but I warn you, if you misbehave here, you'll have to answer to me!!!!!!!!!!!
And another warning: 1,000,000,000,000 photos ahead...!
Spooky-looking stuff at the trailhead...!?! You ever seen these? I hadn't. They're tree tents! Kinda cool, kinda weird. I don't think Zouey would want to sleep in those (me neither, for that matter)...!
Me and my girl hit the trail (let's hope it doesn't hit back!)...
Zou sporting her dog pack.
Zou: on point, or on guard, or on duty, or at least on log.
Zouby Doo reporting for duty!
Dog speed.
Dog levitation.
She makes all the creek crossings look like a piece of cake!
A beautiful white globeflower.
I have hiked this trail a gazillion times. First time when I was maybe 10 or 11 and have hiked it about every summer since (that's a lot of summers...). So I know it pretty well and have many favorite landmarks - one of which is this tree root bench. I'm sure I have a picture of Bill and Ouraydog sitting on it too... Zou looks awful good up there though, doesn't she?
Little Zouropa.
She reminds me of Ouray again here.
Checking on Mom (or more likely, Mom calling her back for yet ANOTHER photo!!).
We did this hike in the latter half of June (sorry for the delay in sharing - we're not even in that town anymore so much time has gone by!!!), and again, it was a good snowy winter, so we ran into several patches of snow higher up.
Getting close to the lower lake (one of at least three glacial lakes - I've seen more from the peak above but have never found them on foot - not yet anyways! They require some serious cross-country climbing - something I wouldn't usually have the energy for unless I was there for longer than a day hike!).
Thank goodness the forest looks healthy here!
Zou rising to the occasion - the occasion of three feet of snow!
The forest floor - sometimes a carpet of needle-covered snow.
Remind me to get her some snowshoes!
We arrive at another of my landmarks. Here, the river looks fairly calm, but...
Zouey crossed it, and found a spot that was a bit deep and fast. Which, of course, worried her old mom!!!! But she made it OK to the other side. So all I had to worry about was getting her back again!
It was this - the downstream side (on the other side of that log in that earlier photo) - that had me so worried! But she made it back fine and avoided dealing with this white water portion, thankfully!!!!
My little stick-chasing log-hopper!
Going, going,...!
Almost there! Just got to cross that snow field and then through the trees to...
the lake!
(no, those are just puddles in the foreground - the lake is behind them)
Me and Zou...in my little heaven.
After walking the water's edge towards the far side, this is looking back at where the lake meets the trail.
Zou wading through the freezing cold water. Over the years, I've been "swimming" in this lake a few times. By swimming, I mean jumping in and then immediately rocketing back out!!! There were only one or two little icebergs still floating in the lower lake on this day, but the two upper lakes were still almost completely frozen over.
My handsome Zouty.
Mother-daughter (see a resemblance? I wish! I'd love to be as good-looking and slim as my doggie!!!).
Parry's primrose.
And, as Zou's luck would have it, she scored with a doggy playmate! (and back to point and shoot photos - they're all mixed up in this posting. Some "good camera" photos and some point and shoot ones...)
Yeah...well...they're dogs, they can get away with this impolite stuff!
Not too cold for THEM, I guess!
Woohoo! Go, doggies, go!!
Another potential friend shows up... (but turns out to be uptight and not that much fun...)
But someone who WAS a lot of fun for Zouey was a young Canadian girl who was doing an overnight with her dad.
Erin and Zou really hit it off!
Zou and I decide to head on for the upper lakes. I talked to one hiker who gave up on the additional trek after losing the trail to snow, but having done it so many times, I figure I can find it blindfolded, so...
The first fun challenge is going over this huge log ladder. Zou does it so fast, I make her repeat it so I can get a photo! Oh Mom...!! Sheesh.
Zou still enjoying being off-leash. I have to holler at her to keep her from going too far ahead.
And this is one of the reasons why. Another creek crossing. Turns out was nooooo problem for her. But...not so easy for mum, esp. if she wanted to keep her feet dry! But, with the help of walking poles, it worked!
Quite a bit more snow to navigate up here...!
(but you'll notice the leash - this is because we also are going by potential drop-offs that could be very bad news for an over-eager pooch!)
But the views can hardly be beat!!!
Almost to the second lake now, Zou admires the view to the lower - it's a long ways down...!
Zou makes her way along the trail above the second lake, enroute to the third.
Looking down and back at the second, as the clouds open up for a minute and let the sun light it up.
Zou crosses the outlet for the third lake.
Having fun with snow/water/ice/reflection patterns.
Not too much open water on these two upper lakes! They're both still pretty frozen up. On the ridge above you can see the pass (about 13,000'). Been up there a few times. Once, I met a young couple coming over from the other side. They were hiking with their kitten! This little black kitty was 4-wheeling all over the place, in his fancy green bandana... Too cute!!!
Does all this snow bother Zou? No way!! She says "Snow? So?! Let's go!!"
Marsh marigolds, just barely opening up. The grass around the third lake hasn't greened up yet. Still early season up here!
More dramatic lighting and clouds.
And Dramatic Dog!
More marsh marigolds - these ones are a little farther along. Such pretty flowers to be found in these mountains!
Zou and I head back down. She's a little calmer (and more tired!) now...
More pretty flowers - sky pilots (they usually grow pretty high up so it's a good name!) - on the way back down to the first lake.
Time to hit that more challenging (well, for us two-leggers anyways) creek crossing again.
It was a bit of a test for my new boots - turns out they're fairly water proof. I didn't totally immerse them, but I had to use some rocks that did put the water flowing over the toes a bit - feet stayed dry! Yay! And my hiking poles really helped me balance going on those slippery wet logs! There wasn't anything dangerous about this crossing (unless I did slip...!) - I just didn't want to get my feet all wet!
Mum asks Zou to demonstrate the log ramp technique once again - and again...
We say good-bye to our most beloved place and head back down. Zou's boots are looking pretty dirty...
Down the bit of open hillside...
and back into the trees...
I'm so lucky to have such a great hiking partner (and such a cute one!!)!
There were a lot of downed trees on this trail too. I've never seen so many, in all the 36 or so years I've been hiking here!
The trailhead is just around the corner. And we're both a bit overheated and pooped-out. So Mommy takes Zouey's pack off so she can go jump in the creek and cool off! (and of course, just squirt around! Feels so good to be free of it again!)
Driving away, we have to stop for photos of the fields of dandelions that have gone to seed.
Looking back at my favorite mountain...
I've been on that peak three times in the last almost four decades (good grief, can't believe I've been around that long!!!!!!!). Like so much of this area, it's a fourteener that no one used to know about but now everyone has heard of and many have seen and/or climbed... Along with a trail that I used to see very few people on, and now I can hardly find a parking space at the trailhead... :( But hey, I guess I should concentrate on being grateful that it is still mostly undeveloped and that there are still so relatively few people here vs. places like Las Vegas, any city, and from what I hear, almost all of Europe... And while you have to battle the bugs and get fewer flowers so early in the season, you also have the place more to yourself!
The long dirt road back (with pretty wild roses and lupines, and nice clouds!).
So ends our ~9 mile, 2400' gain hike. First time I've ever shared this place on-line. I hope you've enjoyed it - and still don't know where it is! ;)
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