No 14er but an excellent hike! Part 1 of 2

Hanging Lake has always been a hike that I have heard much about but have never experienced myself. I've seen numerous photos and have always been fascinated by it. I originally had planned on hiking Mt. Bierstadt on September 9, 2012, but couldn't pass up the opportunity to hike Hanging Lake when asked to by my good friends Chad and Kevin. It was another perfect day for a hike. The sun was shinning and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We arrived at the parking lot at around 10am, threw on our camelbaks, and began making our way towards the trail. From the parking lot it started with a brief hike on a paved sidewalk along a river eventually connecting to the main trail head.

Kevin, Jack & Chad

We continued on our way stopping to take a few photos here and there.The trail didn't offer too much in terms of scenery nothing more than your normal dirt, rocks and trees. The trees did offer a great amount of shade from the sun.

 A nice addition to the trail was a small stream of water that sat along side the trail.

After making our way up the trail we finally reached the stairs that would ultimately lead us to our final destination.

After making our way up the stairs we continued along a short wooden path towards Hanging Lake. Although the hike up didn't offer much in terms of scenery our final destination made every step of the way worth it. The view of the lake was amazing! When people ask me if this place is as beautiful as people make it out to be the answer is YES!!!!

Hanging Lake is a beautiful place and an excellent hike! I'd recommend it for anyone, friends, family, kids, etc...While at Hanging Lake, hikers have the option to continue hiking up towards Spouting Rock. This is also a great sight to see. It is a brief hike with an excellent view of a waterfall that shoots out of the rocks above.

This was a fantastic hike! I'm sad to say that after 27 years of living in Colorado it had taken me this long to get up there. It is a MUST hike for anyone.

After returning to our vehicle we were back on the road headed towards Aspen, Colorado, for our trip to The Maroon Bells (No 14er but an excellent hike! Part 2 of 2).