Pawnee and Toll

The theme of revisiting amazing places continued today in the Indian Peaks. Starting up the Long Lake trail our first stop was the overlook to Lake Isabelle. Despite the drought, the lake is full now. Navajo, Apache and Shoshone beckon at the end of the valley, but we are headed up Pawnee Pass to the next drainage.

Once at the continental divide on Pawnee Pass, we made a right turn to head to the top of Pawnee. At the summit, incredibly blue skies, a few wispy clouds, a very slight breeze, and views for miles.

Down the rocks on the back side of Pawnee, across the saddle, and up the bigger rocks to the top of Mt Toll. Nothing is easy at this altitude, but every effort is worth it.

Due to the low snow winter and warm spring, there was virtually no snow to slide down toward Blue Lake. We did find a 30 foot stretch for some slipping and sliding and falling.

Making sure that we were off the rocks before the weather might turn on us, we finally rested for lunch on the banks of Blue Lake. Looking back up at Mt Toll we were proud of what we had accomplished. Four miles of trail to go - piece of cake, despite the sore knees and feet.