For our first one-night backpack trip since moving to Colorado we consulted our friends Henry and Dana. Dana had a great idea to do an alpine lake trip called Beartracks lakes in the Mount Evans Wilderness.
We started early in the morning and drove through awesome meadows. The start of the trail was tree-studded and full of wildflowers.
Quick selfie to start things off
We got to the lake by early afternoon and found a campsite quickly. There were lots of spots despite this being a very busy weekend for backpacking. It seems this is a popular trail.
Just before hitting the lake.
One of Beartrack Lakes
View from the other side of the lake
We set up tents and packs essentials into our smaller day packs to bushwhack around the lake. Dana and Dan really wanted to see if they could get up to the higher lakes, but my knee wasn’t feeling up to the steep slopes so I decided to hang back. While they bushwhacked and boulder-climbed up the slope to the smaller lakes, I walked around the lake and relaxed. These wilderness trails in CO attract lots of folks with their puppies, so I enjoyed watching them get all happy jumping in the lake too.
By mid-afternoon the clouds started to build (despite a crystal clear morning—that’s CO for ya!). I stayed out on some rocks overlooking the lake for quite a while until the wind started picking up. I was just starting to wonder when I should get worried about Dan and Dana coming back before storms hit, when they showed up at the campsite. It was too early for dinner and the clouds looked as if they may drop some rain. So, we headed into our tents for a short afternoon nap. I don’t think it rained at all and the clouds eventually parted enough to set up outside and make dinner.
Awesome tree at our campsite. Though I did worry about it falling on us.
After dinner we filled out water containers does at the lake. The afternoon ‘storm’ threat had significantly diminished, giving way to wispy clouds and a light breeze. The bugs came out—but only it seemed for a few minutes. We sat at the lake and watched the fish and birds take their evening meal (bugs)
The wind died down enough that the lake became more reflective.
Dan enjoying the sunset.
The next morning, we were greeted by clear skies and a beautiful sunrise. We ate breakfast and packed up for the trek out. Although uneventful in terms of storms or crazy critter encounters, this was a very nice trip to get our boots (and my knee) back on the trails of CO. Much much more to come!
How?
Dan
Dana