A September sunset rainbow over the town of Ouray – San Juan Mountains, Colorado.
End of the Rainbow
Tag: Colorado
Alpensoak
There are few things in life finer than soaking in natural hot springs, especially when those hot springs are situated at treeline in an alpine basin surrounded by high peaks and valley vistas! Such is the case at Conundrum Hot Springs, a remote but popular wild hot springs in the Elk Mountains between the towns of Aspen and Crested Butte in Colorado. Continue reading “Alpensoak”
A Visit to Columbine Lake
The lazy melancholy atmosphere of autumn has arrived in the high country… the tundra is golden brown, the air has a crisp edge, and the marmots have either burrowed into their holes or retreated to lower elevations. Yesterday we went out for a quick overnighter at Columbine Lake, in the San Juans of Colorado, to savor some time up high before the winter snows cover the tundra for another nine months.
Sunrise light on Lookout Peak (13,661 ft.) above Columbine Lake – September.
Handies Peak
Looking southwest from the summit of Handies Peak (14,053 ft.) towards Sloan Lake, Jones Mountain, Niagara Peak, and La Plata Mountains in the far distance.
After a wet rainy week stuck inside the house, by Thursday I’d had enough and decided to get out and hike up Handies Peak, a fourteener here in the San Juans which I haven’t hiked before. Despite the cold wind and nasty looking clouds, I continued up the peak, encouraged by the occasional glimpse of blue sky. Sure enough, as I approached the summit the clouds started clearing off a bit, so I sat up there for a few hours bundled up in my down clothes and waited for sunset – which never really did much, but anyways it wasn’t a bad place to hang out for a while!
Fast moving clouds at dusk on the summit of Handies Peak (14,053 ft.). Redcloud and Sunshine Peaks are two more 14ers visible on the left side horizon.
On a side note, earlier this summer in July, Adam Campbell, a runner in the infamous Hardrock 100 endurance race, was nearly struck by lightning high on Handies. He and his pacer were both knocked off their feet, but otherwise uninjured, and he continued on to finish third place!
Wildflower Wonderland
Sultan Mountain at the end of the rainbow.
A large field of Indian Paintbrush wildflowers on a stormy July morning.
Earlier this week Claudia and I backpacked for 5 days in the mountains west of Silverton, Colorado, following an improvised route that took us through numerous high alpine basins filled with endless fields of wildflowers. With a weather forecast calling for lots of rain, we almost decided against this trip – but then I considered that bad weather usually equals good photos, so at the last minute we decided to go for it anyways. Although we did have our fair share of rain, we also witnessed some of the most spectacular scenes of the summer so far!
See lots more photos below! Continue reading “Wildflower Wonderland”
Mystical San Juans
Indian Paintbrush wildflowers backlit by sunset in the San Juans, Colorado – July.
The San Juans were treated to a fantastic sunset last night, followed by an even more spectacular sunrise. I was fortunate to squeeze in a quick trip to the mountains to catch the shows.
Sunrise light illuminates Vestal Peak (13,884 ft.) and Arrow Peak (13,803 ft.) in the Grenadier Range, Weminuche Wilderness, Colorado.
The rugged Grenadier Range rises above the rolling green tundra of the Weminuche Wilderness – July.
Misty clouds above the tundra headwaters of the Rio Grande, Weminuche Wilderness, Colorado.
Misty clouds roll over the high tundra in the Weminuche Wilderness.
The Hills are Alive
A meadow of yellow wildflowers in the Sneffels Range, San Juan Mountains, Colorado – July.
A deer wanders through wildflowers.
Endless field of wildflowers under the Sneffels Range – July. Mount Sneffels is the pyramid-looking peak to the left.
A Special Cimarron Sunset
Evening light shines on Redcliff and Coxcomb Peak in the West Fork of the Cimarrons, San Juan Mountains, Colorado – June.
A brilliant sunset illuminates Redcliff and Coxcomb Peak in the West Fork of the Cimarron.
Summertime in the Sangres
Sunset over the Crestone group, as seen from the south.
With our San Juans still covered in quite a bit of snow up high, earlier this week we drove east for 3 nights of backpacking in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains where the snow is mostly gone and summer backpacking season is well underway.
The first light of dawn illuminates Blanca Peak (14,345 ft.), the fourth highest fourteener in Colorado.
We camped the first night up near treeline below Mt. Lindsey, a fourteener I have not yet climbed. Feeling motivated, I set my alarm for 3:00am in order to hike up to the 13,400 foot summit of the “Iron Nipple” (seriously) for sunrise. This rugged peak offered a great vantage point to watch the sunrise light on Blanca Peak, the monarch of this mountain range.
See lots more photos from the rest of our trip below! Continue reading “Summertime in the Sangres”
Lupine Daydream
A bluebird sky and beautiful meadow full of lupine wildflowers in the Sneffels Range, San Juan Mountains, Colorado – June.
