Hike: Bushnell Lakes, Sangre de Cristo Wilderness

This weekend I backpacked solo to the Bushnell Lakes in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness. The hike was difficult, making me earn it, traversing through miles of the San Isabel National Forest
on a steep, rocky trail, until finally reaching the first of the series of three lakes, each higher than the last, situated in a narrow basin and walled in on three sides by lofty, seemingly impenetrable walls. Waterfalls abounded, each falling from the next highest lake as over stair steps. The diagonal fractures and strata of the southern wall rose starkly at least a thousand feet from the basin floor. One could only imagine the force required to lift it so long ago. At the western headwall of the cwm lay the highest, largest, and deepest lake, all of which I did not get a chance to see. Upon arrival at the second tarn, I was under the illusion for most of the afternoon that I was actually camping at the last lake, only discovering later that it was the smallest and shallowest of the three. I came to know this when I met the only other campers
in the basin, a man and his two sons, walking back from the upper lake carrying fishing poles and a string of beautiful cutthroat trout. I met no one else the rest of the weekend except for a few dayhikers in the forest on my way out sunday morning.



After a bit of exploring in the early evening, I settled down to cook dinner, but was interrupted
midway by the beginnings of what would turn out to be a very rainy evening. I ate in the tent,
listening to the thunderless rain and howling, gale-force winds outside. Several times I had to
go out in the rain to tie down the rainfly, which was set flapping by the wind due to a broken
plastic snap. I also rediscovered a small hole in the fly when I was awakened to drops of water
hitting my forehead.


The next morning was cool and breezy and clear, the sun glinting orange off the water of the tarn
below and selectively warming the surrounding walls of rock. The open east end of the basin
revealed layers of mountains in the distance, featureless in the morning mist. After breakfast
and a bit of journaling, I broke camp around 7:30, descending past my tarn and waterfall to the
first lake and waterfall below, then back into the forest. The woods were wet and aromatic and
rife with new mushrooms (post on this forthcoming), which distracted me from the pain of the pack
and my stumbling feet.

Evening at Hayden Creek

Entering the Wilderness

A valley along the way





The lower of the Bushnell Lakes





Lake and flowers





The second falls, just below my campsite





A view of the lakes from the talus field to the south





Waterfall at the first lake





Morning to the east
(No attempt to eliminate lens flare. ha ha)