I hiked twice in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. First, I hiked part of the Snow Lakes Trail. The next day, I hiked to Colchuck Lake via the Stuart Lake and Colchuck Lake Trails. Each had their moments. But as you will see, I enjoyed the second hike the most.
Snow Lakes Trail
So, funny story. I arrived at the trailhead thinking I would hike the moderate 4-hour Snow Lake Trail only to discover that I was at the Snow Lakes Trail which is rated hard and takes more than 11 hours to complete. Since the other trail was 90 miles away, I chose to hike a little more than half of the trail in front of me.
In the end, I did not make it to any of the lakes on the trail and there are fewer "money shots" in this post. Because of the abundance of interesting plants and flowers, I took more photos of them than I usually do. And thanks to Marcy, I now have an app that tells me their names.
Trail and Terrain
The trail began off Icicle Road next to Icicle Creek.
 |
| Icicle Creek |
I began to climb up the mountain side almost immediately.
 |
| Trail Heads for Another Switchback |
I quickly rose high enough to garner nice views of the surrounding mountains and terrain.
 |
| Early Morning View to the West |
 |
| Pinnacle |
 |
| Mountains |
 |
| Sheer Rock Face |
I eventually came to a ridge that made its way towards a gap in the mountains. At this point, I reentered forest with lusher green plants bordering the trail.
 |
| Thimbleberry Plants Narrow the Trail |
I eventually got a good view of Snow Creek, although I had caught glimpses or at least heard it for some time.
 |
| A Gentle Section of Snow Creek in the Forest |
 |
| Snow Creek Tumbling Down Rocks |
At this point, I had reached 3 miles and decided to turn around and return.
Plants and Flowers
 |
| Tansy |
 |
| Fireweed |
 |
| Common Yarrow |
 |
| Lewis' Mock Orange |
 |
| Snowbrush Ceanothus |
 |
| Swamp Currant |
 |
| Thimbleberries |
 |
| Aspen Fleabane |
 |
| Barberries |
Colchuck Lake
The hike began through forest on a dry and dusty trail.
 |
| Start of Trail |
After a while, more green plants began to appear and border the trail (all of them coated with a fine layer of dust).
 |
| Plants Line the Trail |
 |
| Baldhip Rose |
The trail paralleled, veered close and then away, and once crossed over Mountaineer Creek as both made their way up the valley or ravine between mountains.
 |
| Mountaineer Creek |
At one point, I came up a large rockslide where I had to mostly skirt but also scramble over some of the large rocks.
 |
| Rockslide |
At a couple of places along the trail, I was provided nice views of the surrounding area.
 |
| Shaggy Mountains |
 |
| Valley below Rugged Peaks |
There weren't a lot of pretty flowers or interesting plants on this hike. However, this one had a shape and name that complemented one another.
 |
| Arrowleaf Senecio |
The closer to the lake I got, the steeper and the rockier the trail became. Towards the top, the trail was more rocks than dirt and I had to use them as steps. I guess I was so tired that I didn't take a photo of what the trail looked like at that point.
 |
| Rocky Trail Climbs Higher |
When I reached Colchuck Lake, all of the effort proved to be well worth it as I was able to enjoy one of the more picturesque settings while sitting on a rock and having a snack.
 |
| Colchuck Lake |
 |
| Mountains Stand Over Colchuck Lake |
 |
| Closer View of Mountain with Patches of Snow |
Comments
Post a Comment