Brainard Lake

Brainard Lake

It was an adventure to reach Brainard Lake, where I wanted to hike to Lake Isabelle, a two mile walk to a spectacular alpine lake.  My GPS routed me on the Boulder Canyon Road, which is a beautiful ride through the canyon.  Midway, all traffic stopped.  After 15 minutes, I got out of my car to talk to the driver ahead of me.  He told me heard that boulders fell into the road, so workers were removing the rocks. Great.  I waited a few more minutes and then turned around to try another route. Virtually back at where I started an hour later, I drove through Lefthand Canyon, with many cyclists on the winding, climbing canyon road.  

I arrived at Brainard Lake an hour later than I had hoped.  The parking lot for the Long Lake trail (which is the trail to Lake Isabelle) was full.  I tried the Mitchell Lake parking area and thankfully a car was pulling out!  So, that's where I hiked.  Through the pine forests for a mile into the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area.  Even with other hikers, it's blissfully quiet.  Mitchell Lake is smaller than some of the others, but the scenery is still breathtaking: the lake, the pines, the Rockies.  I particularly like to notice the shift in landscape at the high elevations, since these lakes are at the timber line.  I continued on the trail another mile for a more "aerial" view of the lake and mountains.  It's tough climbing at 10,000 feet!

On the way out of the Brainard Lake Recreation Area, cars had pulled over on the left shoulder and everyone had a camera.  I found a spot and joined the group watching five large moose munching on bushes.  At first the moose were somewhat hidden except for their antlers.  Then, as if humoring us, a couple of moose moved into the clearing so we all could get better pictures!  A few large claps of thunder sent me to my car.  I drove down the mountain in the rainstorm, and onto the CO 72, the "peak-to-peak" highway to get to Nederland and back to Boulder.  (By then the Boulder Canyon Road was clear, but the indentations from the boulders were evident in the road!) Another lucky day here in the West. 

http://www.resourceanalysis.com/fishing/fish6/f6.html
http://www.coloradowilderness.com/wildpages/indian.html

Moose!