Paint Me a Photo

The southern Elk Mountains around Crested Butte are home to a spectacular flower display each summer. In fact, the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival draws flower-lovers from all over to witness, paint, study and photograph the colorful scenes to be found.

This photo was taken mid-July, 2013 on the West Maroon Pass trail starting from the south end of that trail near Scofield Pass. Less than a mile from that trailhead, hikers will begin to encounter mountain slopes laden with vivid arrangements of wildflowers. This photo features orange paintbrush in full bloom accented by "Showy Goldeneye." The goldeneye is prolific all around Crested Butte this time of year, sometimes covering acres of ground.

This particular day, we were supposed to be hiking to a summit that would require 14 miles roundtrip with over 5,000 feet of elevation gain and loss. It would be a long enough day, but having to constantly stop and photograph flower scenes like this one made it even longer. But we're not complaining. It was worth it!