High Mountain Lakes

This is a post to show the kind of lakes I hike to in the Southern Rocky Mountains where I live.  Each of these lakes was a different hike I did over the past 36 months.  The first hike starts just a few miles from my house and is about 6 miles one way to Lower Trampas Lake.  The elevation is 11,395 ft. and it is absolutely one of the most scenic lakes I have ever seen.  I sat for hours on the shore enjoying the view and solitude.

This next picture is of Williams Lake in the Weminuche Wilderness of Southern Colorado about a 2 hour drive from my home.  It was a 9 1/2 mile hike up a very steep trail and was part of a 3 day backpacking trip to the Continental Divide.  It's at 11,699 ft. elevation and offered spectacular views of the Colorado Rockies.

This picture is of Ruybalid Lake in the South San Juan Wilderness in Southern Colorado also about 2 hours from where I live.  It was 5.1 miles to the lake and was the toughest of these hikes due to the steepness of the trail.  It's at 11,180 ft. above sea level and the winters here are so extreme that the lake freezes solid like an ice cube every winter.

On a backpacking trip in the High Uinta Mountains in Utah near the Wyoming border we spent a couple of days at 10,400 ft. high Kamas Lake and caught a beautiful sunset.

Only about 30 miles from my house is one of my favorite high mountain lakes. After about a 4 1/2 mile hike up to 11,400 ft. elevation you will find Nambe Lake.

On a hike in the South San Juan Wilderness in Southern Colorado I found Red Lake at 11,550 ft.