Mountain Splendor

Colorado has a number of popular, iconic locations that attract both locals and tourists from far and wide.

Scenes like Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park and the Maroon Bells near Aspen come to mind. Close to Silverton, there is a location called “Ice Lake Basin” that attracts numerous visitors. An arduous hike of nearly four miles one-way with over 2,400 feet of elevation gain takes visitors to a magnificent lake over 12,000 feet in elevation and above tree-line. For most of the summer, this lake retains a beautiful and stunning aquamarine color that seems to defy explanation. Surrounding the lake and on the approach hike are myriads of gorgeous wildflowers, waterfalls and towering forests trees.

While we have visited here a number of times over the years, in later July of 2020, we had the pleasure of introducing some new friends to the beauties of the Colorado high country by taking them on a hike to this location. Much to our pleasure, we found an area of Colorado’s state flower, the blue columbine, located along a high scree slope overlooking the lake. More than glad that we had brought our cameras, we did our best to capture the splendor of this mountain scene.