Spring Trip to the Northern San Juans

I had grand plans in early June to take a 5 day (or longer) trip to the northern region of the San Juan Mountains...more specifically to the San Miguel and Sneffels Ranges...but a busy schedule made me scale it back to just a quick two days. I guess two days are better than none! My first day in the San Miguels near Telluride was a soggy one (as has been the weather pattern in the southwest Colorado for weeks now) so I concentrated on shooting a few of the many waterfalls in the area.


Mystic Falls Near Telluride

Mystic Falls along the Lake Fork of the San Miguel River was the highlight of my adventures in this region. This seldom visited waterfall cuts through a 120 foot high and narrow gorge which reverberated the crashing waters to deafening levels. While access to the gorge isn't particularly easy, it was definitely worth the effort to photograph what is now my favorite waterfall in the San Juan Mountains. In addition to Mystic, I also visited both Bear Creek Falls and Cornet Falls. Both of these falls are easy hikes from trailheads eminating right in the town of Telluride.

As I made my way to the Sneffels Range, the wet weather finally started to break...


Rainbow Along The Sneffels Range

At last I could venture outside without need of my rain gear! The clearing storm allowed me to take advantage of some interesting atmospherics to compliment some of the locations that I've often shot during the autumn season. I was just trading golden autumn aspen for spring green.


Spring Aspen and Mt. Snefflels

I was also ecstatic to find a nice field of lupine that evening. While it was too windy to photograph them at the time, I came back during the calm of the following morning as they nicely accented the Sneffels Range backdrop. It definitely made me look forward to the high country wildflower season come late July!


Field of lupine and the Sneffels Range