Columbine Lake Hike With John Q

John Q contemplates Columbine Lake.

Ever wonder why some mountain lakes seem to be dyed blue? Well, it appears that extremely pure water is gifted with a slight bluish tint, and it grows more resonant as depth increases. The blue hue of pure water is intrinsic... caused by selective absorption and scattering of white light. So there you go; and you thought this blog was just poetry and a pretty face :))


The forecast was for thunderstorms to crank up early; so what else is new? As my Lovely always says, "if you stay home because of a forecast, you'll end up wasting a perfectly beautiful day." I would add to that, "a perfectly wet and beautiful day." I don't mind getting wet, mind you, it's the lightning that oft accompanies wetness above timberline that pees my pants. Once you commit to leaving the shelter of forest far, far below, well, it's a little like hiking naked... you are ridiculously exposed and there is no place to hide. On a good day, you get a nice even tan with no lines. On a bad day, you get french fried by a gazillion volts. 


It turned out to be one of those days Bobbie warned of... beautiful, a perfect blend of sun and clouds, clouds that threatened but never followed through, sort of like a schoolyard bully. So let's get going, before it rains.

Souvenirs are free... John just points and shoots his heart out

Ansel Adams-esque Grinidier Mountains

Skunk Cabbage and wildflowers coexist peacefully up here

There is still snow to navigate, or glacade... depending on your mood

A couple of "hard rock flowers"

Still lots of wildflowers if you are willing to go above 12,000 feet

"The hills are alive..."

John Q plods the Alpine Way

John Q wants a photo of Bobbie and him... or does he just want to put his arm around her???

When the light is right up here, it's everything

Wildflower in shade still "pop" a little, tho

Put yourself in her shoes... tripping through gardens, on the way to a blue laked basin at the bottom of rusted mountinans  

We begin to hear Columbines libations, gurgling along... watering flowers... happy, free from capture. I know how it feels...

Suddenly, there was an explosion of blue... a concussion of shrapnel-like wave lengths of color pierced my body, especially my eyes. I must have had a heart attack; I was relieved, and surprised, to know I had made it to heaven...    

Well, what do you picture "Heaven" to be?

And Bobbie's there too!!! Glory!

Why is she looking at a map? We don't need no stinking map in Heaven...

Lavender and Rust... what compliments...

Ophir Pass lies somewhere just over that ridge...

Darkness, even in Heaven... always on the horizon...

Just a few more Photos, God, the light is perfect...

Just a few more...

to be continued...