Image No. 16 – East Beckwith and Lost Lake © jj raia
Image No. 16 thru No. 19
When we finally broke away from Aspen and headed toward Kebler Pass, we stopped for lunch in Marble and spoke to a local about foliage conditions along the 30 mile long dirt road. She told us about beautiful Lost Lake located about mid point along the road which neither of us had heard of, and that it had some campsites there. We stopped several times along the road to take pictures, but nothing special came of them because for the most part, the foliage was about a week or so before peak. But as we climbed higher and hit the turnoff for the lake, the color began to improve and around the lake itself, it was near peak. But more importantly, the mountain rising from the lake was impressive and well positioned for both sunrise and sunset. However, it remained cloudy throughout the day so all we could hope for was tomorrow’s sunrise. It turned out the morning was cloudy as well, so what held great promise turned out to be a bust. It wasn’t until we had packed up and were ready to move on that the sun broke out and lit up the snow capped mountain and we grabbed our gear and ran down to the lake where we both were able to grab a few frames before the sun disappeared and snow began to gently fall. I knew then that I would like to return again if I could make a feasible plan before I headed into Utah in the next few days, but we still had some traveling ahead before the possibility would open up. Eventually I did return again, but because of a miscalculation of distances, never made it back in time for the sunset. But I was happy to find the aspens still had their golden leaves and I did enjoy a beautiful pink sky sunrise the next morning!!
Image No. 17 – Early Dawn at Lost Lake © jj raia
As I mentioned, I wasn’t able to get to Lost Lake by sunset, so I explored around beautiful Lake San Cristobal as the sun settled in the west and found a few beautiful spots that made the miscalculation a bit easier to take. One opportunity was lost while another was gained.
Cottonwood Creek – Rio Grande National Forest, CO © jj raia
Lake San Cristobal – Rio Grande National Forest, CO © jj raia
j.j. raia | photo 