The Art of Exploration · a diary of day trips, natural places, and miscellaneous adventures

Blue Lake

Sunday, July 23rd, 2017 in Colorado
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.

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Assortment

Woodcut at the Garden
Woodcut at the Garden
The weather today can only be described as wall-to-wall ICK with an occasional outbreak of YUCK and BLECH. The temperature climbed into the forties but it felt more like the twenties.
Balanced Rock, Lumpy Ridge
Balanced Rock, Lumpy Ridge
First, a bit of local wildlife news. One night last week, a bear broke into the Colorado Cherry Company pie shop — a popular eatery in the quiet mountain community of Pinewood Springs.
Seven Twenty Eight and a Half
Seven Twenty Eight and a Half
I look through the pictures I’ve collected of my condo and wonder why I’d want to move from this place. To avoid second-guessing my decision to put my home up for sale, I compose a list of reasons I want to move.