Author Topic: Ice Lake, San Juans, CO (Read 1136 times) Tweet

steelfrog · « **on:** August 06, 2012, 10:56:03 PM »

OK--we took a weekend warrior trip to Silverton--drove all night Thursday night and hit the trail up to 12,300' Ice Lake, what we would come to regard as a paradise on earth. See for yourself:

Our campsite--sucks, don't it?

Marmots marmots everywhere!

Lance Snead working his magic:

Ice Lake Basin--the peaks are, L-R, Fuller, Vermillion, Golden Horn, Pilot's Knob:

Island Lake, with Ulysses S Grant above:

Sunrise over Ice Lake:

I thought Snowmass Village was my favorite town until I saw Ouray:

Fuller Lake below, and Ice Lake below that; note cabin; Ulysses S Grant beyond:

brave6 · « **Reply #1 on:** August 07, 2012, 01:14:32 AM »

Ice Lake is an amazing place... took a dip there in July of 2010 trying to chase down a runaway orange. Bone chilling cold.

txsweetlady1 · « **Reply #2 on:** August 07, 2012, 05:54:55 AM »

Beautiful pics!! Hubby & I are heading to the San Juan Skyway, Ouray and Mesa Verde end of August. As your pictures show, a slice of heaven on earth. Thanks for sharing. JD

lsnead · « **Reply #3 on:** August 07, 2012, 11:25:56 AM »

Quote from: brave6 on August 07, 2012, 01:14:32 AM

Ice Lake is an amazing place... took a dip there in July of 2010 trying to chase down a runaway orange. Bone chilling cold.

You are brave!

This is all I got so far for pics..

Sunset at Ice Lake in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.

Quatro · « **Reply #4 on:** August 07, 2012, 12:43:28 PM »

But that southbound drive from Ouray to Silverton scares the bejesus out of me. No guardrails and the thought that a travel trailer will drift a little too far in my lane. In my book, that is a Class 3 drive due to the exposure.

Speaking of scary, did you camp above treeline or below? If below, how far was it from treeline to the Basin? How were the bugs?

steelfrog · « **Reply #5 on:** August 07, 2012, 12:59:55 PM »

Virtually no bugs.

treeline is down by lower Ice Lake; to get up over the headwall is about 800 vertical and takes 30 minutes or so; no biggie. Winds weren't an issue. Camping at Lower Ice Lake wasn't an option; upper is definitely the way to go.

I wan tto go back there and do all the 4 wheel drive passes and roads--Clear Lake, Imogene, Engineer, etc.

lsnead · « **Reply #6 on:** August 07, 2012, 02:06:25 PM »

Ice Lake Basin (20 MP) - San Juan Mountains, Colorado

Pilot's Knob (46 MP) - San Juan Mountains, Colorado

Homer67 · « **Reply #7 on:** August 07, 2012, 07:01:18 PM »

Gorgeous photos, guys!

Picacho · « **Reply #8 on:** August 07, 2012, 09:29:22 PM »

Nice photos. Brings back memories 12 years ago. Although I had much more snow that you guys did. The blue lakes with the green and red backdrop along with flowers is incredible.

desertflwr · « **Reply #9 on:** August 08, 2012, 05:53:42 AM »

Beautiful photos! A few years ago we rode the train from Durango to Silverton and were amazed at the gorgeous scencery. Love that area.

alan in shreveport · « **Reply #10 on:** August 08, 2012, 07:40:32 AM »

beautiful , especially nice during these 100 + degree days
nice to see Lance "back in the saddle"

SA Bill · « **Reply #11 on:** August 08, 2012, 08:43:28 PM »

Great stuff! Brings back memories. I used to backpack in the Weminuche Wilderness. We'd take the Durango to Silverton train half way and then hike up into Chicago Basin. Beautiful area! Thanks for jogging my memory.

Bill

Follow @BigBendChat

News:

Advertisement

Copyright Notice