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Tag: san juan triangle

Clear Lake & Ice Lake BasinClear Lake & Ice Lake Basin

Clear Lake & Ice Lake Basin

Friday – Sunday, August 10-12, 2012

I had really wanted to go backpacking in the San Juan Mountains this weekend, but was unable to find anyone that was able to go with me. Since this would only be my third backpacking trip (first time in the mountains), I was a little hesitant to go by myself, but a few days before the weekend had finally arrived I decided that I would take a solo trip up to Ice Lake Basin. I figured that it was a popular area and that I probably wouldn’t be the only one camping up there anyway.

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Basin Wildflower TourBasin Wildflower Tour

Basin Wildflower Tour

Saturday, July 7, 2012

This weekend we left home on Saturday morning and headed back up into the San Juan Mountains. I had received reports that the wildflowers were in full swing a few weeks early because of our dismal snowpack and dry spring, and I wanted to try and get some photos of them. I have never really set out to specifically photograph wildflowers before, so this would be a learning experience for me. In the end I came home with some decent wildflower photos and I learned a lot in the process. Hopefully next year I can do a little better!

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Uncompahgre PeakUncompahgre Peak

Uncompahgre Peak

Saturday, June 30, 2012

At 14,309 feet, Uncompahgre Peak is the highest point in the San Juan Mountains and the 6th highest in Colorado. It was also our destination this morning. After work on Friday, Jackson and I loaded up my Jeep and headed south to the San Juan’s. We made a quick stop for dinner in Montrose and then we were soon passing through Ouray and turning off the highway on the rough road following the Uncompahgre River and Mineral Creek.

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Beating the Heat in the San Juan MountainsBeating the Heat in the San Juan Mountains

Beating the Heat in the San Juan Mountains

Saturday & Sunday, June 23-24, 2012

After spending a few hours in the morning at the Shavano Valley Petroglyph Park near Montrose, we continued driving into the San Juan Mountains to get out of the heat for the weekend. Shortly after crossing over Red Mountain Pass we turned down the road along the South Fork of Mineral Creek and found a campsite for the weekend. After setting up our camp we drove through Silverton and made our way up Cunningham Gulch to the trailhead for the Highland Mary Lakes. As soon as we passed through Silverton the valley started filling up with smoke, and by the time we reached the Cunningham Trailhead the smoke had become pretty thick and there was even a little ash falling from the sky. We would later learn this smoke was from a wildfire that had started near Mancos.

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Gray Copper GulchGray Copper Gulch

Gray Copper Gulch

Saturday & Sunday, June 16-17, 2012

Amanda has been wanting to get back into the mountains for a while, so that’s where we went this weekend. Saturday morning we left the heat of the Grand Valley behind and drove up into the San Juan Mountains. Back in 2009 I visited an area called Gray Copper Gulch situated between the Red Mountains and Brown Mountain. I have wanted to get back up there again to take some new photos and figured this weekend would be a great time. After driving through Ouray we drove over Corkscrew Pass and then into Gray Copper Gulch. We found a nice campsite between a few of the ponds that I wanted to photograph.

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