Sandbeach Lake Trail, Part II

Click here for Part I.

My hike to Sandbeach Lake was just the right amount of exertion for my summer trip to Colorado.  For a nine-mile roundtrip hike to an alpine lake, the elevation change is fairly gentle -- only about 2,000 feet.  Couple that with overcast skies, and I felt like I could have easily gone even further.

This little Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel was working even harder than I was.  Preparing for winter already in late July, perhaps?

Even tiny cascades can possess a lovely charm.  And this inflow to the lake was tiny.

I kept a closer eye out for blooming wildflowers on my return trek, and there were plenty to see.  Mountain Bluebells...

...Whipple's Penstemon...

...and Giant Red Paintbrush.

The trail itself was beautiful to behold.  The appeal of a wide, clear path through lush, green woods is immense.

Even the "rocky stretches" weren't especially troublesome.

I didn't know if this was a plant or a fungus.  Apparently it's a plant -- Woodland Pinedrops.

The clouds broke on my way back to give me a nice view of the North Saint Vrain Creek Valley.

The wildflowers weren't done yet -- first a patch of Gunnison's Mariposa Lily...

...then some Pinewoods Geranium.

Even some Ponderosa Pine cones looked like they'd been placed purposefully into a pleasing arrangement.

To see so much moisture-dependent flowers and fungi -- like these Sunshine Amanita -- and yet still get to walk on a perfectly dry trail was an unexpectedly delightful combination.  Map My Walk says I covered 9.15 miles in 5:35:21, which is a pace I can live with.

Maybe next year I'll get to Lion Lakes like I'd planned.  But for this year, Sandbeach Lake proved to be a more than adequate backup!