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Mirror Lake & Lone Eagle Peak ~ July 15th, 2007 Next Photo > Location... Mirror Lake is the small sister of Crater Lake, lying in the shadow of Lone Eagle Peak in the Indian Peaks Wilderness of Colorado. The Monarch Lake Trailhead is at the end of County Road 6 along the South end of Grand Lake, about 120 miles west of Denver, CO. I've hiked this trail numerous times, during different seasons. This turned out to be one of my best trips due to the great weather and prolific wildflowers.
The Route... The trail starts at the Monarch Lake Trailhead and follows Cascade Creek to Mirror Lake - 7.2 miles with 2000 feet of elevation gain (one-way). If you like, you can continue another .2 miles to Crater Lake. I hit the trail at 2:15pm and quickly settled into a comfortable pace. I put away the first 3.5 miles rather quickly. Then the trail begins to get steeper and the scenery ever more interesting. So my average pace slowed as I stopped to take photos here and there. And I made several 20-30 minute stops to set up my large format camera. I arrived at Mirror Lake at 7:00pm and stuck around to admire and photograph the evening light until just after sunset. Then I packed up, donned my headlamp and returned to the trailhead. Warning! This is a long and fairly difficult trail, especially if completed in one day. You should be in very good physical condition, be well prepared, and have some navigation and hiking experience. Be careful out there! Continue to the next page to view some photos...
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