Diego had a few days off from work and was craving some mountains so he drove up from Sedona and met me in Durango, CO. We zipped up the Million Dollar Highway to Silverton and hiked the nearby Ice Lakes. The snow was still melting out of the high Rockies so the trail was a bit muddy, some waterfalls were trickling, and we found heaps of old mining equipment. I did not have a ND filter for my lenses so I attempted to improvise with a pair of sunglasses to get a long(er) exposure shot of the falls. It did not work very well.
Molas Overlook along the Million Dollar Highway
Slippery and icy logs to cross above a waterfall.
Further up the hike we arrived at the Lower Ice Lake Basin, found more mining things, and had some hot tea to warm up. We split up for a bit, Diego went to search for a way to cross to the other side of the lake and I went chasing waterfalls. The cold started to get to us up at 11,500ft, dark clouds were moving in, and we decided not to continue up to the main Ice Lake.
Tea Time! It was cold.
On the descent, I insisted we stop for some more waterfall pictures and at one point, my zoom lens slipped out of my pocket and tumbled 30 feet down a rocky cliff. I was pissed. I knew it was dead. But I did not want to litter so I made the long scramble down to retrieve my piece of camera gear, expecting shattered glass to pour out of it when I picked it up… but it remained in tact. It still worked!!! But the lens was scratched and the auto-focus and other electronics seemed broken so it was a push for me to upgrade to a better lens. At least I’m not paying rent anymore! (remember, I live in my Subaru)