Days of Lakes and Thunder

View of Turquoise Lake at Molly Brown Campground

Afternoon thunderstorm approaching Turquoise Lake

David and I have always been “mountain people.”  Beaches are fun for a few days, lakes are nice but mountains and rivers hold our hearts.  However, if a pristine mountain lake is added to those mountains and rivers, well, who are we to complain?  And that’s exactly what we’ve had this last week. 

David and friends Dustin and Melissa enjoying the lake with Maya and Rocky

First, we stayed at Turquoise Lake near Leadville for 4 nights.  We arrived on Sunday and felt extremely lucky to get a camping spot at a forest campground on Turquoise Lake called Molly Brown.  This is high tourist season in Colorado and we have found that our usual approach of not planning very far in advance may not serve well, especially on weekends.  Floaters, fishers, hikers, climbers, cyclists and campers are out in force and we are thinking reservations may be in order on weekends.

Maya takes her own lake stroll

Afternoon thunderstorms clear in time for some nice sunsets

Our friends from Texas, Dustin and Melissa and their dog Rocky, met us and they too snagged a place on Turquoise Lake just a few campsites from ours.  We had a grand time enjoying the lake, cooking out and eating great food.  Every day we took a hike and each hike rewarded us with another lake or two to see as well.  Every afternoon there were thunderstorms, some of them with heavy rain.  Usually, the skies were clearing in time for dinner and evenings on the lake were fantastic.  One night Dustin and Melissa took us out to eat at a very nice Leadville restaurant called, Treeline, to celebrate my birthday.  What a great birthday week!

Rocky and Melissa enjoying Timberline Lake on one of our hikes

We couldn't take Maya on our longer hikes, but Rocky kept us company.

Beautiful Windsor Lake -- a steep hike but well worth it!

Tall chiming bells on the Colorado Midland Trail -- a mountain railroad trail

On Thursday, we moved on to Twin Lakes near Colorado Hwy 82 (also known as the Independence Pass road, which is the highest paved pass in the continental United States).  While we thought Turquoise Lake was more picturesque, Twin Lakes were clear and beautiful, just a bit more out in the open.  We didn’t get a campsite on the lakes and didn’t really care as those few spots were very sunny with no trees at all nearby.  The lake view campsites up in the forest would have been nice, but they were all full for the weekend and we would have only been able to stay one night and then would have had to move.  Instead we drove a little past the lake and found a beautiful spot on the Roaring Forks River which feeds into Twin Lakes.  This worked out well as there was plenty of shade for Maya so we could take hikes in the mornings.

A still morning on Twin Lakes

Twin Lakes were so still and gorgeous for our walk with Maya

We all had such a great time

One morning we felt very ambitious and decided to give the nearby Black Cloud Trail a go.  If we had followed the trail all the way, we would have been on top of the highest mountain in Colorado, Mt. Elbert at 14,433 ft.  We never really intended to summit because of the time it would take and the afternoon thunderstorms.  It was more of a ‘scouting trip’ just to see if we might want to climb a “14er.”  As anticipated, the morning was clear and sunny but by 11:00 the clouds were already building.  We were surprised and pleased with ourselves that we climbed nearly 2,000 feet in under 2 hours.  Only a little less than 3,000 more to go!   I suspect that every 1,000 feet more would get slower and slower and harder and harder.  The thinner air and exertion would have taken its toll.  We made it back for lunch with Maya and were not too worse for the wear.  Maybe another time, we will conquer a “14er.”

A view of Mt. Elbert reflected in Twin Lakes

We didn't get a picture on the trail as the summit

wasn't visible for most of the climb.

The next day we took Maya and hiked for a couple of miles around Twin Lakes on the Colorado Trail which was also a shared trail at this point with the Continental Divide Trail.  This lovely rolling walk was a nice counterpoint to the previous day’s climb and it was so good to have Maya with us.  We miss her on the trails but we take her on easy ones whenever we can.

We are back in Leadville for a quick recharging and grocery shopping.  The Internet is so slow this morning, so I am not posting all the photos I wanted to show.  I'll try another time.  We are going through Independence Pass to a campground near Aspen in a few minutes.  Wish us luck.  Nothing over 35 feet can go through the pass and we will have to drive Silver and the CRV separately to make it.  I have every confidence that Silver can do it, but I’m glad David will be driving her and Maya and I will be following.

Maya makes friends everywhere

David’s Stats:

Days Hiked  5

  
Total Miles Hiked     21.77
Ave. Miles per Day      4.35
Total Elevation Gain     4,616
Ave. Elevation Gain per day  923