Ah, now this is what I came up here for today -- exploring some of the basins high above Ice Lake! Most of the tundra does not have established paths, so I'll be wandering around on my own part of the time.

(Of course, Emerson was being more figurative about "leaving a trail" when he wrote that passage.)

Last summer I ventured maybe a quarter mile higher while Jim was napping by the lake, but this time my goal was to go up as high into the Fuller-Vermillion Peak basins as I could reach, considering how much snow was still around.

Playing Russian Roulette with the storm gods

Turns out, it was incoming storm clouds that somewhat limited that quest more than the remaining snow banks and sloppy turf at 13,000 feet. But I still had fun tromping around in new territory and getting a different perspective on the multiple basins above Ice Lake.

What a great place to explore! I can't wait to return again and go farther and/or in a different direction.

WHERE AM I??

Here's the map again with the route in orange where I think I went today:

That would be easier to determine if I had the GPS today, but I didn't. I'm guessing. I do have a good enough feel for elevation and distance to know that I went up at least a mile beyond Ice Lake and reached close to 13,000 feet in elevation.

The yellow highlighting is the Ice Lake Trail. It extends for about a mile south of and above the namesake lake but became increasingly faint as I climbed higher and higher and then disappeared completely under the snow.

I kept going, of course! I don't think it's possible to get lost up in these high basins because Ice Lake is a reliable reference point for finding the trail.

WATER WORLD

In a short distance the trail climbs up about a hundred feet to the first of many plateaus and small basins.

I got off the trail to wander around several small pools of snowmelt that reflect the nearby mountain peaks and passing clouds . . .

 

 

All of those ponds are too small to be included in the map I'm using in this series.

I climbed a little higher to see the 360-degree views from the vantage point of a nearby knoll:

Looking east toward a shoulder of Fuller Mountain (R) and Bear Mountain (background)

Looking north past Ice Lake

Several kinds of flowers were blooming at this elevation but I got high enough today that I completely ran out of flowers! Here are some that are blooming from about 12,000 to 12,500 feet elevation in the Ice Lake basins:

Alpine sunflowers and avens

Alpine bluebells, avens (yellow), and phlox (purple)

Phlox clinging to the side of a rock (a pretty tenacious little survivor!)

There were also lots of marsh marigolds in wet places next to streams, pools of water, and lakes up to about 12,500 feet. Above that, they were still emerging green shoots.

Pretty short bloom span, eh? I mean, it's the end of June!

I returned to the narrow trail and climbed a little higher to this pretty lake in a low spot below Fuller Peak:

That small lake is on the map. The view in the photo above looks up to an even higher basin between Fuller Peak (on the left), Vermillion Peak (rear), and Pilot Knob (right). I didn't make it all the way up to that basin today.

This is a detail of one end of the little lake; I like all the colors and reflections in the water:

None of the other lakes I saw up here today were anywhere near as brightly-colored as Ice Lake.

Here's another view as I walked toward the southern end of the lake:

The trail was still relatively dry at this point but beyond this lake it became more wet and/or muddy.

In late June and early July the snow is still melting in these high basins. I'm not sure all of it ever melts by the end of summer. I don't think there are any glaciers in this basin area, though.

There was about the same amount of snow when I was at Ice Lake last July 6 as there was today (ten days earlier). Someday I'd like to see the basins in late August or early September, when most or all of the previous winter's snow has melted and before new snow starts falling with regularity again. I think the mountains are more photogenic with some remnants of snow like this, however, than they'd be without any snow.

With snowmelt and frequent summer thunderstorms over these peaks the tundra was very wet today. What wasn't under snow was either under water, spongy, or, at minimum, moist. I had very wet feet by the time I descended but the air temperature was warm enough that my feet didn't feel uncomfortable. I'm used to tromping through creeks and having wet feet. In fact, I love it! Folks who don't (or those whose feet stay cold when wet) should either avoid areas like this or wear socks and shoes that dry out quickly.

GETTING HIGH

Cody and I followed the trail to the lake's inlet . . .

. . . then switch-backed up the increasingly rocky and narrow trail for another half mile (or more) and several hundred feet of elevation gain:

The trail quickly became steeper and went in and out of snow and/or water:

 

 

 

It was interesting to gradually climb up to the level of the basins I'd been admiring from below:

 

 

Now we're really getting up there:

Oh, my! I was completely enchanted with this new world full of colorful rocks and pink snow (Jim's the snow-phobe, not me):

 

 

It suddenly dawned on me that these are the unique, craggy peaks I could see two days ago from the road up to Clear Lake, and now I was right below them! I knew that going up of course. That was my goal. But the reality hit me at right about this point.

I was this close to entering the very highest basins above Ice Lake, and I wanted to stay up there all day so I could continue exploring.

For example, I know from the map that there are several small lakes in the long basin below Pilot Peak and the colorful, jagged ridge between it and Grant Peak:

 

Unfortunately, this is as close as I got today to the portal to that large basin. Too bad those doggone potential storm clouds suddenly filled the sky to the northwest . . . I kept my eye on the sky as the puffy white clouds were being chased out by gray ones.

I didn't get up to the very highest level of basin below any of those peaks, nor did I get high enough to peer over any of the ridges to the west, but I continued to explore the area around me and to the southeast for a few more minutes.

I simply couldn't pull myself away quite yet. It's not the first time I've been torn between further discovery/exhilaration and the risk of being a lightning rod.

 

That's as high as I got today.

According to the map, Fuller Lake is up here somewhere, apparently in a low spot just beyond the next two photos:

 

Fuller Lake looks as big as Ice Lake on the map so I'm surprised I couldn't see it. That just gives me something to hunt for next time!

The water flowing through this stream goes over the eastern edge of the mountain and creates one or more of those waterfalls I showed you on the climb to Ice Lake:

 

Marsh marigolds are popping up near the snow in the center of the photo, at creek's edge.

Over the edge (the creek, not me)

As you can see, the upper Ice Lake basins are chock full of photogenic ponds and streams. I expected some interesting scenery but my expectations were greatly exceeded. I was absolutely amazed by what I found -- and I'm anxious to return again to explore more of the basins up there.

Because of the menacing clouds I thought it best to call it a day and head back down to the relative safety of our campground. I took more pictures on the descent but have already included some of them in previous segments of this series.

Here's one last parting shot of Ice Lake and one of the less colorful lakes above it:

Ice Lake and its basins: mountain scenery doesn't get much better than this, at least in the USA.

Next entry: Jim had an interesting and scenic day, too, helping to mark the Hardrock course between the Mineral Creek Crossing on Hwy. 550 to the Ice Lake Trail. Click below for more cool San Juan Mountain photos, this time ones taken by Jim . . .

Happy trails,

Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil, and Cody the Ultra Lab

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© 2010 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil