Blue Lake,Colorado:

Blue Lake (11,355') is located 2.55 miles from Mitchell Lake Trailhead in the Brainard Lake Recreation Area. It fills a large, rocky cirque framed by Mt Toll, Mt Audubon and Paiute Peak.

The short hike is highlighted by Mitchell Lake, abundant wildflowers and a striking alpine backdrop. Unmaintained routes continue on to Upper Blue Lake, Mt Toll and Paiute Peak:

The Mitchell Lake Trail rises gently in a high subalpine forest to Mitchell Creek and the official Indian Peaks Wilderness boundary (.45 miles : 10,646').It moves easily to Mitchell Lake, which occupies a broad, marshy flat at the base of Mt Audubon (.85 miles : 10,725').The trail crosses Mitchell Lake's inlet on a long footbridge (1.1 miles) and steepens into the valley's center. Blue Lake's outlet pools up in several places along the way, forming a string of large ponds that are worth exploring. Look for moose in this willow-lined corridor.The trail undulates through patchy krummholz with a good look at Mt Toll's conical summit. It clears treeline by a wide cascade and crests on the east shore of Blue Lake (2.55 miles : 11,355').The open shore offers room to explore and a complete view of the upper valley including Little Pawnee Peak (12,466'), Mt Toll (12,979'), Paiute Peak (13,088'), and Mt Audubon (13,223').Here the maintained trail ends, but a fairly intuitive route continues up the north shore to Upper Blue Lake (11,833'), which lies in a rocky bench below the Mt Toll - Paiute Peak saddle (3.35 miles : 11,901'). Strenuous and potentially technical cross-country routes continue on to Little Pawnee Peak, Mt Toll and Paiute Peak.

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