To cap off my photo hikes for 2020 I decided to explore an area I was less familiar with. In November I decided to hike to Native Lake in the Mt. Massive Wilderness near Leadville, Colorado. I got a really early start on a cold autumn morning hoping to catch some mountain photos of a high elevation sunrise along the Continental Divide on the way to Native Lake.
Leaving the trailhead on the southern side of Turquoise Lake well before dawn, the forest was cool, dark, and mysterious. The trail immediately ascended up switchbacks through dense pine and spruce forest and was blanketed in 6 to 7 inches of new snow covering rocks and fallen trees. The route traversed several winding switchbacks and multiple creek crossings along the eastern flank of the Continental Divide before leveling off and emerging from the tree line in a wide expanse of alpine tundra.
The exposed, wind-swept plateau offered amazing views of the peaks of the Continental Divide and the town of Leadville below. Large logs line the way across the open tundra under the towering slopes of Mt. Massive, the second highest peak in Colorado at 14,421′. Luck was with me that morning as I reached the open tundra in time to set up for a beautiful high altitude Colorado sunrise panoramic mountain photo featuring Mt. Massive and Continental Divide under a colorful dawn sky.
Crossing the tundra, the trail descended back into the forest on winding switchbacks until it reached the shore of Native Lake. By this time the sun was out and the morning was warming up. The snow was less plentiful around the lake and I found a spot to enjoy a snack and soak in the captivating Colorado mountain views before returning to the trailhead.
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