Hanging Lake

4:30am. That was the time the alarm went off. Not that I heard it. I was dead to the world, and Eric got up and showered (I have a policy about not showering before hiking - what's the point?) and somewhere in there, I recognized that there was movement in the bedroom and bathroom, and got myself to a semi-conscious state. We were out of the house by 5:05am, well, maybe 5:15, but certainly no later.

Our intern, Christina, (who is staying with us this summer) and I, made it all the way to the county line (read: 3 miles?) before conking out. Eric, the hero of this story, sucked down his favorite iced coffee and powered through the three and a half hour drive to just outside Glenwood Springs, Colorado. We arrived to the Hanging Lake Trailhead parking lot at 8:15am.

We got the third to the last parking spot. Popular place.

We found out why:

Hanging Lake from the ledge above

Holy cow the water was aquamarine and totally clear.

Christina, Eric and I on the hike up.

This is a totally "doable" hike, especially for having lived here for a while. According to Eric, the "reviews" say that it's really hard (tourists from the flatlands?) but we didn't find it to be all that strenous, and Christina, the Southerner in tennis shoes, did just fine. Its just over a mile with 1,100 feet of elevation gain past 27 or so waterfalls, to get to the lake, which is perched on the side of the canyon. The hike is really, REALLY popular, so its not a desolate trail by any means. There are a lot of people at the lake, but apparently not everyone is intersted in also climbing above the lake. THAT was a cool experience too! Above Hanging Lake is a place called Spouting Rock, and its a waterfall coming directly out of a hole in the side of the canyon. Unfortunately, most of my photos came out crummy on this hike, so you'll have to take my word for it. So much for "improving" in photography... what setting was I using, anyway?

Highly recommend this! It may be my new favorite... until the next one!