Wildflowers!

July 27, 2025

Unfortunately, in the state of Colorado it has come to be that if you want any kind of solitude on (most) hikes, you’ve got to be the first one to the trail. So, up at 4am! We arrived at the trailhead at 5:15 and were indeed the first ones there. This trail starts right off I-70 so there was still the presence of civilization but not for long. Chili and I took off to the north, it was about 43 degrees but felt colder since the sun was just starting to rise and wouldn’t hit the valley for another couple of hours.

As we started up the valley, walking next to and crossing through many small streams, the abundance of wildflowers was breathtaking, stunning. So many colors and varieties! Sometimes living in Denver where everything has already started to dry out by now, you forget that this is peak wildflower season in the alpine.

The trail starts at about 11,000′ so we were soon above tree line looking down into the valley.

As we neared the end of the valley, the trail got steeper and the climb began, about 800′ in the next 1/2 mile. At the top of the first climb, Chili found a long cornice to play on, boy was he happy! Snow is Chili’s absolute favorite.

Continuing upward to meet the rising sun…

At the top the views were sensational and we had the entire place to ourselves. We stayed there for about an hour, enjoying the solitude. What a wonderful way to start a Sunday.

When a couple of young photographers climbed up, Chili and I took that as our signal to head down. As we approached the cornice, the conga line of hikers ensued, perfect timing for our exit!

Once getting back into the valley, we took a less traveled path, to avoid the crowds, peace, quiet and wildflowers!