Lake Helene and Notchtop Mountain

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A 360-degree panorama with Flat Top Mountain at left, Notchtop Mountain [summit at 12129 ft/3697 m] at center, and Joe Mills Mountain at right.

Early morning light breaks over Bierstadt Lake.

A first glimpse of Notchtop Mountain from the trail as it crosses a talus slope at around 10,500 feet.

Tree silhouetted against Notchtop Mountain.

Ice fall.

Lots of lakes: Odessa Lake at left, Lake Helene in the foreground at right, and Two Rivers Lake in the background at right.  Joe Mills Mountain at center.

Bandits [in this case, Canada jay or gray jay, Perisoreus canadensis] are always ready to grab a treat - hang on to your snacks!

Coming back down the trail, a view southward towards Glacier Gorge, with the Glacier Knobs in the mid-ground and Long's Peak, Keyboard of the Winds, Pagoda Mountain, and Chiefs Head Peak on the horizon.  The east end of Bear Lake is visible in the foreground at right.

Aspens

From left: McHenry's Peak, East Glacier Knob, and Otis Peak and Taylor Peak in the clouds, and Hallet Peak on the right.  All but East Glacier Knob lie on the Continental Divide with elevations above 12,000 feet.  My elevation here is around 9.500 feet.

A wider panoramic view includes Long's Peak [elevation 14,259 feet] visible between the two pine trees at left.

A blaze of glory

Fern Lake and Odessa Lake

About 3.8 miles from the Fern Lake trailhead at the west end of Moraine Park, climbing from about 8000 feet to 9,500 feet to reach Fern Lake.  From there it is another mile or so, and another 500 feet of elevation gain, to reach Odessa Lake at just above 10,000 feet.

Fern Lake.  Odessa Lake lies just beneath Notchtop Mountain and the Little Matterhorn, both in the distance at right.

Morning sunlight on the canyon walls above the Fern Lake trail.

A tributary creek of the Big Thompson River.

Fern Falls, elevation 8800 feet.

Great to see this bull moose on the east side of the park!

Notchtop Mountain and the Little Matterhorn reflected in Fern Lake.

The approach to Odessa Lake along Fern Creek is spectacular - Notchtop Mountain [summit at about 12,160 feet] at center.

Odessa Lake, with Notchtop Mountain at center and the Little Matterhorn at right.

Some excellent trail engineering just below Odessa Lake.

In the Autumn of 2012, the Fern Lake fire raced up both sides of the canyon carrying the upper reaches of the Big Thompson River, burning about 3,500 acres.  It was started by an illegal campfire on October 9th, and was not officially declared extinguished until the 24th of June 2013, eight and a half months later, when enough snow had melted off the mountain tops to allow confirmation that there were no smoldering remnants still active.  Almost two years later, large swaths of former pine forest remain barren.

It ain't called "The Rockies" for nuthin'.

Elk Rut begins

It's the season when bull elk are gathering and defending their harems.  Their bugling is echoing across Rocky Mountain National Park.

Andrews Tarn

A few months ago, I released a song named, "Rain on the Tarn", and mentioned that I hoped to reach the subject location this summer.

Earlier this week, I hiked up through Glacier Gorge to Andrews Tarn, so I can count that desire fulfilled.

Andrews Tarn lies at around 11,500 feet elevation, just below Andrews Glacier, just east of the Continental Divide in Rocky Mountain National Park.  This photo looks eastward away from the Divide and the glacier, towards the steep drop-off into the canyon below.

Andrews Glacier - not much more than a dirty patch of snow in late Summer - and getting smaller every year because of the effects of human activity on our climate.  Above the glacier is a saddle that is part of the Continental Divide - the line that determines whether water drains into the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean.

Here's the tune - evocative of a different sort of day than the bright and windy conditions in these photos!

From the eastern lip of Andrews Tarn, looking down the talus slope, with a blue sliver of The Loch [elevation 10,180 ft] visible about a mile away.

Andrews Creek drains Andrews Tarn and joins Icy Brook running down from Lake of Glass to fill The Loch.

The middle reaches of Andrews Creek cascade over boulders below Andrews Tarn.

Andrews Creek takes a more leisurely meander through the lower reaches before joining Icy Creek.

Looking almost due south across The Loch from its northern shore.

At the foot of The Loch, with Taylor Glacier and Taylor Peak at center and right, respectively.

Glacier Creek below The Loch.

The Loch Vale Trail as it passes below the Glacier Knobs headed for The Loch.