TR: Copper Lake Hike
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Copper Lake is another scenic and popular Crested Butte hike, and another hike in which my visiting parents and family friends joined me in early August. Eddy (borrowed dog) also came along, providing us with some ample entertainment for the entire day.
The Copper Lake trail begins just outside of the town of Gothic and first passes by the popular Judd Falls area, with great views of Gothic Mountain along the way.
After passing by Judd Falls, the trail continues on an old road, opening up into the scenic Copper Creek valley
The first stream crossing over the Copper Creek- now easy, but often treacherous in the spring.
Beautiful peaks rise high above the valley.
The second stream crossing, about 3 miles into the hike.
After the second stream crossing, the trail steepens and becomes narrower. But, it is still well-marked!
Finally, about 5 miles from the trail head, we arrived to Copper Lake. My dad admiring the view.
If you look closely, you can see a trail crossing through the talus. This trail heads up a mile further to the top of East Maroon pass, and continues down into Aspen.
We contemplated heading toward the pass, but we could see the clouds swirling and stacking around us signaling storms in the near future. So, we opted to continue back down.
A view of Cassi, one of the more prominent peaks in the area.
Eventually, the thunder and rain did surround us. But, we were not far from the trail head.
Thanks to my folks and friends (and Eddy too!) for another fantastic hike in our lovely Elk Mountains!
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