We attempted this long and high altitude trail to see 3 gorgeous alpine lakes on Mt. Sneffels (Alpine lakes are at high altitude starting around 10,000 ft). The Lower Blue Lake was at 11,000 ft! Spoiler alert: we only made it to the first lake. See why below.

This is where we started in the car before we hit the crazy road to the trail head – 7434 ft. is the altitude.

30 minutes and 2000 ft higher, we were ready to hit the trail.

Look how energetic they still look!

The whole hike was filled with these amazing views. It reminded me of the Sound of Music over and over. The scenery felt like nothing I’d ever seen before. That mountain was so majestic.

Aspen

There were lots of downed trees in the path. I started hoping that they only fall in the winter when the snow is heavy.

Interesting pattern in the downed trees.

We’re not sure what this cottony shrub is, but it was interesting and growing in several places along the trail.

We had to cross several streams and falls.

This river was flowing out of the lake, producing impressive rapids and falls along the way, enticing us to continue to the lake above.

First view of Lower Blue Lake. Gorgeous!

Not so much energy anymore. This is about 3.3 miles and 1700 feet of elevation gain by foot. Also, Kristi was chilly by the lake. We stopped there for lunch.

We couldn’t stop exclaiming about how blue the water was. It lived up to its name.

Headed to Middle Blue Lake. It got harder quickly. The streams we had to cross were getting bigger. Here, we’re climbing down the bank to the river in order to cross at a better place than where the path was.

Kristi did make this crossing!

This is as far as we made it. Kristi was not willing to cross this waterfall. It was rushing fast and very loud and very steep above and below the crossing spot. Jerry went across a few times to try to convince Kristi. Nope! He did go across and get the beautiful feature image at the start of this post.

This is above the crossing.

This is below the crossing.

We were SO DONE at the end. This was a very long hike. 6 hours! But amazing and rewarding!