Monarch Lake

I love hiking and taking photos in the snow.  So it's been a rough end to 2025 since, you know, we haven't really had any.  Until one day we did!

I was staying up in Winter Park with my family for the Christmas holiday, and on Saturday night they got fresh snow.  So early Sunday morning I went to Monarch Lake to hike its loop trail.

Winter had definitely arrived.  It was a balmy 12 degrees when I started.  And it felt it.

Unsurprisingly, there wasn't another soul on the trail.  So I was able to get some nice shots of the unbroken snow.

I did forget that underneath that beautiful, fresh snow was a lot of ice.  Slipped on the trail twice, breaking my polarizing filter the second time.  Bummer.

A little surprised to see vegetation growing, even with the unseasonable warmth.  But a fallen tree was covered with this Burred Horsehair Lichen.

I've had a lot of great hikes in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, but I've always come in from the east side.  It was cool to come in from the west for once.

Fresh snow and playing peek-a-boo with the sun through the clouds was a pretty perfect way to spend a winter morning.

It was so cold that the fresh snow hadn't had a chance to melt and freeze back together, so the flakes that had fallen were all still individual flakes.  When the wind blew through the trees, it looked like it was still snowing.

According to the AllTrails map, the trail crossed first a stream...

...then a creek.  I have no idea whaat the difference is.

I love shooting right into the sun.  It's my favorite!

Great sundial impression from this piece of wood frozen upright in the lake.

Between the cold, the wind, breaking trail in fresh snow, and occasionally slipping on the ice underneath the snow, it was a pretty challenging hike.  At least the 5.75 miles were fairly flat -- only 305 feet of total elevation gain.  And the lodge at Arapahoe Valley Ranch was an absolute godsend, providing a warm place to get ready before my hike and recover at the end.  The drive along Lake Granby was also gorgeous, so lots of absolute wins on this hike!

Related Links:

• Second Creek Trail
• RMNP Sunrise: December 2017
• RMNP: Colorado River Trail
• Grand Lake and More, January 2019
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