A bouquet of a hundred flowers as small as a child's hand.
Click on photo to look up and see its broad setting.

Weather Info and What is Beyond the Top:
Gravel Mountain is a huge stationary wave that creates a consistent
stationary wave of weather. I have laid back on its top and felt the
wind rushing over me. As the invisible air crested over Gravel Mountain,
it literally tumbled like an ocean wave and formed a stationary cloud over
the mountain. Moisture rushed into the cloud zone, became visible and then
rushed out turning clear again. The cloud held still. When you hike to Gravel
Mountain you will be concerned about storms. Here is the key: if it is NOT
storming on the Continental Divide, far to the east, then most any rain or snow
you encounter will be brief! The usual pattern is for storm clouds to build over
Gravel Mountain around high noon. The clouds then magically dissipate as they
move eastward over the valley and Lake Granby. They reform along the Continental
Divide. The weather over Gravel Mountain is often the inverse of the weather in
the Indian Peaks and the National Park. Gravel Mountain often clears up in the late
afternoon, whereas the opposite occurs along the Continental Divide.

What's on top? There are two recommended routes. Avoid the cornices.
Either follow the same ridge that brought you to Gravel Mountain, or ascend
the enchanted forest between Big and Little Gravel Mountain. From the top to the
west you'll see the very gently sloped back side of Gravel Mountain and then
an Ocean of high land stretching to the west. On a clear day, you can see forever.
The top of Gravel Mountain is a wave coming to shore.
Play along its shoreline and savor this Earth.

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