Mill Creek Basin

Despite the colder weather in the last week, the aspen leaves are just beginning to change. Pockets of color are scattered across the hillsides. The lower aspens along Mill Creek have an internal glow that lights up the trail.

Our group stopped for a snack at the top of the trail before the bridge. Even the ground cover is alive with the fall colors.

I never know what Muneca is going to get up to when she gets out of my backpack. Today she found a new friend slithering in the grass.

Shipler Mountain

The west side of the park is an elusive place. The added drive over Trail Ridge Road isolates the trails, but this makes every hike on the west a special outing. Today we headed up to Specimen Crater and then continued on to Shipler Mountain. No bighorn sheep graced the side of the crater, but the beautiful fall colors on the tundra made up for it.

Shipler Mountain stands out south west of Specimen Mountain, giving an amazing view back towards the crater.

Our group at the top of Shipler, in a rare moment of calm winds.

And even here, flowers are attemping their last flourish. This star flowered pyrola was nestled down on the forest floor, protected from the winds.

Mills Lake

Fall is slowly arriving. The air has been crisp, forcing me to pull out all the winter hiking gear. The snow on the mountains is certainly a sign that the season is changing. But the aspens are holding on to their green as long as they can. Yet just in the space of 24 hours, trees are beginning to glow.

Mills Lake will always remain my favorite. So many visits there with so many people, it is filled with beautiful mountain views, dazzling water, and wonderful memories.

The snow was so late in melting this year, it feels as if we have only just started reaching the high country. But yesterday's snow may have been more than a temporary dusting.

Black, Blue, Green and Little Italy Lakes

It's been years since I have been up to the lakes above Black Lake. We decided to rediscover what was up in the vast upper reaches of Glacier Gorge. 5 miles up and Black Lake sits in a perfect bowl scoured out by the Glaciers, with McHenry's towering over the scene.

Climbing up to the broad shelf above Black Lake brought us to the snow line, and the freezing wind was ensuring that nothing was melting. Columbines are still blooming, but the snow is starting to fall. Green Lake shimmered with the white dusting all around.

Over to Blue Lake, high on a bench, and with enough depth to provide an amazing view of the entire upper gorge. Keyboard of the Winds, Pagoda, and Chiefshead were silhouetted against the sky, while Spearhead stood out against the white background.

Wild Basin Amble

Sometimes it's wonderful to go out for an amble. No destination in mind. It's a chance to open your eyes and see what is around you, what has always been there around you. I thought it was a little late in the season to find a raspberry, but no timetable has applied this year. I did leave a few behind for the bears.

Cow Parsnip is going to seed, and I have never noticed how beautiful it could be. The seeds look like coins, all ready to skim across the fall grasses.

All the moisture we have had this summer has caused all the fruits and berries to become full. Even the ponderosa pines are sporting enormous cones.

Fragrance spills from a crushed juniper berry, bringing back memories of a cool gin and tonic on a hot summer's day.

A few flowers are still blooming, holding their own against the prospect of a frost. Appearing incredibly dainty, harebells manage to defy the calendar.

Old Man's Beard clings to certain tree branches, eventually overcoming its host with the weight of the growth.

Deserted Village

While the aspens are taking their time to become golden, the groundcover has started to change more rapidly. Gold and red leaves and bright red berries are decorating the sides of many trails.

Along the banks of the North Fork of the Big Thompson, we hiked out to Deserted Village. Fall was in the air as the temperature stayed in the 40's.

Muneca enjoyed getting out with the Women's Wednesday hike.

Tourmaline Tarn

Sarah and I went exploring to Tourmaline Tarn today. Only half a mile from Lake Odessa, but rarely visited, it is a beautiful lake set in the cirque below Knobtop and Gabletop. We followed a faint trail up Tourmaline Creek, through a lush forest, small meadows, and little cascades.

Route finding was more difficult as we approached the tarn, but we arrived in time to see the sun turning the tarn a brilliant shade of green before the clouds closed in.

We finally stopped for lunch back at Lake Odessa where the sun came out to warm us up.

Imogene Pass

Sometimes you just have to do something that makes you feel so alive, nothing else matters. I ran the Imogene Pass run this weekend. 17 miles from Ouray to Telluride over a 13,000 foot pass. Beautiful views to take your mind off the strain. Hot soup at the top to get you ready for the descent. Part death march, part pilgrimage, and all adventure.

Lake of Glass and Sky Pond

Once again, it's almost the end of the summer before I have the opportunity to hike to Sky Pond. The snow was so late in melting that it was hard to get there for most of the season. Timberline Falls may have been snow free, but plenty of water is flowing down, including the rocks you have to climb. Considering it had been raining the entire day, it was difficult to get more wet.

A rare cloudy day in Colorado somehow makes all the colors more vibrant. The water in the lakes becomes green. The granite shows its speckles and stripes. And for once, the wind was not howling as we reached the top of the falls.

I have to keep checking the date - It is September, isn't it? Columbine are still blooming in the areas where the snow has just melted.

Keplinger Lake

Another trip down memory lane as we hiked up to Keplinger Lake, nestled under the south face of Pagoda. Twice before I attempted this hike, and only once did I make it to the lake. From Sandbeach Lake we headed up towards Mt Orton, deciding to stay to the north of the ridge, battling rocks and krumholz to finally descend to Hunters Creek where we could hike through meadows still filled with wildflowers. Views of Chiefshead, Pagoda, Longs and Meeker unfolded as we got higher into the valley.

Keplinger Lake lies at the end of the valley, surrounded by rocks and more rocks. The cliffs of Pagoda are so gouged out, they curve back over you at the lake. Sand from all the rocks carpets the bottom of the lake, giving it an incredible blue-green color.

We didn't see another soul after Sandbeach Lake. It made me wonder how many people had visited this remote lake in the years since I was last here?

We came back by hiking up to Orton Ridge directly from the lake below Keplinger Lake. As we ascended the ridge, the mountains kept changing. Shadows from the passing clouds helped define all the massive rock.

From Orton Ridge, I could feel that I was again on top of the world.

Chapin, Chiquita, and Ypsilon

It's been years since I've hiked to Chapin, Chiquita, and Ypsilon in the Mummy Range. But it felt like visiting an old friend. I'm always surprised when elements of a hike can seem so familiar even after so many years. We started out in the first chilly morning of the season, bundled up, trying to ignore the icy cold breeze at our backs, as we climbed past treeline. And then the world of the backside of the Mummies unfolds - gentle tundra rather than harsh , glaciated faces. We quickly hiked up Chiquita, and gratefully hunkered down behind the wind shelter for a quick snack.

Down the saddle and then up to Ypsilon with its dizzying views down to Spectacle Lakes and the Fay Lakes. We were beginning to warm up and could enjoy our lunch on top of Ypsilon.

Happy to be on top, and celebrating the beautiful day, it's funny to look back at this photo and see that there was no sign of a storm building to the west behind us.

Arctic gentians were blooming all over the tundra. From a distance they don't look very impressive, but close up they show such intricate patterns.

We saved Chapin for our last summit of the trip, and what a quick trip up to the top it was. The Never Summers were covered in angry black clouds that were headed our way. Hail stung our cheeks on the way down, but we had made all three summits.