With Maroon Creek Road just opened for the season, I figured no better way to spend a May morning than a hike to Crater Lake. Snow was predicted above 9000 feet and they were right. Maroon Lake sits at 9500 feet and is the start of the hike to Crater Lake with an elevation just under 10,100 feet. The snow was steady but light and the new accumulation at the trailhead was about an inch. Just before topping the ancient rock slide that dams the valley and creates Crater Lake, snow drifts on the trail became deeper. Hiking across the rock slide, the snowpacked trail (created by recent hikers) meandered away from the normal alignment. The surface on this new path was appreciated though as most of my steps stayed on top of the deepening snow.

At the lake, the morning was gray but its calm surface gave mirror perfect reflections of the surrounding high country. The muted light gave an almost ethereal quality to the scene ahead. All to soon, I headed down the trail, passing a few groups on the way. Another great day in Colorado.