(Continued from the last page.)

As you'd expect Cody and I got down the mountain from Clear Lake faster than we went up. The grade on the road is gradual enough over four miles that the 2,200-foot descent didn't hurt my knees since I was just walking and not running.

I took a little more time to "smell the roses" going back down, noting more details like flowers.

ALPINE FLOWERS & VISTAS

There were lots of wildflowers blooming along the road up to within half a mile of the lake, about the same as I’ve seen in previous years when there was less snow. Some flowers like columbines haven’t opened up yet, though, and the flowers at 11,800-12,000+ feet in elevation near the lake are either under snow or water and haven’t opened up yet.

 

The scenes and flowers I'll show you in this entry are pretty much in order descending in elevation, beginning with the ones I saw up in the alpine area.

 

Marsh marigolds were beginning to bloom up by the pond where the snow has receded. I've shown some recently from Maggie Gulch. The first six flowers in this entry were all blooming between the marsh area and treeline where they get plenty of sun.

I'll include some more flower pictures in the next entry.

I stayed on the road and slid down the snow on the two switchbacks (below) that I bypassed on the way up. That's always fun and gets Cody all excited because he doesn't see us doing that very often.

 

TREELINE AND BELOW

 

Going, going, gone . . . pretty soon I won't be able to see the Ice Lake Basin any more.
There's a nice campsite right about here that's suitable for a tent or small RV.

Only four or five vehicles drove up or came down the three miles of road that were clear when Cody and I were descending on that part of the road, which is fewer than I expected on such a gorgeous day.

One driver asked if i wanted a lift down to South Mineral Creek Road. I politely declined. It was too much fun to walk and the scenery looks different from that perspective (down vs. up).

Another younger driver commented that he saw Cody and me coming down from above the mine. He asked how far up I went and was surprised I'd gotten within spitting distance of the lake. When I described how beautiful it was, he turned around and went back up for his own hike!

Because of all the snowmelt Cody had plenty of water to drink today from little streams and run-off along the road. As warm as it was, he enjoyed walking for long stretches in the water in the ditches (above). I don't let him drink runoff near the mine, however; it's probably got some nasty stuff in it. He also got to enjoy splashing in the clear creek (there's a reason that is its name!) and standing water up in the high basin.

About a mile from the bottom I detoured onto a secondary trailhead for the Ice Lake Trail. There is room for only a few vehicles to park; I didn't see anyone parked there this morning or afternoon.

Within a quarter mile the trail passes next to/under a large waterfall on Clear Creek. I've shown it in this journal in previous years. As you'd expect with all the snowmelt right now, it's the biggest I've ever seen it:

The trail on this side of the falls is partly washed out so I didn't go all the way over to it. Just past the falls the trail connects with the main trail coming up from South Mineral Creek Road. When I go up to the Ice Lake Basin in a few days I'll try to get a better picture of the falls from the other side.

There are some pretty little falls in tiny streams by the side of the road in the last mile. Flowers often proliferate near these water sources:

Pretty soon we were back down to South Mineral Creek Road.:

I love how lush the canyon looks in that photo.

HIKE SUMMARY

That was a good hike!

After seeing all the snow up in the Ice Lake basins I can't wait to go explore those trails and see how high up I can get. I also hope to get back up to Clear Lake again so I can actually see the lake.

Neither Cody nor I were wiped out from our nine-mile hike with about 4,400 feet elevation change. 11,954 feet is the highest we've climbed this year so far.

The weather was great, too – almost too warm for us at 78 F. when we got back down to the truck. I didn’t need pants or a jacket at almost 12,000 feet in the snow because the sun was so direct. We had plenty of water and I remembered to take electrolytes this time.

It was sunny and dry all day (only 6% humidity). It’s about time for the monsoon season, however, when there is a high probability of thunderstorms after noon. I’ll have to start my hikes and bike rides earlier when that happens.

HOLDING DOWN THE FORT

Jim stayed at the camper all day except to go get water. He put in the new roof vent, washed the bugs off the front cap of the camper, did other chores, and read his new book.

His knee feels a little better each day; the brace helps reduce side-to-side motion, which is what hurts when the MCL is injured. He took a walk around the campground with me after supper but that’s all the exercise he’s doing while he heals. We hope to hear something soon from Dr. Scott re: the MRI results.

Several RVs left today and even more came in. I imagine they’ll stay through the 4^th of July, which is a week from tomorrow.  

Next entry:  Monday's miscellanea

Happy trails,

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

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© 2011 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil