Fourteen Thousand: Hike: Diamond Lake

This past weekend, my friend Tom and I hiked to Diamond Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness near Nederland, Colorado. As is often the case with Colorado weather, it was a day of extremes. We began that morning in shorts and t-shirts and ended that afternoon in long pants, multiple layers, rain jackets, hats, and gloves.

The trailhead from which we began is named the "Fourth of July Trailhead"; most people assume it is named thus because of the brilliant displays of wildflowers along the trail. In actuality, it's because the trail is usually not clear of snow until after the Fourth of July. It lived up to its name. After about a mile, the trail became deep snow. Luckily, it had been packed down from the thaw-freeze cycle and we were able to walk on top of it for the most part. There were moments of post-holing, though.

Since the trail was nowhere to be seen, we used our map and intuition to find the lake. Tom did a great job sniffing it out. We arrived at the large basin where the lake was just in time for lightning, thunder, and... snow. There was sleet and rain in the mix as well. The rain cleared, the sun came out, and our layers came off. But not for long. On our way back the skies opened again, this time with cracks of thunder, pelting hail and rain. Those were the true fireworks!

What a magnificent day to be in the mountains!

(The following pics are courtesy of Tom.)