San Juans Next Week for a Stranger from a Strange Land

I live in south Florida and I hang out in the SENP. Next week I'm going to the San Juans for 5 days - arrive in Ridgway Monday afternoon, be there Tues, Wed, Thurs, leave Friday.

I've read all the posts on the San Juans for the past month. So many great pictures and places. I've never been there, and I hope you're not tired of this kind of question, but if you had 3 days to take pics, where in the San Juans would you go?

From the pics that I've seen, the places that really seem to leap out at me are Maroon Lake (I love mountain reflections), Pfeifferhorn, American Basin, and Ice Lake Basin.

Thanks, folks.

Welcome Lance! I'll be down in the San Juans next week also. I've decided to go to Wetterhorn, Porphyry, and American Basins before a short backpack to the Highland Mary Lakes area. But what you mentioned looks just great. You can't go too wrong in the San Juans in late July.

If you see an Xterra with a CNP sticker on the back, stop and say, "Hi!"

Maroon Lake is not in the San Juans, and would be a significant part of your trip to get there and back from Ridgway. You will not find reflection opportunities lacking if you just stay in the San Juans. Make sure to rent a 4WD, or those places are not going to be on your itinerary without a long hike to get there.

First off, Welcome Lance. I hope you have a wonderful trip and return with good memories and photos.

I lived in Key West for part of my youth, but would come to Colorado to visit my family. The altitude would never give me any issues in Denver or even the town of Breckenridge. However, if I hiked to say 12,000 ft, I could end up with some altitude sickness in those days and some of the places you want to go will be in that altitude range. Be mindful of this. The only thing you can do to relieve altitude sickness is to descend to a lower altitude. Basic altitude sickness can cause nausea, but can progress to HAPE(fluid in the lungs) or HACE(fluid on the brain) if unchecked and these conditions can be fatal. Getting good rest at night, drinking slightly more water than usual and not drinking alcohol can help to lower your chance of having altitude issues.

That out of the way, Todd's advice is good. Maroon Bells are a long drive from Ridgway, easily taking a full day to get there and back. I might also opt for American Basin and Ice Lake Basin. Also, look at the Alpine Loop roads. Its a very photogenic area in general.

I'd recommend two books if you can get them in time. Charles A. Wells Colorado 4wd book, Volume 1 (southern Colorado) and Laurent Martres Photographing the Southwest Volume for Colorado/New Mexico (I think volume 3). Wells' book has good descriptions of the roads, especially in the Ridgway/Ouray/Silverton area. Martres book may help you plan the times you want to be in various areas. Amazon carries both books.

Mel-

Thanks very much, everyone.

I wish I was already there.

I would second your choice of Ice lake Basin, I was there this weekend, a beautiful place, still patches of snow up in the basin. Yankee Boy Basin is also nice.