Blue Lake
Today I continued my exploration of Indian Peaks Wilderness with a hike to Blue Lake, a gorgeous alpine lake situated in the cirque beneath Pawnee Peak, Mount Audubon, Paiute Peak, and Mount Toll. I took this photo about a mile before reaching the lake. It shows some of the abundant wildflowers that line the trail for most of its length.
Farther along the trail is this rock formation, which borders the hanging valley just below Blue Lake. The air is noticeably thinner by this point, as it is now above 11,000 feet.
And finally … Blue Lake! That’s Mount Toll in the distance. Another smaller tarn, Little Blue Lake, rests on the terrace above Blue Lake but that’s a trek for another day.
Assortment
- Canyonlands
- Island in the Sky—a vast slab of rust-tinted sandstone 1,000 feet higher than the surrounding landscape—is not the ideal place to find yourself during a lightning storm.
- January Then
- Just ten short days ago I thought autumn would last until March and that (further deluding myself) a mild-tempered March would give way to a sudden burst of vernal warmth.
