Crested Butte: Washington Gulch, Part II

Click here for Part I.

The trail along the ridge was much more gradual than the one to the ridge.  I told Josh I could hike this sort of ascent all day, and I meant it.

The snowshoe tracks actually didn't continue much farther, though.  Not far past this aspen grove they disappeared and we were left with just ski tracks going uphill, which I had learned the hard way in the past were not a good idea to try and follow.

So we changed course and Josh broke trail downhill, carrying Ivan with him.  Ginny followed close behind, and I lost sight of them for a while stopping to take pictures.  None of them turned out well enough to post here, and I eventually caught back up with them taking a breather with Gothic Mountain in the background.

I often ended up behind from stopping to take pictures.  Ginny decided I'd fallen too far behind at this point and raced back to me, which I found adorable.

Gothic Mountain's presence was impossible to ignore, and demanded regular stops to look back and justify additional pictures.

I loved the dichotomy of the stark, straight lines of the aspens and the soft, sweeping curves of the ski trail coming down the ridge.

After the hike we just drove around a bit looking for other things to shoot, which were frankly everywhere.  Like this wind-carved snow on the side of the road.

Past the resort town of Mt. Crested Butte a weary cross-country skier carried his sticks uphill.

Back at Josh's place the shooting wasn't over, as a simple wooden fence pointed the way to the south side of Crested Butte itself.

Just a glorious day in a beautiful mountain paradise.  The hike and the conditions were everything I could have hoped for.  I had such a great time that I talked the family into going back for spring break!