Ice Lake Basin 2008
We took a weekend trip down to the San Juans to explore Ice Lake Basin near Silverton, Colorado. We drove down after work on Friday, assuming we'd camp at the campground near the trailhead. There are four or so official campgrounds after we left US-550, and all of them were full. Not just crowded -- full. Even all the unofficial spots were taken. We drove on and on as it got dark, and ended up pitching our tent a ways beyond the trailhead on top of a gravel pile along the side of the road. It was quite possibly the least comfortable camp spot ever. But the hike the next day was absolutely gorgeous, if surprisingly crowded.
The stars that night were brighter than I've ever seen them. The milky way was unescapably obvious. Never having photographed stars before, I figured I'd give it a shot, and cranked up the ISO and took a 30 second exposure with the aperture wide open. This is the view towards Sagittarius -- you can see the top of the "teapot" on the horizon. The bright star is Jupiter, I believe, and the streak is a satellite. I think it's cool how clearly you can see the interstellar dust towards the center of the galaxy.
The view from Lower Ice Lake Basin up towards Upper Ice Lake Basin, with Fuller Peak on the left, Vermilion Peak in the middle (actually the tallest, just furthest away), and Golden Horn on the right.
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Nancy and Sadie with wildflowers in Lower Ice Lake Basin
The falls from Upper Ice Lake Basin to Lower Ice Lake Basin
Sadie and wildflowers as we crest into Upper Ice Lake Basin
Ice Lake, which through a combination of minerals and sediment is an iridescent blue
Sadie as we hiked up higher to Fuller Lake
The view back down onto ice lake, with a smaller lake in the foreground. The sources of the lakes are different, and the smaller one doesn't receive the minerals/sediment that ice lake does, making their colors very different.
Casey, Nancy, and Sadie above Ice Lake
The view back down the valley we hiked up.
Nancy in the wildflowers in Lower Ice Lake Basin on the way back down.
As evidence of the crowding, here's the parking lot at the trailhead. We saw at least five different backpacking groups and easily 35 people total on the trail. I think that's even more than we saw when we climbed Sneffels. This is neither a 14er (which are often very crowded) nor an easily accessible easy hike: Ice Lake Basin is at 12,275 feet, and the parking lot is 3 miles away and 2,400 feet lower. I can't complain too much since I'm part of the crowding problem, but it's sad how many more people there are on the trails than even just 10 years ago. That said, Ice Lake Basin is a particularly beautiful place, and I can see why so many people want to go there.