Blue Lakes Trail (S24: Part 4)

An intense hike to three teal alpine lakes

My Instagram algorithm consistently shows me pictures of glacial lakes. Every time I see a new location, I save it on a Google map to remember later. Once Adam and I knew we were visiting the San Juans, I went back to my map to find the trails, overlooks, drives, and other spots I saved in the area.

That’s how I stumbled across the hike for Blue Lakes.

I knew it was going to be a challenge. According to AllTrails, the hike is almost 9 miles (14 km) with 2500 feet (762 m) of elevation gain. I wanted to push myself because, eventually, I’d like to hike a 14er. The only way to do that is to hike harder and harder trails. I was also willing to do a crazy hike because I knew there was a payoff at the end. I only hike to take pictures.

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We woke up around sunrise to drive to Blue Lakes trailhead. I’d read online that it was a busy trail, and that the parking lot fills quickly. So we broke camp, drove to the trailhead, and made a quick breakfast before heading out for a long (to me) hike.

I told myself that there was no need to take pictures on the way up the trail. It is an out-and-back, so the view “doesn’t change.” I gave myself permission to take pictures on the way down the trail instead. Plus, you cannot see any mountains at the beginning. Your only view for the first mile or so is crazy tall aspen trees mixed in with pines. It was beautiful, but not enough to tempt me to stop for pictures. I was also not tempted because the trail starts so steeply. There were three distinct moments in that first mile when I almost stopped Adam and said, “Let’s turn around—this isn’t for me.” But the thought of the teal lake is what kept me going. I told Adam that we were hiking straight to the highest lake; I knew if I took pictures at the first lake, I wouldn’t complete the entire trail.

The Blue Lakes trail is relentless. There is not much reprieve until you reach the first lake, which is 3 miles in. When we got to Lower Blue Lake, I started crying. It wasn't from exhaustion. Just up until that moment, the lake was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I now wish I would have stopped to take pictures because that morning light was perfect. However, we weren’t even halfway through the hike, so we kept going.

Because it was late spring in the mountains, the water was flowing. The water level was much deeper where the trail actually crossed Dallas Creek, so we wandered until we found a shallower crossing. We took off our hiking boots because we didn’t want to hike the rest with wet socks. However, that water was FREEZING, being snow melt in an alpine lake. I have no idea how so many people were plunging the lake that day.

As we hiked to Upper Blue Lake, we were hiking along the tundra above tree line with a clear view of the Telluride Peaks.

S3 (13,420 feet) - an often unexplored and isolated mountain, apparently.

And then we were at Upper Blue Lake.

Upper Blue Lake, 11,720 feet (3572 m) elevation

Just the beginning of wildflower season on the tundra.

The views were incredible, despite the tricky hiking conditions (for me). I’m glad I had poles, and I’m glad that I have a spouse who grabs my backpack before I slide uncontrollably down a snowbank into a lake.

Hiking back towards Middle Blue Lake. The snow strip on the left covers the trail. That’s where I started to slide down towards Middle Blue Lake until Adam grabbed my backpack. Wolcott Mountain (13,038 feet) in the background.

I zoomed in to show the ice melting on Middle Blue Lake. The color of the water was gorgeous in the overhead sun - so much brighter in person.

An overhead shot of Lower Blue Lake. I was so exhausted that I didn’t change out to a wide-angle lens to capture the whole area. It was truly, truly beautiful.

Another shot of Wolcott Mountain and S3.

Lower Blue Lake. Earlier in the morning, the teal color was much brighter.

This was definitely the hardest hike I’ve ever done (so far). Would I hike it again? Yes, but only to the overlook of Lower Blue Lake. I don’t think there is a reason to go any higher unless you are hiking up to Blue Lake Pass. Still, I am very proud of myself for making it back to the van without being injured and without shedding any tears of frustration.

Would Adam hike Blue Lakes again? No. He was very clear about that.

Cheers.

If you missed a previous newsletter from this summer, here is a link to parts 1, 2, and 3.