Alpine Paradise

Colorado is home to a large number of “wilderness areas,” with many outstanding features.

One area that we have come to enjoy and prefer is the Holy Cross Wilderness and in particular, the segment that centers around Carter Creek. This pristine mountain wilderness is located south of the headwaters of Cross Creek and due west of the Missouri Lakes. Though the drainage is relatively small, it harbors all that truly represents the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The main cascading stream is fed by a snow-filled, verdant basin with seven medium sized lakes. Wildflowers abound as do also trout in those lakes and stream. The isolation in this seldom-visited and difficult to reach Shangri-La leaves one with a serene sense of what wilderness is all about.

First visiting here in 2014, making a difficult and rugged backpack trip into the upper basin, the cragginess of the surrounding peaks and the majestic beauty of the lakes left us astounded and promising to return. This we did in the summer of 2022. On our previous visit, we had never taken the time to view the uppermost lake so on our 2022 trip, inspecting it became our priority and are we ever glad we made the effort. You can see the result in this photo. This resplendent little lake left us astounded with its beauty. Words fail to describe it and even a photo cannot capture the superlative beauty. You just have to be there. The intrusive granite rocks protruding into the waters and ringing the entire lake form a natural dam. The scene is very similar to Sylvan Lake in the Black Hills. Perhaps from the photo you can understand why we call this an ”Alpine Paradise.”