I know enough about this trail to avoid it early in the season. It's north-facing and pretty shady, so it can hold a lot of snow well into June. We were able to catch a glimpse of the mountains at the south end of the valley from about ten miles away
last week, and could see they held lots of snow. But after several days of warmth, I figured it was safe to try the hike.
 |
| stream or trail? |
The beginning of the hike was wet. What ought to have been a seasonal stream crossing the trail became a seasonal stream on the trail. The top third of the hike alternated between shallow snow and easy hiking. One place was deep and steep, and I prudently walked around it.
 |
| snow on the trail |
Before too long I reached the overlook above Thompson Flats and was rewarded with one of my favorite views in Colorado:
 |
| the view |
Blogspot is very touchy lately, making photo uploads difficult (if not impossible), so you're seeing the black & white version instead of the color one, as that's the only one that would load. Because it was mostly cloudy, I actually like the B&W landscape better.
