Sneffels

For starters, do not ever camp at the Blue Lakes Trailhead at the end of August. That is a bad decision. I got there on a Friday night after finishing up a week of teaching. Jacqueline was still working in Zion, so I had to entertain myself in some way. I took a short walk and as soon as it was dark, I got myself to bed. I figured that would be a good decision to get some sleep. There were so many hunters(?) there with their ATVs that they were driving around right near my tent until 10pm and then again starting at 4am. Needless to say, I was up early and a little frustrated. Right as I was getting ready to set out on the trail, a guy with a big truck stopped to ask me if I knew where something was. I told him that I just moved here and have no idea, but who was he looking for at 5 in the morning. I left that scene behind me and was soon out on the trail. I was moving quickly as the trail started out in a wooded area on the side of a big ridge. I wondered when I would get a view of Mt. Sneffels considering I had no idea what peak it was. I was starting to see some mountains as dawn light was crawling its way across the skyline. The Blue Lakes was a short hike from the trailhead and I was beginning to approach it at 7am. There was a big waterfall pouring down so I knew I was getting close. There were many campers asleep as I came upon the lakes. I figured that this would be a good place to camp if I was to venture up here again. I had breakfast at the lower lake. It was pretty with the peaks rising right out of the cirque that the lake filled. There was a bit of snow left on the peaks above. I wondered what the blue color was as looking at the lake in the early morning hours did not make it look particularly blue. I found the trail from the campsites and made sure to not disturb the parties fast asleep. This is where the trail began to climb steeply. The trees started to melt away and soon I was hiking through the high alpine scrub. The trail was bomber at this point as I approached the middle lake. It looked very undisturbed so I made sure to throw a rock in it. Just around the corner from the middle was the upper blue lake. This seemed to be the largest and it also was in a large cirque. From here the trail climbed steeply. Switchbacks after switchbacks and as I looked above, I wondered how the trail could manage to be built on such a steep area. I quickly realized when I got there that it was not very well built. The trail became very small loose scree that took much effort on my part to avoid slip sliding away as Paul Simon would say. I was actually a little bit wrecked in the nerves when I finally got to the Blue Lakes Pass. This put me right at a great vantage point to check out Mt. Sneffels. I could not figure out what was the right way to go from here. There was a jagged ridge that climbed directly above where I was and there also looked to be a steep scree slope on the other side of the mountain. My three choices were to either climb the ridge directly in front of me, go down and climb the scree slope, or go back from where I came and say screw climbing this peak on this day. I chose option 1 after considering each one after I saw a party with yellow helmets climbing above me. I figured I would follow them. This was definitely the more dangerous decision as there were some places where I was actually climbing, climbing. I believe this would be either considered 3+ or 4th class. I figured out soon enough that I was taking a different option to get to the top of this peak. Eventually I caught up with them and talked to them for a bit. They were a nice couple. I broke away from them since they were moving much slower, but eventually bumped into them again when I took the wrong route. I was able to pick my way through until I hit the normal route. From there it was smooth sailing to the top where I carved a place from the mass of people. Up until I reached the summit, the only people I saw on this day once I hit the trail were these two people with yellow helmets. The summit was filled with people as I hit the summit at 10:30AM. I enjoyed the view from the top of this 14+ summit which was awesome. The San Juans offer a multitude of craggy peaks to gaze upon. I got one of the many to take my picture and then was on my way down. I chose to go down the easy route and this was a good choice. While also steep with lots of loose rocks and a lot more people, it was definitely the safer alternative. The other way I felt at times that I had to reach the summit so that I could get down this easier way. It proved to be the greater choice even though at the bottom I still had to go back up to get to the Blue Lakes Pass. I knew that the rest of my day would be relaxing once I got past the steep sections on the trail. I was successful by sometimes butt sliding and other times moving inch by inch. From there it was speed hiking as it was all downhill. As I passed the upper two lakes, I got to see the lower lake in full blue. I could see why this would be a popular destination. I enjoyed my lunch as I sat on a big rock and soaked in the scenery.
It was only ten after one as I made my way through the campsites and down the three mile trail to my car. I was back home by four thirty and the afternoon as I appreciated the beautiful areas that surrounded my new home in Norwood, Colorado.