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Indian Peaks Wilderness


August 21/22, 2023


I did two hikes from Brainard Lake National Recreation Area into Indian Peaks Wilderness. The Indian Peaks Wilderness is a wilderness area in north central Colorado. On Monday I did the Mitchell Lake-Blue Lake Trail, six miles round trip with 1000’ elevation gain. It was a sunny day with nice temps. The trail was fine, in some places rocky, but easy going. Not too many steep sections. There were two sets of moose, a Mom and a young one were sitting about 30 yards off the trail at one point, and five others were in pond or off on the far side of it. Mitchell Lake and Blue Lake were beautiful and provided opportunity for rustic photos. It is also awe inspiring to see the variety in terrain, the amount of rock, the pitch of the mountains, the size of the landscape, and varied texture of the total environment. There were abundant wildflowers, though for some it seems it is past season. Fall will come early in the high country. There were several other people on the trail, but certainly it was not crowded. Two women had bathing suits under their hiking cloths and took a dip in Blue Lake. That must have been cold!



On Tuesday I did the Isabelle Glacier Trail. Well, I did most of it. I stopped at a stream crossing that made me uncomfortable. One had to do so some jumping from rock to rock and/or muddy sections along the side of the stream. I guess I could have just walked in the stream, it would have been safer, and then I’d just have wet boots and feet. I witnessed other people attempt it, and two of four who tried it slipped on the rocks and ended up walking in the stream anyway. So, I hiked about three of the four miles, had great views, and was happy with it. This hike gained more elevation than the previous one. It had several steep, rocky sections, and there were some sections where it crossed a boulder field that was hard to follow. Part of the trail borders Isabelle Lake some distance below the glacier. It is not a hug glacier like you see on Nature shows on TV. But it has been there a long time and provides water for the lake. Isabelle Glacier is one of 14 officially named glaciers in the Colorado Front Range.




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