Elk Range Loop

Campfire in Pierre Lakes Basin.
This was a several day trek in early August with my friend Kevin Dunkleberg. We traveled from Maroon Lake, to the upper valley of the North Fork of the Crystal River, to Snowmass Lake, and finally to Pierre Lakes Basin.
A late evening start from Maroon Lake parking lot.
Mule deer good morning.
Daiseys.
South Maroon Peak seen from Hasley Basin.
Wild strawberries in the palm of my hand.
The west face of the Maroon Bells.
Kevin on the trail back down from Trailrider Pass. We'd hiked up from the camp we'd made on the North Fork of the Crystal to go have a look at Geneva Lake. We never made it, but we had some nice views. The filtered light from the cloud cover brought out the richness of the colors in this special place. Later that evening while fishing some beaver ponds the sun broke out beneath the clouds and lit the summits of The Bells a spactacular orange. I'd left my camera at camp and was tempted to run to get it. I did no running. I just took it all in with several deep breaths and grins.
Camp above Snowmass Lake and below Snowmass Mountain.
Bumblebees on a thistle.
The view of Pyramid Peak and the Maroon Bells from near Heckert Pass.
Looking for a way into Pierre Lakes Basin other than Heckert Pass.
Looking back up at Heckert Pass. More of a challenge than we were looking for. We scrambled around and found an unnamed and easier passage to gain access to the guarded Pierre Lakes Basin.
The view of Snowmass Mountain as we entered Pierre Lakes Basin.
An unnamed 13,431 summit on the rim of Pierre Lakes Basin. The patch of grass and flowers in the foreground is one of the larger you can find in this basin of large lakes and boulderfields.
A large rockfall from the shoulder of Capitol Peak. We heard some yelling as it started. We scrambled up to the runout of the rockfall to have a look knowing we may have been the only ones to have seen or heard it. Fortunately we found no evidence of anyone coming down with the rocks. We met the guy who started it when we reached the trailhead at Snowmass Creek late that afternoon. He said he dislodged a dinner plate sized flake of rock and it started a chain reaction that loosed a slab of rock the size of a minibus. It made quite a roar as it fell more than 1000 feet and shattered into a large dust cloud.
Ptarmigan high in Pierre Lakes Basin.