This past weekend my wife and son were on the east coast visiting some friends and family. This equates to a recipe for a guilt free weekend of backpacking and photography. Friday after work I took off for the west side of Indian Peaks Wilderness near Lake Granby with my father in-law (Jim) and my dog (Milo). We camped in the Arapaho Bay Campground just a few miles from the Monarch Lake trailhead so we could get an early start Saturday morning. Our plan was to pack in to Mirror Lake Saturday morning, spend Saturday and part of Sunday exploring, and then head back Sunday night to go to those damn jobs Monday morning. Note: camping in this area of the Indian Peaks Wilderness requires a backcountry permit - call the Sulphur Ranger District in Granby, CO (970-887-4100) for more information. We followed the Cascade Creek and Crater Lake trails to Mirror Lake.
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| The lower portion of the Cascade Creek trail takes you through dense pine forest with lush green ground cover |
There is no shortage of water features on this hike, at least not in late June when the melting snow pack makes the mountain streams roar to life.
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| One of the first large waterfalls we passed by on the trail - the mist in the air gives you a good idea of how fast and heavy this stream is flowing |
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| A close up of Cascade Creek whitewater |
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| I love photographing waterfalls! |
Once we got to Mirror Lake we found a great campsite sitting above the north side of the lake on a rock ledge protected on two sides by pine trees. We dropped our heavy packs, set up camp and ate some lunch before heading out to explore Crater Lake another 0.2 miles up trail. While on the backside of Crater Lake, a storm slipped over the mountains quickly and pelted us relentlessly with pea and marble size hail. The storm let up during our retreat to camp so we explored a little more on the way back. After letting Milo swim on the way out I was hoping he would dry off a little before getting in the tent. It was a good thing we didn't wander too far from camp because the first storm was just the opening act for the main event about to hit us. We crawled in our tents to wait it out. I think Jim got a pretty good nap in, I could hear him snoring over the thunder. I read a good book and tried (and failed) to keep Milo off my nice down sleeping bag while we waited it out.
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| The needle point of Lone Eagle Peak through my tent window as the worst of the storm mounts its assault on us |
Fortunately the storm cleared before sunset so I packed up my camera gear and left Jim and Milo in camp so I could go find a good vantage point for sunset. Even the wind died down for me.
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| Lone Eagle towering over well named Mirror Lake |
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| Close up of Lone Eagle's summit |
To get there:
From I-70, take US-40 through Winter Park. Drive through the town of Granby and follow US-34 toward Grand Lake. Turn right on to Arapaho Bay Road after approximately 6 miles. Follow Arapaho Bay Road around Lake Granby to the Monarch Lake trail head. There is a decent amount of parking here but plan to start early as the lot fills with fishermen and people strolling around Monarch.
Route:
The trail splits twice after leaving Monarch Lake. Stay right on the Cascade Creek trail (left takes you to Buchanan Pass) - this intersection is approximately half way to Mirror Lake. The second intersection is less than a mile from Mirror Lake, go right on the Crater Lake trail. Left on Cascade Creek trail would take you over Pawnee Pass. Campsites around Mirror Lake are numbered.
Precautions:
As we experienced, thunderstorms in the Rockies can move in quickly. Mirror Lake is below tree line and there are some well protected campsites.
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