I wanted to catch some of the wildflowers around Crested Butte, but I didn't want to deal with crowds during the Wildflower Festival. I figured heading up a day before the festival started would result in fewer people and, thus, a better shot at a parking spot for Ludwig. So on the morning of July 6, I made the four-hour drive to Gunnison County.
After lunch in town at one of my favorite spots, I decided to try Trail 403. I'd never hiked it before, and recent reports mentioned lots of beautiful wildflowers.
I started seeing wildflowers like this Ballhead Waterleaf at fairly low elevations. But a lot of what I saw wasn't blooming yet. Late snows may have delayed the growing season.
No matter. Views like this were just fine without fields of blooming wildflowers.
Gothic Mountain beckoned, and I considered pushing for the summit.
Then I saw the trail make a HUGE drop before ascending again. I was uninterested in essentially double the elevation gain, so I turned around and headed back a little under two miles in.
I stopped for a very nice panoramic looking north-northeast.
The view included Maroon Bells, which were nice to see from a different angle.
The trail splits at one point, with the lower portion leading to...
...a couple of sweet chairs. I've seen lots of simple benches on trails, but never seating quite this posh.
I had come for wildflowers, and even though I wasn't seeing the bonanza I hoped for it made no sense to capture what was in bloom, like Glacier Lily nourishing a Swallowtail...
...Bluebells, most likely Prairie...
One of the great things about Colorado is that "now what you'd hoped for" is often still pretty great, and that was the case this day. A solid 3.72-mile hike with a very modest 685 feet of elevation gain, it still took me 2:23:57 with all my photo stops. And OK, maybe the altitude was a small factor!
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2 comments:
Lovely pictures! Thanks for sharing.
We hiked Rustler's Gulch, just up the road from your hike, in late July and the flowers & landscapes were stunning.
We were curious about the Washington Gulch trail, and thanks to your pics, we now know what to expect.
I enjoy following your travels here.
Thanks! I was just a little early to see a really impressive wildflower bloom. I don't doubt that the sights were much better when you went. :)
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