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- Dec 5, 2017
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We wanted to do a summer trip with our young adult sons, but they didn't want to backpack so we stayed at condos first in Ouray and then in Telluride. Sometimes we hiked together, sometimes they hiked separately from us (I am way too slow for them), and they enjoyed some running and mountain biking as well. When planning hikes, we made great use of @Diane Greer's advice and excellent book and website. Thank you, Diane!!!
The scenery was stunning, and the wildflowers were incredible - so many all over the place, so many different types, and so many different colors. In the Wildflowers thread, I posted a bunch of different Indian paintbrush pictures; I couldn't believe how many different varieties we saw.
We did these hikes and thoroughly enjoyed them:
Ice Lake & Island Lake
Columbine Lake & Pass
Blue Lakes & Pass
Ouray Perimeter Trail
Sneffels Highline Loop
Lake Hope & Pass
Lizard Head Loop
Day 1 - Island Lake was gorgeous.
Here are a few of the many flowers on the way to Island Lake.
These Twinberry Honeysuckles were so interesting.
Ice Lake was also stunning. We walked all the way around it but didn't have time to go up to Fuller Lake because dark clouds were rolling in and we could hear thunder off in the distance.
Day 2 - Columbine Lake & Pass
We started the morning with a double rainbow as we were leaving Ouray.
As expected, the trail up to Columbine Lake started with lots of switchbacks, but then we got out of the woods the scenery was spectacular for hours.
I love the PeakFinder app. This shows the mountains behind us (to the east) as we were ascending toward Columbine Lake.
The lake was beautiful. But interestingly enough, there were no columbine!
We went up to the pass and enjoyed the views down into Lewis Lake and Bridal Veil Basin, as well as the mountains in that direction (to the west).
On the way down, the skies were threatening, but we only had a few drops. Yay!
Day 3 - Blue Lakes
We got an early start, and our kids got an even earlier start, as their goal was to summit Sneffels from the Blue Lakes side. They did!
We were happy and relieved to cross paths with them when we were going up the pass and they were on their way down. Here are a few of my pictures before getting to the pass.
Lower Blue Lake - If I had done the picture horizontally, it would have been almost the exact same as the front cover of @Diane's book!
Delphinium/Larkspur above Lower Blue Lake
Columbine above Middle Blue Lake (there were sooooo many clumps of gorgeous columbine all over the place)
I was fascinated by the bluebells. Their leaves are darker and more blue-green than other plants, so I could always tell where bluebells were, even if I couldn't see their delicate flowers. In this picture, they're lining the stream leading into Middle Blue Lake.
Upper Blue Lake
The switchbacks to the pass go up that green part in the middle of the photo
Reflection of Upper Blue Lake as we started heading up
Can you spot my husband in this photo? The switchbacks heading up the pass are not very noticeable, but they were there alright!
The hillside was covered with flowers. So beautiful!
Looking down at Upper and Middle Blue Lakes
Getting up near the pass
So many interesting things to see - this hummingbird moth was on our way back down
I don't know much about mushrooms, but I do know this bright orange one would NOT be safe to eat!
On our way back down, we decided to spend time exploring Lower Blue Lake. We had passed it fairly quickly on the way up, knowing we needed to get down from the pass early enough to beat the afternoon storms.
Later on, we got hailed on, but only for a minute. We got back to our car right as it started to pour, and the drive was a bit exciting with water flooding the dirt road. We made it back safe and sound and had a fabulous day!
Day 4 - Ouray Perimeter Trail
This was our day to transition between Ouray and Telluride, and we ended up on the perimeter trail for awhile. We enjoyed it more than we expected to! A few scenes:
En route to Telluride, we stopped at Orvis Hot Springs. So relaxing!!!
What a great first half of our trip this was.
The scenery was stunning, and the wildflowers were incredible - so many all over the place, so many different types, and so many different colors. In the Wildflowers thread, I posted a bunch of different Indian paintbrush pictures; I couldn't believe how many different varieties we saw.
We did these hikes and thoroughly enjoyed them:
Ice Lake & Island Lake
Columbine Lake & Pass
Blue Lakes & Pass
Ouray Perimeter Trail
Sneffels Highline Loop
Lake Hope & Pass
Lizard Head Loop
Day 1 - Island Lake was gorgeous.
Here are a few of the many flowers on the way to Island Lake.
These Twinberry Honeysuckles were so interesting.
Ice Lake was also stunning. We walked all the way around it but didn't have time to go up to Fuller Lake because dark clouds were rolling in and we could hear thunder off in the distance.
Day 2 - Columbine Lake & Pass
We started the morning with a double rainbow as we were leaving Ouray.
As expected, the trail up to Columbine Lake started with lots of switchbacks, but then we got out of the woods the scenery was spectacular for hours.
I love the PeakFinder app. This shows the mountains behind us (to the east) as we were ascending toward Columbine Lake.
The lake was beautiful. But interestingly enough, there were no columbine!
We went up to the pass and enjoyed the views down into Lewis Lake and Bridal Veil Basin, as well as the mountains in that direction (to the west).
On the way down, the skies were threatening, but we only had a few drops. Yay!
Day 3 - Blue Lakes
We got an early start, and our kids got an even earlier start, as their goal was to summit Sneffels from the Blue Lakes side. They did!
We were happy and relieved to cross paths with them when we were going up the pass and they were on their way down. Here are a few of my pictures before getting to the pass.
Lower Blue Lake - If I had done the picture horizontally, it would have been almost the exact same as the front cover of @Diane's book!
Delphinium/Larkspur above Lower Blue Lake
Columbine above Middle Blue Lake (there were sooooo many clumps of gorgeous columbine all over the place)
I was fascinated by the bluebells. Their leaves are darker and more blue-green than other plants, so I could always tell where bluebells were, even if I couldn't see their delicate flowers. In this picture, they're lining the stream leading into Middle Blue Lake.
Upper Blue Lake
The switchbacks to the pass go up that green part in the middle of the photo
Reflection of Upper Blue Lake as we started heading up
Can you spot my husband in this photo? The switchbacks heading up the pass are not very noticeable, but they were there alright!
The hillside was covered with flowers. So beautiful!
Looking down at Upper and Middle Blue Lakes
Getting up near the pass
So many interesting things to see - this hummingbird moth was on our way back down
I don't know much about mushrooms, but I do know this bright orange one would NOT be safe to eat!
On our way back down, we decided to spend time exploring Lower Blue Lake. We had passed it fairly quickly on the way up, knowing we needed to get down from the pass early enough to beat the afternoon storms.
Later on, we got hailed on, but only for a minute. We got back to our car right as it started to pour, and the drive was a bit exciting with water flooding the dirt road. We made it back safe and sound and had a fabulous day!
Day 4 - Ouray Perimeter Trail
This was our day to transition between Ouray and Telluride, and we ended up on the perimeter trail for awhile. We enjoyed it more than we expected to! A few scenes:
En route to Telluride, we stopped at Orvis Hot Springs. So relaxing!!!
What a great first half of our trip this was.
