Colorado Trail Reports at Thehighroute.com

"Then I was standing on the highest mountain of them all, and round about beheath me was the whole hoop of the world. And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being. And I saw the sacred hoop of my people was one of the many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one mother and one father. And I saw that it was holy…"
Black Elk (Medicine Man of the Sioux)

10 Great Hikes in Colorado

Solitude & Shelf Lakes, approx. 10 miles RT, Rocky Mountain National Park.
Crater Lakes, 5.6 miles RT, James Peak Wilderness, trailhead at East Portal, Moffat Tunnel.
Lake Isabelle, 4.2 miles RT, Brainard Lake Recreation Area.
Falls Creek Falls & Four Mile Falls, 6 miles RT, Pagosa Springs.
The Loch, Timberline Falls, Lake of Glass, Sky Pond, 10 miles RT, Rocky Mountain National Park.
Lake of the Clouds, 14 miles RT, Rocky Mountain National Park.
Chasm Lake, 8.4 miles RT, Rocky Mountain National Park.
Chicago Basin, Weminuche Wilderness
Lake Dorothy, 7 miles RT, Indian Peaks Wilderness.
Rattlesnake Arches, 7 miles, Near Grand Junction.

Whats your top 10 ?

Feature Hike

Blue Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness

Set in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, at roughly 77,000 acres, this wilderness was established in 1978 and is one of the most popular.

Gettin There:From Boulder, drive north on highway 36 / Foothills Pkwy six miles to Left Hand Canyon Rd. Turn west onto Left Hand Canyon Rd there is another left turn a few miles up that will point to Ward. Follow Left Hand Canyon Road through Ward to Highway 72. Go north on Highway 72 about 100 feet and turn west on Brainard Lake Road. Follow this road past Brainard Lake to the Mitchell Lake trailhead. This trail normally has a late meltout date, and is snow covered or muddy for much of the summer hiking season, so late summer or fall is an excellant time for this hike. Blue lake is about 23 areas in size and about 100 ft deep.

Trail Specifics:

Trail: 5.1 miles round trip
Elevation Gain: 900 ft
Lake Elevation: Sets at 11,320 ft at the base of Paiute Peak (13,088') and Mt Toll (12,979')
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Area Opportunities: Blue Lake is one of four lakes in the Indian Peaks' hiking area (the other three are Mitchell Lake, Long Lake and Lake Isabelle). Heavy day-use in this area means no summer camping is permitted in the lake vicinities.
Pictures of Blue Lake

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