Before: Mark, Paul, Jeff. Photo: Elijah
Moments before the 5:30am start.
A large start group plenty of room on the old roads in early miles. Mark on the right.
Views of the Crags in the distance.
Up to Seven Utes. Photo: Paul
First peak of the day in sight.
From the summit of Seven Utes (11,453 feet), a view into the Never Summer Wilderness.
Alpine Sunflower (aka Old Man of the Mountain) on the summit adds color to the scene.
And then, downward.
Traverse around treeline.
Looking back at Seven Utes mountain.
Plenty of snowmelt in a Colorado July.
Back into the open.
Colorado Blue Columbine - huge flowers!
Ridge traverse.
Looking back towards the start and Ranger Lakes, where we will finish many, many hours later.
The rocky bowl containing Lake Agnes. Never Summer mountains behind.
Rocks and roots.
A rocky portal into the basin.
Lake Agnes, west side.