 |
| It is what it is. |
 |
| National Forest signs are often really cool. |
 |
| My favorites are Wilderness Area signs. |
 |
| I'm sorry. The Colorado scenery stops me in my tracks. And this is run of the mill for the state! |
 |
| A nice grove of Engelmann spruce on the shores of Lower Blue Lake. |
 |
| And, it's obvious why they call them the Blue Lakes. |
 |
| I stand in awe. |
 |
| Looking down on the Lower Blue Lake. |
 |
| You can see the flow of material down to the lake from the glacial cirque above. This is still, technically speaking, a glacier. Called a "rock glacier" there remains a substrate of ice beneath the rocky surface. You can even see a patch of exposed ice in the center of the rocky material just above the upper shore of the lake. |
 |
| Middle Blue Lake |
 |
| Ye author on the saddle between the Middle and Upper Blue Lake. |
 |
| Glacial headwall at the Upper Blue Lake. |
 |
| Zounds! |
 |
| Another stop on an overlook to peer down at the jewel below. |
 |
| And...on the way back to camp we stopped to view this colorful peak (not on the hike). |
Stunning landscape, James. Quite different to Australia.
ReplyDeleteI've spent most of my life in the east, in the Appalachian mountains. Those are very similar to, and are about the same age, as the eastern rangers of Australia. Roughly the same height, also (highest in the Appalachians is just under 6,700 feet; highest in the eastern ranges of Australia a shade over 7,300 feet.
ReplyDeleteThe Rockies are a different story. Vast range of young mountains still being built, upwards of 14,500 feet above sea level. A completely different ecosystem from what I'm accustomed to experiencing.