Anybody Up For A Hike?
I recently got a Jeep Wrangler so I could squeeze into some of those places that require either a sturdy 4×4 or a reeeaaallllyyy long hike. I don’t mind a good leg-busting hike in the Colorado mountains, but sometimes time is a commodity in my life. When time comes, I snatch it like a crazed man. Anyways, I found out about a couple of lakes and a waterfall while doing some research on another photography spot to put on the list. I was shocked to find out that these lakes were near Breckenridge and that I had never heard of them before. Needless to say, they got put on the radar for some more investigation.
It’s 4 Wheeling Time
I broke out the Jeep and went off to the woods…at 4 PM. Normal people call it a day at that point, but I was just getting started. I drove to the forest road near Breckenridge and started making my way up the road. At a certain point, I heard it gets a little hairy if you don’t have high clearance and four wheel drive. I was good to go. The Jeep was crawling over the rocks and ruts and I was happily bouncing along. I got to the parking spot by 6:30 PM and grabbed my gear. Up the road I went until I found the trailhead.
Plodding Up The Trail
Was it a doozy. Two pole rail fences marked the trailhead and it was straight up the mountain. No welcome sign, no easy starting point. Just one trail, going right up the side of the mountain as I was hiking to the Mohawk Lakes. It went and went and went. I felt like I was doing the Manitou Incline. I checked my tracker after what felt like 2 miles. 1/2 a mile. This was going to be a long hike. Lucky for me, it leveled off and I had a nice jaunt through the forest and over some granite escarpments. I could hear the roaring of a waterfall and was rewarded with a beautiful cascading scene dancing in between ledges of a cliff as I cleared the trees.
At this point, I was a little nervous because I had to go 3 miles before sunset just to get to the first lake, so I picked up the pace until I came to a nice stream crossing. And, then it was on. The trail zig-zagged up the side of the cliff. It was here, I found a great view of the waterfall I had seen and sat there for a few minutes as the water rushed by. Then, it was back to the slog. I passed an old mining cabin as I went up the cliff face. It was there that I found the first goal, Mohawk Lake. It was surreal. At 11,500 feet was this crystal clear lake sitting in this beautiful scene. I couldn’t get enough of it, hopping from rock to rock trying to get the best view. It was all over the place.
To The Top – Upper Mohawk Lake
But, I had to move on. After all, my goal was Upper Mohawk Lake, a 1/2 mile and 500 feet higher than where I was at. I took off, racing to the top, trying to get there before the sun set. As I crested the trail, the stream was spilling over its bank into the trail turning it into a muddy morass, but I pressed on until I was looking at the top of the lake over its rocky brim. I hiked up an escarpment on the east side of the bowl the lake was in where I could get a good vantage point. The wind was howling, but it was pleasantly warm at 12,100 feet. I found a spot and started snapping pictures.
North, south, east, and west. Everywhere I could point the camera, I was going for it. As the last few exposures were snapped and the sun began to sink behind the mountain, I just sat there a moment and thought about the mighty hand of God that shaped all of it as He controlled the forces of nature. The scene was surreal and reminded me of the glens of Scotland.
One Last Hurrah At Mohawk Lake
I headed back to the lower lake as the sun set and found a spot to capture one more scene before my final hike down. It was a fitting end to a photographic day. Calm water, soft hues, and a mirror reflection of the mountain made it a dream photo. At that point, darkness had set in and it was time to go home. I turned on the headlight and made my way down the cliff, into the woods, and back to my Jeep. On the way home that night, I was exhausted but so happy to find this magical place. I’ll get back there one day to spend a night under the stars, but until then, it’s on to more adventures.
Hey everyone, as a final note, I found this trail for hiking to the Mohawk Lakes on the Alltrails.com website, a great place to find out helpful and relevant information on just about any trail. It’s got a great community of people who love getting outdoors and almost every trail I’ve ever looked up has recent trip reports and great pictures showing what the trail conditions look like. If you’re heading out to hit the trails, check Alltrails.com first for up-to-date information.
