Monday morning. After many drives up and down the mountain pass from Crested Butte in the past two days, this morning marks my final outing to Kebler Pass. After this morning’s hike, I’ll be focusing more on the environs of Crested Butte itself in the afternoon and evening, and moving on westward to the San Juan Mountains tomorrow. For this morning, it’s an early start and a long drive from the guesthouse back up to Kebler Pass, and this time all the way to the Lost Lake Campground in the central part of the pass. It’s still dark when I pull into the parking area and pay the day-use fee, although the slightest glimmer of light to the east is beginning to reveal itself on the horizon. I’m here this morning to shoot sunrise on the flanks of East Beckwith Mountain, this time from the shore of Lost Lake Slough at the mountain’s base. In contrast to last night’s stunning golden hour light, there is only a whiff of cloud on the eastern horizon; the sky is otherwise a blank slate again. I set up my timelapse on the north shore of Lost Lake Slough, not far from the nearby campground, and then take my main camera for a walk along the shore, looking for interesting foregrounds to pair with the mountain and its reflection on the water’s surface. Eventually, sunlight creeps into the scene - first as a pink glow on East Beckwith’s summit, then as a band of fiery gold, lighting up the aspens on the mountain’s flank. As day sets in, I leave the water’s edge and set off on a loop hike around Lost Lake Slough and to two nearby lakes: Lost Lake and Dollar Lake.
The walk is brilliant and beautiful this morning, and the air is crisp with the smell of evergreen needles and forest floor. The trail heads uphill from the Lost Lake Slough, cutting sequentially through pine forest and then aspen groves; the sidelight coming through the trees is mesmerizing. Up at Lost Lake, it’s daylight in earnest, and I choose to take a brief detour to circle the little lake and photograph both shores reflected in the water. Crossing Middle Creek near its inlet with Lost Lake, I briefly stop to admire a nearby waterfall before continuing uphill to the top of the hike. Here, the trail crosses a scree slope dotted with pines which opens out above the forest, onto a fantastic panorama of Lost Lake Slough below, and Marcellina Mountain in the distance. I stop here for a water break and a series of photographs - the latest in this blog’s grand tradition of “Taking a Photo of My Parked Car from a Very Faraway Place.”
Above the slope, I come to a trail intersection and diverge for a short distance further uphill to come to the shores of Dollar Lake, a magical little lake tucked against the flank of East Beckwith Mountain, where the autumn colours and the admixture of deciduous and evergreen forest is again beautifully reflected in the water. Then, I retrace my steps back to the intersection and make the long downhill run back to the opposite end of Lost Slough Lake, returning to the car after what feels like an interminable series of switchbacks and stream crossings.
Mid-morning now. With the sun glaring above in a cloudless sky, rendering foliage photography difficult, I choose to leave Kebler Pass behind for the final time, making my way back to Crested Butte. Along the way, I scout for a good sunset spot in the hills above town, and then proceed back into civilization to grab a nice brunch (bacon, eggs, pancakes, and juice) at McGill’s on Elk Avenue. Sated and happy, I wander down the street, photographing the storefronts beneath the looming peak of Crested Butte, and stopping into a souvenir shop to pick up this trip’s magnet - a cute whitetail deer for Jordan. Then, it’s back to the hotel to rest for the afternoon.
After taking a short nap, spending time off-feet, and catching up on reading and writing, I head back out in the late afternoon to scout a few locations around town before the golden hour sets in. The first location is on the eastern edge of town, where I leave my car parked at Rainbow Park and walk down the street to the fence of McCormick Ranch. Although the road here is private and impassible to cars, pedestrian walkers are welcome, and I take the opportunity to briefly walk along the ranch road, photographing the houses of Crested Butte’s ski resort / condominium village to the north, and the herd of cows standing in the open, grassy valley to the south. It’s a beautiful location, but despite the 360-degree openness of the road and the nearby mass of Crested Butte, I decide that it doesn’t particularly stand out or inspire me to return for either sunrise or sunset.
For my next stop of the afternoon, I drive a short distance north of the town proper, to the top of a residential neighborhood adjoining Mt. Crested Butte (the ski village). Here, I find a nice cul-de-sac to leave the car and walk along the ridgeline, photographing Crested Butte itself, along the with the distant mountains to the north and west, their flanks shadowed by the afternoon light. Nearby, a pair of black-billed magpies hop along the asphalt, apparently waiting to see if they can pinch any snacks or valuables from the newcomer photographer. It’s another pretty spot for photography, and I decide it should do just fine for sunrise tomorrow morning (when the peaks to the west will be touched by first light).
Now, back in the car and back toward Crested Butte to catch sunrise at my earlier-scouted spot in the hills above town. On my way down from the ski village, I first briefly turn up the highway toward the Oh-Be-Joyful Recreation Area, where a series of pullouts on the side of the road reward me with lovely valley views toward Gunsight Pass and the aspen groves below Snodgrass Mountain, beautifully lit in the setting sun. I briefly wish I had budgeted more time to explore the valleys around Crested Butte; but no matter - it’s onward to my golden hour location.
Above Crested Butte, I find a place to park the car and climb just off the roadside, into the sage-covered hills overlooking town. It’s a beautiful meadow fringed by a few stands of red-orange aspen trees, and in the distance, the mountains to the north and east are catching the last of the day’s light. After finding a clear spot in the grass to sit myself down (so as not to draw too much attention from the road below), I set up a sunset timelapse while working with my main camera to photograph alpenglow on Crested Butte and the more distant mountain ranges. Then, it’s a short drive back to the guesthouse for wine, cookies, and my final night in Crested Butte before relocating westward tomorrow.
