The San Juan mountain region is the reason I stay in Colorado. While the entire state is absolutely stunning, this area is what gives me chills, makes me want to run deep into the forest, and fulfills my dreams of climbing the most stunning mountains. I remember the awe that filled within me the first time I drove into Telluride 5 years ago. I was in shock that places like this existed in the state I had lived my whole life. After this trip, I became enamored with this area and schemed ways I could return, but with a 6-7 hour drive required to access this area, it was hard to convince people to go on a random weekend. Earlier this summer, I booked a campsite at Molas Lake Campground, invited my roommates from college, and prayed for good weather.
With Labor Day Weekend, I knew the traffic would be slightly insane but was ecstatic to be spending so much time with my favorite people from college. Friday after work we filled the back of my car to the fullest, played tetris trying to fill every space, and squeezing ourselves in for the long drive ahead. We began the traffic filled journey to Gunnison. There we stayed at a cute hostel, Wanderlust Hostel. It was the perfect spot to rest and break up the large drive.
The next morning, we rose early, and followed the winding roads to Ouray. This town is my absolute favorite, so much so that it was my second weekend in a row there. There is a small main street filled with cute boutiques and restaurants, with the glorious views of the mountains in the background. Known as the Switzerland of America, Ouray is an absolute stunning pit stop. We ate some greasy breakfast, popped into a few shops, got matching denim shirts and were on our way up the Million Dollar Highway.
With the stunning drive, we drove through Silverton and went up a precarious road to a hike, Highland Mary Lakes. It was my first big drive with a used car I had just purchased, and the road was no joke filled with large rocks and uneven gravel. The parking lot was pretty packed, so we decided to go to a lower one, after crossing a small creek, I thought we had survived, but as I tried to parallel park, we heard a large pop, and understood our fate was a flat tire. Five girls with a popped tire and none of us had any clue how to put on the replacement tire. Luckily with the busyness of the trail and the friendliness of Colorado people, we had many people offer to help. One couple ended up doing the hard work and putting our spare tire on and we cannot be more grateful. After this moment, I have promised myself that I will learn how to do it. With our first trail angel and completely emptying our full trunk, we began the hike thankful someone had helped us out.
The hike was absolutely stunning and a great acclimation hike. The hike is around 5 miles and goes through varying landscapes with stunning views of different lakes. The summer colors were vibrant, the sky was crystal blue sprinkled with cartoon looking clouds, and we spent the afternoon soaking up the sun and dipping in the alpine water. After finishing the hike, we nervously drove back to Silverton, where there was an auto shop and we were able to leave our tire for the night for them to repair.
We made the journey to our campsite, and were greeted with a stunning view of Molas Lake. The campground looks like its out of a movie with a beautiful open lake in front of stunning mountains. The postcard scenery was a dream to witness and we set up camp, making epic veggie burgers, and embracing the incredible views of the stars.
The next morning, we decided to really take a gamble on altitude sickness and go hike Ice Lake. This lake is heavily trafficked and with good reason for its stunning turquoise water. With an elevation gain of 3000 and the top height at around 13,000 feet, this hike was no joke. The parking was packed but we were able to park about .3 miles from the trail head. We began the beautiful climb up to Ice Lake and were in awe at the insane colors, the beautiful panoramic mountain views, and the serenity of being at 13,000 feet. We decided to extend our hike and continued to Island Lake, which was more secluded. The hike down from Island Lake was stunning with various views of different mountain ranges and fall colors peaking through the lush summer greens.
After the long day of hiking, we drove back to the campsite and enjoyed the views of the gorgeous lake. We took a dip in the frigid water and started making some loaded quesadillas for an incredible dinner. Stuffing down oreos, playing various card games, and embracing the lack of cell service, the trip was exceptionally perfect.
The next morning, we made chocolate pancakes with hot chocolate, packed up camp, and started our journey back to Denver. That Monday, sadly the air was thick with smoke and the drive on I70 was brutal, but getting to spend quality time with my college roommates was worth it as we sang to the Black Eyed Peas and played sweet and sour with neighboring cars.
The best moments usually involve dope ass chicks that constantly improve your mood, incredible and challenging hikes that offer rich colors and dramatic mountain ranges, and no service moments where you just have to chat with people and appreciate your surroundings and eat 17 oreos and shiver in your sleeping bag and giggle till you fall asleep.
Hailee Boyle Social Media Management 