bicyclingbarefoot: Mills Lake and Black Lake

Went out early with Ben, a fellow intern and a fellow Minnesotan, on a number of hikes throughout the summer. Arguably, this may have been my favorite.

Alberta Falls, especially at midday is throbbing with people, but in the early morning is quite pleasant. The snowmelt this year has been incredible, causing all the rivers and creeks to run real high. Glacier Creek, which provides the water for Alberta Falls is no exception.

Started our hike at the Glacier Gorge Trailhead; Alberta Falls is a real easy 0.8mile hike in through quaking stands of Aspen and tall Spruce and Fir.

Glacier Creek running through Alberta Falls in the early morning

The walk from Glacier Gorge to Mills Lake is one of my favorite - you get phenomenal views down onto Bear Lake Road and beyond. As the trail continues you look down into the actual gorge where Glacier Creek runs. Wild Raspberries grow in multiple places along the rocky outcroppings.

Mills Lake is 2.7miles from the trailhead; Black Lake is 2.2miles further up the trail.

Looking back south from Mills Lake

Mills Lake, looking towards the cirque where Black Lake lies, surrounded by Longs Peak, Keyboard of the Winds, Pagoda, and McHenry's Peak.

Mills Lake, looking south back towards Hallett and Flattop

Mills Lake

Along the way, we passed many open meadows of green grass and beautiful small flowers.

Glacier Creek.

Following the creek through the woods, we faced a few small and slick snowfields that had to be crossed to reach our destination. Thankfully, many of the fields were flat and easy to cross, although I lost my camera lens somewhere along the way.

Lower portion of Ribbon Falls and part of the meadow it drains into.
Also visible: the last snowfield that had to be climbed. It was a bit steep and slippery, and I ended up going down on my butt on the way back.

Looking down from atop the last snowfield before Black Lake onto Ribbon Falls. Much of the falls were covered by thick snow; the social path we took is visible in the lower right corner.

Black Lake, surrounded by many mtn peaks, including McHenry's Peak in the center

Precipitation this winter in the park was incredible - in places 200% more than average. As summer brought bright sunshine and warmer temperatures, water began flowing throughout the park.
As we neared Black Lake, all we could hear was the rushing of water all around us; alongside the trail were small seasonal waterfalls. Once we arrived at the lake, we found huge waterfalls flowing into the lake from every direction, many of which are visible here. The surprise of the falls and the solitude made this hike one of my favorites all summer long.

Ben continued on towards Frozen Lake, about a thousand feet above Black; the ice and snow alongside this waterfall convinced me to enjoy some solitude at Black Lake instead.