Pawnee Pass Trail

When you seen two big moose with huge racks of antlers close up as you start a hike you know it's going to be a good one!

That happened to us last Wednesday when we drove high up into the Indian Peaks above Boulder to hike the Pawnee Pass trail.  We started at Brainard Lake Recreation Area where, bingo! right off we see the two moose at the edge of the road next to the lake.  So cool, but we couldn't stop to take pictures because it might make us too late to get a parking space at the trail head.

Yes, even at 7:00 a.m. you might not get a space in the small parking lot that's available to hikers heading out from the very popular hikes that start near the lake.  The one we were doing, the trail up to Pawnee Pass, started at about 10,000 feet, passed one side of Long Lake, then headed up towards Lake Isabelle and finally climbed to the Continental Divide at 12,500 feet.   We've done portions of this long out and back trail each year since we moved here in 2014, and hoped to complete the whole thing this time.  After all of his training for the big Switzerland adventure, Ben was definitely ready, and I felt I was in pretty good shape after all the hiking I'd done recently.       

After passing the intersection with the Lake Isabelle trail we climbed up and enjoyed some lovely views.   We were surprised to see quite a bit of snow remaining of the glaciers at Lake Isabelle, the result of the high levels of snow in the mountains this year.

There is a particularly pretty section that passes a number of waterfalls which very strong due to the snow melt.  I loved all the wildflowers growing by the water. 

We reached the end of the portion of trail we had hiked in the past and entered new-to-us territory, climbing a series of steep but scenic switchbacks over a big rock formation.  At the top we entered the "above tree line" world of rocks and views.  

Looking east towards Denver; Long Lake in the center background; Lake Isabelle hidden down to the right. 

It's a desolate beauty up that high. 

After about an hour of hiking in such a high and rocky area I was tired!  We hadn't had a chance to rest as every time we stopped we were quickly found by mosquitos.  So we kept moving. 

As we looked ahead we were disappointed to see that the final approach to the pass was snow and ice covered.  We'd already been through two snow sections of this treacherous stuff and didn't relish traversing a longer and steeper section of it.  

Ben made his way slowly but surely up and across.   When he was partway across I decide to give it a try.  And I got a short way....and couldn't do it!  The slippery snow and ice on that steep slope was too scary for me.   (And for many other hikers, I learned, as I later read online up-to-date accounts of the hike.) 

 I turned back and settled down to wait for Ben to reach the pass and then return.  Waiting was okay, even though my phone was no use as a distraction since it was very low on power.  I learned that it's  kind of nice to just sit by myself and look at the unusual scenery and watch the clouds.  Clouds around here are often worth watching!

In about 45 minutes Ben came down the trail.  He had made the pass; Hooray! 

Ben at the pass; the peak is about a mile behind and 400 feet above him. 

The way down was much faster, of course, until we reached the junction with Long Lake.  Then the lake earned its name as it was such a long, long way along it before we finally saw our car.   I kept thinking of Janis Joplin singing "I was feeling near as faded as my jeans."  Well, we had been hiking for ten miles and it had taken seven hours!  We'd earned the right to feel so tired!

Linking to Mosaic Monday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf.