On the Trail to Hanging Lake

Colorado Travelog #34
Glenwood Springs, CO - Friday, 8 Jul 2022, 8:45am

This morning we awoke early to get ready for hiking to Hanging Lake. You'd think vacation would be an occasion to sleep in but, no, it was alarms at 6:30am. We ate breakfast and readied our packs in the room, and were out the door by 8am. One thing we didn't have to do was pack our suitcases and check out. ...Okay, that's two things; we didn't have to do either of them. We're staying at the Marriott Residence Inn hotel in Glenwood Springs for two consecutive nights. It's only the second time this week we've not had to switch hotels every day.

Another nice thing about this morning is that we didn't have to drive a long way. It was an easy, 15 minute cruise up to the parking lot for Hanging Lake 10 miles outside of town. And with the reservation system the Forest Service has put in place for the trailhead, there was no trouble finding a parking space in the small lot.



The trail to Hanging Lake begins with a 1/2 mile or so walk up the Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon. This is a super easy part of the trail; it's a paved, wide walkway and it's almost totally flat. Oh, and it's beautiful.



The only two small bummers here are 1) there are morning clouds we hope will burn off soon, and 2) the river is flowing brown, presumably because of sediment stirred up and washed down by rains earlier this week. On the plus side, rain earlier this week means the falls at the lake should be flowing well.



Alas, the trail to Hanging Lake isn't all easy and beautiful walking along the Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon. About 1/2 mile up from the parking area the Hanging Lake trail forks off the main canyon path and climbs steeply up a side canyon. It starts steep (see photo above) and basically never relents. It climbs 1,000' in the space of 1.2 miles (300m in 2km).

Keep reading (next blog): It Goes Up, Up, Up from Here!

Up, Up, Up Toward Hanging Lake

Colorado Travelog #35
Glenwood Springs, CO - Friday, 8 Jul 2022, 10am

As I noted in my previous blog, the trail to Hanging Lake is steep, ascending 1,000' in just over 1 mile. As we left behind the easy walk along the Colorado River at the bottom of Glenwood Canyon it was up, up, up through a side canyon to Hanging Lake.



On the way up a small creek kept us company. This water is the outflow from Hanging Lake. The fact that there is any is a positive change from when we hiked this trail 4 years ago. Back then the canyon was dry. Here the water occasionally takes our minds off the grueling ascent.



The trail crosses the stream 7 times on wooden bridges. The bridges are kind of like milestones, though they're not evenly spaced. Still, they're pleasant places to stop and enjoy the view while catching our breath and resting our aching quads.



This weeping wall of falls tells us we're almost there. The lake is just above this area. There's just one more steep bit to go....



And that last steep bit is steep. Stairs are caved in the stone with steel guardrails. The views out the canyon from up here are nice, but we don't linger for them as we know they're second prize. First prize is seeing Hanging Lake, just a bit farther up....

Update: Keep reading as we reach Hanging Lake!