St. Mary's Falls, April 2024

The calendar may say spring, but winter hasn't completely released its grip on Colorado just yet.  So I made plans to capture some through my lens while I still could.  The destination: St. Mary's Falls in North Cheyenne Cañon Park.

I woke up the morning of my planned expedition to low temperatures and low visibility.  Undaunted, I made the hour drive and hit the trailhead. electing to savor the conditions rather than bemoan them.

Not sure what this bird was, but I do appreciate silhouettes.

An apparent abandoned mine distracted me for a moment, but I had a waterfall to get to so I didn't explore it extensively.

The fog and barely freezing temperatures resulted in quite a bit of frost on tree branches...

...and lower-lying vegetation.

The last half mile or so was pretty steep, so I became laser-focused on just getting to the falls.  And that focus was rewarded with precisely the sort of wintry scene I'd been hoping for. 

I had gambled that the falls would no longer be completely frozen over, and the gamble paid off. 

I soon became fascinated by the ice build-up on the surrounding trees, so I switched from trying to take in the whole scene to zooming in on smaller details.

This occupied me for quite some time.

I don't like the results zooming out to this degree quite as much for some reason.

Yeah, splitting the difference just doesn't do it for me.  Tight close-ups I like, and the full views of the falls I like.  All or nothing, I suppose.

On my descent, I stopped much more frequently to capture what I was seeing.  This frost-covered plant reminded me of a sea creature.

  

Frost spikes on a yucca caught my eye.

As did these, though again I feel like this middle-ground view is my least favorite.

I've got a pretty good idea what picture is going to be on my Christmas card this year.

I definitely appreciated how clear the trail itself was of ice and snow.  That made the journey much more manageable.

Pasqueflowers still delight me.  I don't understand the science behind them blooming in freezing weather, but I love their role as heralds of springtime in the Rockies.

I know it looks like I got down on my belly for this shot, but I'll let you -- dear blog reader -- in on the secret.  This flower was going on the side of a steep embankment along the trail.  So I was really just standing comfortably with my camera at eye level.  Still, I really like the shot.

I had passed a couple of other hikers on the trail who remarked how much they liked the spiderwebs along the trail.  I replied that I hadn't noticed them but would keep an eye out on my way back.  Turns out there were only hundreds of them, cleverly hidden a couple of feet off the trail.  Apparently I was not at my most observant at the onset of my hike.

Roughly 6 1/2 miles and 2,000 feet of elevation gain in 3:20:48, which I included my time shooting the waterfall because I forgot to pause my app.  And worth every minute!