend of June in 1996, I think. It was the day that TRR opened for the season, and they just had the snow cleared.
As we were driving, the snow pack on the high side was about 40 ft high, and it was about 10 ft high on the low side. Like driving through a snow tunnel.
The area at the top was just bright white snow covered. It was a sunny day, and it was almost too bright.
Oh wow, that's a lot of snow lol! I bet that's a really cool time of year to see that environment though.
@@NationalParkDiaries It was certainly a unique experience. I've been to RMNP dozens of times, and done TRR on most of them, but this was .... different.
I also drove (rode) on TRR on opening weekend, also probably in 1996, maybe '97. It was absolutely amazing seeing how deep the snow was on both sides of the road.
I could listen to stuff like this all day. Thank you for the effort you put into these.
I'm glad you like them Randall, thanks for watching and supporting the channel!
My husband and I drove Trail Ridge Road about 40 years ago. And in 1998 during a tour in Scotland we were treated to a road called "Rest and be thankful" (or the A83, sometimes referred to as Scotland's most notorious road). The highest point on that road is only 803 feet above sea level but the scenery is very similar to Trail Ridge. I had just made the comparison in my mind when a man in our group said, "Anybody else think this looks just like Trail Ridge Road?" Great minds think alike....
Oh wow! I've always wanted to go to Scotland. Maybe I'll have to go and drive this road now lol
We visited RMNP in June 2022 and drove Trail Ridge Rd. It was a bucket list item for me and it didn’t disappoint. My heart lives there now. Sometimes I just look at my pictures and remember. I hope I can go back someday.
It really is unforgettable. Very grateful for our parks giving us the opportunity to visit landscapes like this.
Thanks for your work. I just wish I had found your channel two years ago before visiting other parks (Eastern Time Zone). Love the Rocky Mountains. I appreciate the history lesson and fear that so much history of these "little" happenings might be lost. I'm sure there is a book but . . . I have subscribed and will enjoy learning "what I was looking at" when I visited those parks years back. (Also, thanks to the CZcams algorithm for finally putting your channel in my awareness! 😀)
Lesson learned re: RM weather. August, Denver temps - 85-95 F, stinking hot. Go to mountain elevation to cool off. Wishing we had parkas, gloves, boots instead of the shorts and flip-flops. 😆 Always be prepared for temperature fluctuations. It's the way of Colorado.
I'm glad you're here! Thanks for being part of the community and supporting the channel! I'm glad you're enjoying everything and can't wait to tell you some more park stories!!
We had ride twice trail ridge and it has been a very different experience each; both equally beyond beautiful, just the weather can add such unexpected twists. The views … ahhhhh! Dream like!
Yeah, weather is totally unpredictable up there! You almost have to do it several times so you get the full range of experiences lol!
Oh this is wonderful! My favorite endeavor in each park is to learn about how they all came into being. Not just designation & legislation, but what it took to build, improve, maintain & expand.
Like how so many famines were displaced to build Shenandoah, the way rangers tried to limit damage to cryptobiotic soil disturbed in building Arches, how scenic/historic/significant places were destroyed for other projects (Hetch Hetchy), & the social & economic impact of cities & towns submerged under lakes - like St. Thomas in Lake Mead (not done to create the NPS property as LMNRA wasn't set aside as such, but it's under their purview now, soooo...).
Some parks will have a small notation, or a few paragraphs, in their brochures but most do not. So I look for the exhibits & pullouts along the route inside the parks. I've tried making a list of NPS properties I've visited that I needed to do more research on... but of course I can't find it!
Would love more of these, if you can. Thank you!
I love these types of stories too! I think they're just so interesting in terms of providing context to today's park experiences, so I'll definitely keep telling more of these here on the channel! I'm glad you like them and thanks as always for watching!
So glad I ran across your channel. I love the national parks and I love history so this is pretty much my happy space.
Welcome, we're happy you're here! I've got lots of park history videos in the backlog, and plenty more on the way! Also, other topics like geology, biology, ecology, and more! Anything to do with parks pretty much, and I'll cover it lol. Thanks for joining the community!
That was great! It's quite interesting how much they worked to minimize the damage, particularly back in the 30's, before there was wide spread acknowledgement of the impacts that development can do to fragile ecosystems. I've only been on this road once, and I've always wanted to do it again. I was going to do it this summer, but I had some car issues and decided to play it safe. Maybe next year! Thanks for another great video, Cameron. Mike
I agree, quite forward-thinking! I hope you're able to make it out again, Mike, we had a wonderful time there in Rocky - perfect weather! Thanks for watching!
I grew up in the Colorado Mountains roughly 40 miles as the crow flies to Trail Ridge Road. But as the car drives, it was something like a 2.5 hour or longer drive to the summit of Trail Ridge. Trail Ridge to me marked the beginning of summer when the road was opened for the season and the start of winter when it was closed. Note the absence of spring/autumn! Or at least that's how it felt when it started snowing in late September and generally sticking to the ground in October.
I would venture to say that I-70 has had a far more detrimental effect on the Colorado mountain wilderness due to the sheer numbers of people who use it plus the year round usage of it. Trail Ridge is covered with tons of snow most of the year.
It is a genuinely fantastic drive, though there's some other routes in Colorado that are also quite spectacular, such as Independence Pass, or the lesser known Cottonwood Pass. And for those who are nearer to Yellowstone, the Beartooth Highway from Billings to the northeast entrance of Yellowstone absolutely rivals Trail Ridge for alpine/tundra driving.
There was a literal blizzard like 48 hours after we came down one day lol. A wild experience, but a wonderful one nonetheless! Definitely worth the trip!
@@NationalParkDiaries That sounds like an awesome, totally Colorado visit. Keep up the good work on your channel!
@@johnchedsey1306 Thanks John, will do!
I moved to Denver last year and this summer I did this road twice in one week. Once in my car and once, in the other direction, on my motorcycle. It’s an amazing place and a must-see if you haven’t.
Nice! Did you prefer your car or motorcycle?
Just drove trail ridge road today and thought the exact same thing, keep on rocking brother.
Thanks for watching and enjoy your trip!
I'm in my mid-60s now but when I was young the first time I visited Estes Park was maybe a few years or so before the flood it's a beautiful place and I've been on this road you're talking about thank you for sharing this with us it brings back amazing memories
Glad you liked it, thanks for watching Katherine!
I kind of wanna ride my motorcycle over this…. Hmm perhaps next year
We saw a bunch of motorcyclists on our trip! Some of them didn't look like they were having a great time in the snow and rain 😂
@@NationalParkDiaries I mean I’d probably do it mid august at the height of summer
@@JoshDoingLinux I've seen it snow on the top of Trail Ridge Rd in August before (in fact I've seen it snow up there in every month it's open). It's also VERY slow going if its crowded. It's not like say, Tail of the Dragon or something. The views are fantastic, I just don't want you to be disappointed in thinking it's a great ride for "riding". It has a slow speed limit as well (25 I believe).
Sounds horrific lol
@@NationalParkDiaries I Rode through yellowstone near opening weekend this year and got some snow. Its really not to bad if you have warm gear and know to stop if it gets to grim.
Thanks for posting this. You put this on my future map of places to visit.
Glad to hear, I don't think you'll regret it! Thanks for watching!
Don't forget that Trail Ridge Road is closed (usually) sometime in October to sometime in May. The TRR is too hard to maintain in the winter.
Your videos are much appreciated!
Thank you for watching them!
Love your channel, the quality is excellent. Yepper having visited most all of the Parks over the years Trail Ridge was the very first and to my own dismay have traveled it only twice. Been on, Going To The Sun. like five times when RMNP and Trail Ridge Rd. is far and away my favorite.
Thanks Ken, glad you're enjoying everything!
Thanks for the awesome content!!
Thank you for watching it!
I've lived in Lakewood (Denver metro) since 2002 and it's a long day trip there and back, and the traffic can be off putting but it really is a beautiful place. I recommend driving to the west side and walk in kawaneechee valley. Then go east.
Your mic sounds a lot better! Less mouth noises :) keep it up with the visuals. Great balance between self and key visual assets!
Thanks, I appreciate that! I'm constantly learning new things when it comes to video production. Onward and upward from here!
Wow amazing. I moved to CO couple years ago, and haven’t experienced this road yet.
But now I must.
You won't regret it! It's a good one!
The beartooth highway over Beartooth Pass in Montana-Wyoming is similar in the effect that you mention at the beginning of the video.
I've never driven it! But yeah, looks like a similar environment!
It's an amazing drive. Give it a look next time you're in Yellowstone - once they repair the roads out. Or make it it's own trip. I've thought that area should be its own national park.
@@matthewsinger I'll give it a look, thanks for the suggestion!
I very much appreciate that you include the ecological impacts of human projects in your discussions. Great work once again, Cameron!.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
This awesome, as a Colo native I love RMNP, and we drove by my Nissan leaf last summer 2021, it was so amazing feeling how cold it was at the Alpine visitor center, wishing it was open! Very greatful for time spent in this park👍🏻💜👋🏻📸
It was freezing at Alpine when we were there, literally!
I live in this region, and I loved this video
I'm glad! Thanks for watching!
Had to change to a spare tire near the very top of Trail Ridge Road. We got to a pulloff where we were feet from a relatively steep dropoff and changed there because we were at least on a flat and safe spot relative to the heavy traffic. Just glad we didn't accidentally roll our flat tire off the edge when we got it off the car. That would have been a lulu to get back. It really wasn't that dangerous, but it was a bit nerve-wracking at first. Just glad we had an air compressor in our car to help the car get to a more safe place to change it then where we were when we first noticed that it was quickly losing air. Driving down Trail Ridge with a spare tire was surprisingly uneventful. The road itself is in such good condition, that I had no worries at all.
That's good to hear, but yes sounds very nerve-wracking!
I just found your channel, and I've been binge watching your older content. After watching this video, I'd love to see one on the never ending construction on the northwest section of the loop road in Yellowstone. (Even before the recent flooding. I'm unsure of the current state of any road since that)
I love Rocky, have spent a lot of my life there with friends and family. TRR and Fall River Road are beautiful and it's fun to take newbies for a drive and impress them with my fearless traverse of steep mountain roads. Inspired by a course in Alpine Tundra Ecology undergrad.
Haha, I'm sure they're impressed the first time they see it! I bet they're glad they're not the ones driving lol.
My wife and I drove TRR back in the early 90's and again in the late-90's. So many great trails criss-cross it. My kids enjoyed it on the second trip. I'm sure that the number of vehicles on that road today would render RMNP a very crowded locale indeed, but I really think it is worth traveling (though maybe via shuttle rather than car).
RMNP is definitely a crowded park, but we didn't experience any issues on TRR. One small traffic jam coming down off the mountain one day, but overall traffic moved smoothly!
Whenever we go to RMNP, we drive up Old Fall River Road and come back down Trail Ridge Road. The last time was in July and the OFRR was crowded and so was the visitors center at the top. Yeah, driving a road like it without guard rails can be somewhat nerve wracking as you are depending on the opposing traffic to be on THEIR side of the center line. Overall, RMNP is a great place to visit and to camp in and hike its trails.
Didn't get the chance to do OFRR this time, but I'll certainly be back! Couldn't agree more about Rocky though. This was my second visit and it was just as breathtaking as I remember. I went in fall this time too, so the colors were gorgeous!
Well done !
Thank you!!
Great video! Maybe make one about the new Camp Hale, why it needed creation, what it covers, etc?
Thank you! And yes, I saw the new designation for Camp Hale. I do think that's a really interesting story and would love to cover at some point!
Thank god I found your channel again I loved it but I forgot the name so I couldn't find it for thr last year
Welcome back!
The hidden valley area used to be a ski resort up until the 90s - they would actually plow trail ridge road, tunnel the skiers over the road and people would drive under makeshift tunnels in order to keep it open during the conflicting seasons. Also before the lifts they would use the bus as the Ski lift to get near the Ute Trailhead and drop in down to the valley. I couldn't imagine trying to plow that road all winter.. Still ski here and its an amazing place and really cool to cross/ski over the road in the winter.
I skied Hidden Valley several times in the 70's. I only remember ski lifts that would take you above tree line. The ski lifts weren't fancy either.
@@toddb930 Yeah old rope tows! they've all been removed and cleaned up now - just the old runs remain.
Wow, I knew about the ski area, but had no idea they had tunnels like that! That's wild!
It's now a really fun backcountry ski area. One of the safer ones too as there's not a lot of steep grades capable of avalanching. Avalanches are still possible there though.
We have driven TRR several times. We camped in Moraine Park and enjoyed driving the road several times while there. Thanks for enhancing our memories of what we did. BTW, we also drove Fall River Road, it was there so you gotta do it. We also were in Banff National Park in August this year on a tour in a motor coach with 25 other folks and the coach drove us up a road where the switchbacks were so tight he nosed in on one and backed up to the second one as the only way he could navigate the close switchbacks. Coming down was also difficult, he backed down in our lane and forced on-coming traffic to back up. Amazing boldness and skill of the driver.
I'm happy to help, thanks for watching!
Great so far, but at 11:32 the machine is called a steam shovel. True, high pressure steam is a gas. These old excavators weren't very high pressure except to operate. Sheesh those guys had to be tough and in those conditions!
i'm sure the rest will be great. i just couldn't let the dear old steam shovel of my youth disappear and become a gas shovel. i love Your content !:-)
In the research I did, it seems like they were just on the cusp of switching to gas shovels during the building of TRR. I read several sources calling them gas shovels, including some of the historic photographs in the video! I appreciate the support and thanks for watching!
Yes I have and have toured on a few bikes as well many times
Very cool! Motorcycles or bicycles?
The general feel of this road reminds me of the Beartooth Highway, even though the
Beartooth is lower.
Never driven it, but from pictures I'd agree!
@@NationalParkDiaries Biggest difference is parts of the Beartooth DO have guardrails and thank-goodness! In many places. The base of the guardrail supports are downslope from the road grade. But from West Summit in WY to a little way over the MT state line, the scenery is very, very similar.
@@SusanS588 Not gonna lie, palms got a little sweaty in places on TRR lol!
Fun Fact: There is one rest stop on that road at elevation 12,090-ft. You know that some high level crap happens there.
I didn't get a chance to drive the whole road so there might be a higher one and it is not the Alpine visitor center at only 11,796-ft.
I drove this on my honeymoon in 2016. One of the best places I've ever been.
Very nice!!
11:32 - yeah.... soon after my family first moved to Colorado when I was around 6 we went up to RMNP and drove Trail Ridge Road. However coming back down the car engine failed after having trouble the whole way; thing is it wasn't because of the inclines or turns, it was because a poor field mouse had tried to build their home in the car engine while the car sat unused while we were first acclimating to Colorado's altitude.
I've only been up to RMNP twice really, but I've spent probably more than a year of my life in total in the Rocky Mountains around it on the various local trails that surprisingly a lot of people from Colorado have never heard of. Unfortunately in recent years I've become pretty sensitive to altitude changes and can barely be in Estes Park more than a day without getting severe altitude sickness which makes the mountains pretty difficult to get to for me, and I miss it.
Also you happened to come to Colorado during what was probably the most green and lush September I have ever seen on the Front Range, so there's that too :)
Oh man, I bet that was an unsettling descent down the mountain. Sorry to hear you can't spend as much time in the mountains as you'd like. But I'm glad you were able to earlier in life. I find so much peace and happiness on trips like that and was glad I got to make it out again this year. Thanks for watching!
Mr. Colt at one time lived outside the town of Lyons, Co.. I believe after he had finished the construction of his part of Trail Ridge Road.
Did not know that, thanks for sharing!
PSA: in fall, RMNP closes Fall River and Trail Ridge to car traffic, open to bikes and peds - much more fun w/o cars!
Here in Northern California we have plenty of old stagecoach roads and Forest roads and other roads that go over and through mountains and valleys and wilderness that are continuous and I am not aware of what mountains are higher but Trinity county Shasta county Humboldt county del Norte siskiyou county/and I forgot to mention you're really going to have to get off of the blacktop if you want to experience the true outdoors and there are plenty of roads unpaved that you can travel on that are public that will take you through the mountains
I'm sure there's a ton of history there too - mountain roads are full of it! I didn't come across any higher elevation paved roads than TRR in my research, but that doesn't make other roads any less cool lol
Video suggestion: The potential of Chiricahau National Monument becoming a National Park. There's a bill that's passed in the Senate for the redesignation and a video about the pros and cons would be interesting. -An intern at Chiricahau
I'll look into it, thanks!
I haven't been to this road but i have been to going to the sun road in glacier national park. Wonder if Cameron is going to do a video on going to the sun road.
It's on my list!
Done Mt. Evans, not Trail ridge... Yet
It won't disappoint!
Wonderful story about trail ridge road, it’s obvious you did a lot of research on this topic. I haven’t driven the trail ridge road a couple of times. I also drove the fall River Road, which I think was a lot more fun. I’ve also driven the other road you talked about. Of all the roads
It's a wonderful piece of engineering and I really appreciate the access it gives people to a really special environment. There's not too many places in the US where you can so easily access the alpine tundra and learn about that ecosystem. Plus, the views are gorgeous!
@@NationalParkDiaries I've always appreciated the perspective you present of access v preservation and how they exist in tension with one another. It's nice to have vast prestine public lands, but without infrastructure ( and the reasons to build it) it remains mostly inaccessible to the average person. Its Pretty hard to get people to care about preserving land they they will never see
@@coloradohikertrash9958 I'm glad! I see that as foundational to my conservation philosophy. By no means do I think we should go building roads all over our public lands and wilderness areas lol, but you're absolutely right that no one will care to protect special places if they aren't able to access them. It's a balance for sure and a difficult one to achieve, but absolutely worth fighting for.
@@NationalParkDiaries So, true, have you been to Glacier Park?
@@WyomingTraveler I went to Glacier back in 2018, but it was really early in the season and not a lot was open yet. The wife and I have been talking about going back so we could see more
12:26 originally compacted dirt, only fully paved in 1949
What day were you at Rocky Mountain National Park? I was there Monday October 10th!
We were there September 28th thru October 1st! It was a great time of year to visit!
@@NationalParkDiaries definitely an amazing time of the year!
Oh My God road in Idaho Springs, CO!
That looks intense!
Not related to this video but I'd love to see you talk about Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and Devil's Hole. Feels like the perfect story for you to tell
Are you referring to the Devil's Hole pupfish??? I'd love to tell that story someday!
@@NationalParkDiaries The devil's hole pupfish is definitely the highlight of the story, but there's so many other endemic species on the refuge it's amazing. So many unique flowers and just an amazing oasis in the Mojave
You think Trail ridge was hard? Try driving it in a white-out. I did at 17. Had to make the girl friend walk Infront of the car because I couldn't see road and she couldn't drive a manual. I knew someone who worked on constructing the east side of the road. I also have a high school friend who was head of the team that rebuilt the rock walls long the road. After 80 years these walls were starting to fall apart and hence the road was also. I'm a native to and still local to Estes Park.
One of the major issues with the original version of Old Fall river rd was that vehicles of the time did not have fuel pumps. The fuel was gravity feed from the tank to the engine. Old Fall Rive was so step that the engines would stall out due to lack of fuel. This meant drivers had to back up the steepest parts of the road to keep the engine running. Think about backing a 15% road where you can't see out the back, with steep drop-offs on one side. The Estes Museum has pictures of this.
I can't even imagine lol! It was quite the experience in normal conditions!
I like your random questions. Keep on asking!
Haha, I certainly will! Mostly because my brain will never NOT ask these questions lol. You all are the beneficiaries of my strange curiosities 😂
I tried that once. I had to retrace my path. That was because there was about 6 feet of snow in the way!
Haha, oh no!
Do the million dollar highway please!
12:47 Thought exercise: would the National Park Service build Trail Ridge Road today? (Even soundscape footprint can be pretty wide.☹️😡)
Personally, I don't think so. Park management and our approach to nature has changed so much since then. I think we can appreciate what we have at Rocky today, while acknowledging we probably wouldn't do that in a modern context.
Have you reported on the effect building this road had on the building the ALCAN HIGHWAY during WWII?
Only 50mph? That's a mildly breezy day in the alpine lol.
lol, it didn't make the hike any easier!
I had a real adrenaline rush driving it as I hit 60 or 70 on the hairpins on the western side. I was simply following 2 other cars trying to keep up, I think the speed limit is 25. Passed by a cop at the bottom, still not sure how none of us got in trouble.
That sounds...terrifying
@@NationalParkDiaries it absolutely was, but I was late to a night sky presentation at the campsite from taking my time going up Fall River road. I’m a fan of heights but even I was sketched out by the switchbacks on the side of a cliff.
@@Gamepro2112 I bet! I felt it a little myself!
went in oct 2020, was also my first time in the Rockies or any sort of alpine environment. was super windy that day, and even though I was going the speed limit, some car passed me on a double yellow on a tight curve near the top, so that was definitely nerve wracking and also the dumbest display of driving I've ever witnessed. absolutely stunning though
Yeah, the wind is no joke up there! I wouldn't advise passing either lol. But yes, stunningly beautiful!
That was then, this is now. What are we doing to create for the future?
You didn't mention animals -- what animals live up there, and how did the road affect them?
There are quite a few, but some of the more famous one's you'll see are bighorn sheep, pika, yellow-bellied marmots, elk, etc. They also face tough conditions, just like the vegetation here, and disturbances like roads also affect their ability to survive. They just aren't as susceptible to trampling, soil compaction, etc, like the vegetation is. Vegetation is really the most fragile part of that ecosystem.
How 'does' one drive that road without driving off the side?
Can your friend drive so that you get to watch?
Very carefully lol 😂
The highest roadways are Trailridge, independence pass(12,092), . Hawaii is an observatory access road not a highway, Mount Evans is access to University of Denver observatory, and lookout to Southpark, and toward the Sangre de Cristos , FairPlay.
Wish these folks would learn their geography, and not use modern terms like common era , rather than AD
Trail Ridge and Old Fall River roads weren't that scary. The road to Mt. Evans on the other hand...
Never done Mt. Evans, although I have done Pikes Peak. Trail Ridge Road had its moments for me!
This person was a historical situation, too bad he is so young, drove independence pass over railroad ties in 1955, across corduroy road
Ello
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That park is intoxicating because the altitude is depriving your brain of the oxygen it needs to think you look around and you go wow this place is so beutiful it makes me feel special that's because your brain is dying
Haha, I didn't have that much trouble with the altitude on our trip actually! The beauty made me feel some type of way though lol
It's best to be a passenger because the driver has to concentrate on the road, not the alpine beauty.
I would agree with that! When I went in high school, I was a passenger and it was definitely easier than driving lol
Im not saying you need a new wife if she gets bored talking about obscure things about National parks........... Im just sayin theres nothin boring about any of this....
Haha, I (and my wife too lol) agree! Just poking a bit of fun 😂
Based anti-cars take!
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God created nature for us to use, not worship as an idol.
Scary? No. Scary is Utah 12 from Grover to Escalante.
I have a hard time watching a video that continues to show a narrator that is not a part of the subject. Cya.
This dude is about the worst presenter in the network.
Whoever wrote his dialogue NEEDS TO BE FIRED.
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Woke person ,if you respect the ground then everything is fine, but the so called ecosystem folks have no clue