Hanging Lake, CO

Today's Photo - Hanging Lake, CO

I parked at the Hanging Lake parking lot around 8:30 this morning. I'm glad I got there early. Not only was the lighting better than it was on the way down the trail at 11:30, when I returned to the parking lot there was a line of cars waiting for a parking place.

After a long walk to the trailhead I started up, taking photos of the various cascades & small waterfalls along the trail. I made lots of stops to take photographs (and to catch my breath!) The trail is labeled moderate to difficult - you gain about 1000' over a distance of 1.2 miles. That said, there were people from 2 years old to 80 on the trail while I was on it, and a lot of them. If you are looking for a quiet climb without running into anyone else, this isn't the trail for you. On the other hand, the cascades & waterfalls along the trail as well as the lake itself are beautiful! 

There is a new railing system at the top of the trail, as well as new decking and railings at the lake since the last time I was here (in 1996). I made a page for Hanging Lake, but here are a couple of images:

Along The Trail

Along the Trail

After looking over the cascade & waterfall photos that I took later in the morning I decided to go back after the sun went behind the mountains surrounding to trail to Hanging Lake. Not that they are terrible, but the softer light helps a lot. I didn't go all the way back to the lake - (Once a day is enough plus since I started at 6:30, I didn't really have enough time to get to the top & back down before dark - it isn't a trail you want to do in the dark!) I reshot many of the waterfalls & cascades in the first 1/2 mile of the trail (More at the Hanging Lake page).

Evening Cascade Image

Time for some big decisions. It is getting around the time I need to start heading back to Oswego. The problem is how? My original thought was to drive across the middle of the US along something like US 30 or even US 50, then up through PA to NY. The problem is the heat. It doesn't look like the current heat wave is going to let up ant time soon. Another thought is to go back to Denver on I70 (about the only way east from here) then head north & take US 2 (a favorite of mine) across the north, go into Canada either at Grand Portage, MN or Sault Ste Marie, MI, hoping it will be a little cooler. From the news I've been hearing it probably isn't all that much cooler going north, but I can pretend! I guess I can put off the decision until I get close to Denver since all routes start out heading that way.

Until tomorrow!