I've been down here for a couple days and visited a few spots. Here's the low-down.
Ice Lakes Basin: GET THERE NOW! Fireweed, columbines, sneezeweed, alpine sunflowers, cow parsnip, yellow & red paintbrush, larkspur, penstemon, wild geranium, buttercup and more. It's THICK in the lower basin.
West Fork Pass/Cow Creek: GET THERE NOW! See above, minus the fireweed.
Minnehaha Basin: Some very nice patches and lots of cascades lined with flowers.
Porphyry Basin: Not as good as I've seen in the past but still a worthwhile location. Larkspur, yellow paintbrush, some columbines, etc.
Velocity Basin: AKA Colorado Basin. GET THERE NOW! I know, I know...I keep saying that but really, it's true. I've never seen such thick bluebells. Also, asters, paintbrush, buttercup, geraniums and more. Crazy thick in areas.
So, there it is. Get down here and enjoy the wildflowers (despite the rain, hail and scary ass lightning).
I just got home and will start processing photos shortly. I'll post a couple of them here for ya'll to enjoy.
Porphyry update: I found a crazy thick hillside of flowers, mostly red/pink paintbrush, buttercup, bistort and some other yellow flowers I did not identify.
Brian: Porphyry was not washed out as of 1030 this morning. It started DUMPING shortly after I hit the 550 and there is no telling what condition the road will be in.
Scott: I'd give the flowers in Wetterhorn and Ice Lakes at least another week, especially with all the rain and cooler temperatures.
Todd: Storm Peak presides over Velocity Basin from the Gladstone side. Trails Illustrated map #141 (Telluride, Silverton, Ouray, Lake City). Very dramatic as the relief from Storm Peak to the basin is basically vertical.
Was that you or any other RMNPers that were camped in the pulloff about a mile up the Porphyry Basin road? I was coming down the road on the green Kawasaki Wed. morning and thought the person just getting up looked familiar. I didn't stop because I didn't think there would be any way a RMNPer would sleep through sunrise I hope I'm wrong.
Just went up to Stony Pass today and was disappointed compared to previous years. It's still good, but not nearly as good as in the past. Porphyry has great Indian Paintbrush near the waterfall before you get to the top. The actual basin was another disappointment compared to previous years. Did the Corkscrew Gulch road to the top this morning and almost no flowers to be seen. Checking out some other basins/gulches tomorrow before heading back to reality.
Tony: Yep, that was Scott Bacon and me. We didn't get there until 1230 at night, after hiking all day in West Fork Pass area, and we were both whooped! Scott got up around 6:00 and I rolled out of the truck at...8:00!
Thanks for the update, Bret. Hurry up with those pics, though!
Posted by Scott Bacon on July 29, 2007 at 10:13 AM
Tony wrote:
Was that you or any other RMNPers that were camped in the pulloff about a mile up the Porphyry Basin road? I was coming down the road on the green Kawasaki Wed. morning and thought the person just getting up looked familiar. I didn't stop because I didn't think there would be any way a RMNPer would sleep through sunrise I hope I'm wrong.
Tony, That was me who waved to you! For some reason, I didn't recognize you with your helmet on. And yes, we were being very lazy - both of us sleeping in. We finally got going and made our way into the basin to catch what was left of the morning light.
Posted by Todd Caudle on July 29, 2007 at 10:41 AM
Darren: Great reference shot! That lake looks in person exactly how I imagined it after finding it on a map. But my gosh, how did you control your excitement over that amazing sky??? That's change-your-undies conditions, man!
Discussion
11 repliesIce Lakes Basin: GET THERE NOW! Fireweed, columbines, sneezeweed, alpine sunflowers, cow parsnip, yellow & red paintbrush, larkspur, penstemon, wild geranium, buttercup and more. It's THICK in the lower basin.
West Fork Pass/Cow Creek: GET THERE NOW! See above, minus the fireweed.
Minnehaha Basin: Some very nice patches and lots of cascades lined with flowers.
Porphyry Basin: Not as good as I've seen in the past but still a worthwhile location. Larkspur, yellow paintbrush, some columbines, etc.
Velocity Basin: AKA Colorado Basin. GET THERE NOW! I know, I know...I keep saying that but really, it's true. I've never seen such thick bluebells. Also, asters, paintbrush, buttercup, geraniums and more. Crazy thick in areas.
So, there it is. Get down here and enjoy the wildflowers (despite the rain, hail and scary ass lightning).
Was the road to Porphyry washed out, like the near by passes?
Where the heck is this???
Thanks for the report Bret. Only wish I could get out to see them all this year!
Porphyry update: I found a crazy thick hillside of flowers, mostly red/pink paintbrush, buttercup, bistort and some other yellow flowers I did not identify.
Brian: Porphyry was not washed out as of 1030 this morning. It started DUMPING shortly after I hit the 550 and there is no telling what condition the road will be in.
Scott: I'd give the flowers in Wetterhorn and Ice Lakes at least another week, especially with all the rain and cooler temperatures.
Todd: Storm Peak presides over Velocity Basin from the Gladstone side. Trails Illustrated map #141 (Telluride, Silverton, Ouray, Lake City). Very dramatic as the relief from Storm Peak to the basin is basically vertical.
Stay tuned for pics...
Was that you or any other RMNPers that were camped in the pulloff about a mile up the Porphyry Basin road? I was coming down the road on the green Kawasaki Wed. morning and thought the person just getting up looked familiar. I didn't stop because I didn't think there would be any way a RMNPer would sleep through sunrise
Just went up to Stony Pass today and was disappointed compared to previous years. It's still good, but not nearly as good as in the past. Porphyry has great Indian Paintbrush near the waterfall before you get to the top. The actual basin was another disappointment compared to previous years. Did the Corkscrew Gulch road to the top this morning and almost no flowers to be seen. Checking out some other basins/gulches tomorrow before heading back to reality.
Hope you got some great stuff up there.