Fall is coming to the Rockies!

I saw my first Aspen trees turning yellow in the mountains today! I love fall in the Rockies. We headed up to Indian Peaks Wilderness for a lovely 6.5 mile hike with Aspen, the dog, not the tree.

We started out at Brainard Lake and then took the Lake Isabelle trail up the mountain, past Long Lake and finally to Lake Isabelle, which is above treeline right before Pawnee Pass. The trail is great for most of the way, but the stretch between 2.5 and 3 miles is very steep and very rocky, so we were tired when we made it to the top. I told Mike we'd do an easy hike today, so he wasn't very happy by the time we made it back to the car, but it really was a beautiful path. All three lakes are beautiful, and just before treeline there is a gorgeous creek flowing down a steep hill (almost a waterfall) with a field of high altitude wildflowers all around and a view of Isabelle glacier behind it. In addition, you have the smell of the mountains and fresh, fresh air. The temperature was nice and cool, and the rain only sprinkles. We also saw our first snow in the Rockies today too, but it was only a little bit and already on the ground.

Aspen was so excited all day. She spent the car rides up and back with her head hanging out the back window, and on the trail she practically dragged us up the hill because she was so pumped up. Even at the end of the 6.5 miles, she was still rearing to go! She could have turned around and done the hike again, even though we were exhausted (and hungry!). We had a lovely late lunch at the Millsite restaurant near Ward on the way home, and now we are vegging in front of the TV for the evening.

The only problem in an otherwise perfect day...I forgot to check the camera battery and it died just after we started. So, all my pictures are of the first 1/2 mile of our hike.