Posted by Derek Sedillo on March 14, 2007 at 2:55 PM
Brent D. got me thinking about the Indian Peaks Wilderness area in the thread on places to go this weekend.
I wanted to ask the group at large a question. My favorite spot up there is Lake Isabelle. Any idea of what Lake Isabelle is like in late Winter or Spring? I know it is a killer summer destination. The scenery is really awesome with the Glacier in the background. I took my 5 y/o up there last summer. The combo of waterfalls, wildflowers, high altitude peaks and lakes are way cool.
Has anyone made the hike in the late Winter or Spring? Just curious.
- Derek
Posted by Brent Murphy on March 14, 2007 at 3:29 PM
Well, Scott Bacon and I tried to get up there a couple weekends ago, and it's a slog. We made it to the end of Long Lake, and had to break trail from there. We decided we couldn't make it in time to take any decent shots, so we turned around. It will still an 8-mile day on snowshoes, which is plenty for me. We started wondering when they open the road. That way, you could drive in a few more miles, making for a shorter hike, but maybe still have the winter conditions. Anyone know when that road usually opens?
Posted by Derek Sedillo on March 14, 2007 at 4:58 PM
Brent,
Wow, 8 miles on snow shoes sounds like a great workout. But I know there is a lot of uphill after Long Lake.
Were you able to drive into the main Brainard Lake area? It sounds like the road to the Long Lake/Lake Isabelle was still closed. Is that correct?
I thought the road doesn't open up until around Memorial Day.
Posted by Scott Bacon on March 14, 2007 at 5:10 PM
I'll just add a few details to what Brent said... It's do-able, but could be a long day. It's about 5.5 miles from the winter trailhead to Lake Isabelle.
We started around 5am at the winter trailhead, hiked at a comfortable pace and made it to Brainard by 6am. We shot sunrise there for about 45 min. and then headed up to Long Lake. It took about 1.5 hours to get to the western shore of Long Lake and that's where the packed trail ended. We continued another 400 yards, then called it quits. It's another 1.5 miles to Lake Isabelle. You might be breaking your own trail and route-finding. So it could take an additional 1-3 hours, depending on skill level and physical conditioning.
The road usually opens the 1st or 2nd week of June. That would not only take 2.5-3.0 miles off the hike, but there would be much less snow on the southern aspects and the odds would be much better that others have broken trail to Lake Isabelle.
Let me know if you plan to go. I might be up for a second attempt. And the recent change to DST would provide another hour before sunrise...
Posted by Scott Bacon on March 14, 2007 at 5:15 PM
Derek wrote:
But I know there is a lot of uphill after Long Lake.
You got that right. And we were breaking trail through 2 feet of fresh snow.
Derek wrote:
Were you able to drive into the main Brainard Lake area? It sounds like the road to the Long Lake/Lake Isabelle was still closed. Is that correct?
Yes, the road is closed. The winter trailhead is about 2.25 miles from Brainard Lake. The road is often hard-packed and wind-blown, so snowshoes are rarely required for this leg of the hike (especially early in the morning, before it warms up).
Discussion
5 repliesI wanted to ask the group at large a question. My favorite spot up there is Lake Isabelle. Any idea of what Lake Isabelle is like in late Winter or Spring? I know it is a killer summer destination. The scenery is really awesome with the Glacier in the background. I took my 5 y/o up there last summer. The combo of waterfalls, wildflowers, high altitude peaks and lakes are way cool.
Has anyone made the hike in the late Winter or Spring? Just curious.
- Derek
Wow, 8 miles on snow shoes sounds like a great workout. But I know there is a lot of uphill after Long Lake.
Were you able to drive into the main Brainard Lake area? It sounds like the road to the Long Lake/Lake Isabelle was still closed. Is that correct?
- Derek
We started around 5am at the winter trailhead, hiked at a comfortable pace and made it to Brainard by 6am. We shot sunrise there for about 45 min. and then headed up to Long Lake. It took about 1.5 hours to get to the western shore of Long Lake and that's where the packed trail ended. We continued another 400 yards, then called it quits. It's another 1.5 miles to Lake Isabelle. You might be breaking your own trail and route-finding. So it could take an additional 1-3 hours, depending on skill level and physical conditioning.
The road usually opens the 1st or 2nd week of June. That would not only take 2.5-3.0 miles off the hike, but there would be much less snow on the southern aspects and the odds would be much better that others have broken trail to Lake Isabelle.
Let me know if you plan to go. I might be up for a second attempt.
Yes, the road is closed. The winter trailhead is about 2.25 miles from Brainard Lake. The road is often hard-packed and wind-blown, so snowshoes are rarely required for this leg of the hike (especially early in the morning, before it warms up).