A westbound auto train struggles up-grade shortly after
sunrise on a below-zero winter day to the "crest" of the
Continental Divide, elev. 7,107 ft. When fur trader
William Henry Ashley explored this area in
1825 he stated as he looked out from the Divide:
"This dividing ridge is almost entirely destitute of
vegetation except wild sage with which the earth is
so bountifully spread that it proved a considerable
impediment to our progress." Except for a railroad,
this view suggests the area hasn't changed.
