(Continued from page 2.)
THE LITTLE DETAILS
I was intrigued by all the interesting patterns in the ice and snow in
the Clear Lake basin.
In addition to all the broad landscape photos I showed on the last page,
I took lots of pictures of smaller details that caught my attention,
such as reflections in the water and unusual ice formations:
Zebra patterns
Reflections on the shore
This reminds me of ice flows in the Arctic.
GUESSING GAME
OK, I need your help.
Please give me a reasonable explanation for these unique curved marks in the snow on the south side of the
mountain. No one I talked to at the lake could figure them out,
nor could Jim when I showed him the photos:
These three sets of squigglies are at the outlet
end of the lake.
This squiggle set is near the middle of the lake.
All the sets of marks are along the south side of the lake. They are so
graceful and so similar that I just can't imagine how they occurred. I
wish you could see the photos enlarged; I'll have to learn how
to write the code so one photo at a time can be enlarged.
It almost looked like a snow-boarder made the marks, but they aren't
that long and there were no
tracks to the top of bottom of them. Maybe it was chunks of snow or ice
that broke off during melting? some type of bird or little mammal whose
tracks I couldn't see?
None of those explanations seem logical, however.
Even though I could get closer to this set, I
couldn't figure out how the marks were made.
It's a mystery to Jim and me. If anyone has the answer, please let us
know. We've never seen anything like this before. The designs are really neat.
INTREPID ALPINE
FLOWERS
The flowers were magnificent, as pretty as I’ve ever seen them along the
road and up by the lake.
Marsh marigolds reign supreme in the alpine basins in the San Juans,
popping up as soon as the snow melts along the streams and lakes. They
are quite thick in the upper and lower basins at Clear Lake, especially
on the north slope where streams of snowmelt are coming down to the lake:
The marigolds are often accompanied by colorful Parry's primrose:
There are also lots of yellow mountain avens, cream-colored Indian
paintbrush, white dwarf American bistort, purple fringe, dark red king's
crown sedum, pink fringed clover, and mountain bluebells:
Marsh marigolds cover the sides of the creek at the lake outlet and in
the very wet marsh-pond area in the lower part of the Clear Lake basin:
I'll show more photos of the pond on the next page as I descend the
mountain.
Farther down the road, at the 11,500-foot level, these and other types
of flowers were blooming, including lots of yellow alpine sunflowers
and dandelions:
Continued on the next page: more pictures from the descent
