Brainard Lake and Nick

Our nephew Nick came into town for a long weekend and we wanted to show him a gorgeous area, so we took a chance on an unvisited recommendation from a friend.  It’s always nice for us to get someplace new too!

We decided on the Brainard Lake Recreation Area (Indian Peaks Wilderness).  It’s up Hwy 119 near Long’s Peak.  And it was perfect.

Glacial lakes with a tall mountain backdrop.

Cold creeks flowing through a thick forest.

We took time to skip stones in the lake and test the temperature.

Elizabeth enjoyed hiking with her cousin/Godfather Nick.

We all loved the view from this meadow, too.

I carried Elizabeth some of the way since our hike was a little longer than we planned.  We parked at Brainard Lake, but then decided to make Lake Mitchell our destination.

We took a lovely snack break streamside.

I love these shots – with Eliz and Daddy walking side by side or even better if I can catch them holding hands!

Lake Mitchell = Gorgeous.

Sometimes you can’t get a feel for the beauty without taking a panorama.  It was quiet and the water was freezing (Nick says around 40-degrees – he should know, he walked in it).  We could hear water rippling in the outgoing creek.

The kids (all 3 of them) were throwing rocks into the water trying to splash each other.  Just as I picked up the video camera, they said they were going to stop!  Good thing things got worse before they really quit throwing things at each other, otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten this funny video!

It was a beautiful spot and we hated to leave to head back to the car.  But at least we know we’ll be back soon.

The only negative thing that happened during our hike was the fact that the rangers had to do two separate rescues while we were there.  It is very impressive to watch, though, and not our first time witnessing such a thing.  They had helicopters, ambulances, and men and women running down the trails with huge packs.  One women had a pack towering feet over her head and she was carrying, oddly enough, a large tire.  She explained it was used to help when transporting the stretcher over the rough terrain.  Later on along the trail we’d find supplies left by the side of the trail.  As rescuers got to the injured parties, they’d radio back to the others if they didn’t need everything that was being carried so then they’d drop things and hurry on.  Must be very hard not knowing what type of a situation someone was in and what supplies would be needed until you hiked miles into the wilderness.  God bless these amazing people who risk their own lives to help others in need.  Much gratitude!

Here’s Steph and Nick when we took some time out to go get dinner and drinks before Nick left the next day.  It was a nice night walking around Golden.

Thanks for coming to visit us Nick!  More pictures on September WebAlbums.