Hike to Lower Cataract Lake, Eagles Nest Wilderness, Silverthorne, Colorado
The wildflowers in Colorado were just starting to bloom, and I was looking to go on a short hike with my dad to see some of them. We decided to hike the loop around Lower Cataract Lake in Eagles Nest Wilderness near Heeney. When we parked at the trailhead that morning, there were about 10 other cars in the lot. We started walking along the trail and decided to do the loop in a counterclockwise direction. By doing the hike in this direction, most of the elevation gain was done in the beginning of the hike, when we had the most energy.
The wildflowers started popping up, and we started having some views of the far end of the lake. The lake that morning was as smooth as glass and made for a beautiful setting for a hike. When we reached the far side of the lake, we started heading in to the trees where we ended up crossing a bridge that went over a gushing creek as it was close to peak runoff. We admired the bridge and how well constructed it was - this bridge is in wilderness which means that everything had to be carried in by humans or pack animals and no mechanized equipment was used to build it. As someone who has built a bridge in wilderness, I can tell you that using a hand drill is an exhausting and time consuming process.
We then continued around the lake and came across some fields that were filled with Rocky Mountain Columbine, the flowers in the picture at the top of this page. These flowers are Colorado’s state flower and are one of my favorite wildflowers. As we approached the end of the loop, we started seeing a lot more people hanging out by the shore of the lake. When we got back to the parking lot, there were around 40 cars in the parking lot.
Overall, I enjoyed this hike, particularly because the wildflowers were putting on a show. That said, it was a very busy hike and is not one I’d recommend if you’re looking for a quieter hike with a true wilderness feel.
Stats: 2.5 miles, 135 ft of elevation gain
