Spectacle LAKEs (& YPSILON LAKE) (WINTER)
Date: February 9, 2022 (Wed)Trip Report #: 519Partner: solo
Route: Snow-covered trail (~12 miles round trip, ~3000 ft gain/loss, snowy)
Another solo snowshoe to a high mountain lake.
I had moved to Boulder a few years before, but until this winter I had not done any winter excursions into the mountains near home. But this winter I had been on a streak. I had hiked or snowshoed up to the top of Twin Sisters, Mount Lady Washington, Flattop Mountain, Deer Mountain, Sky Pond, Chasm Lake, and Black Lake. I was enjoying exploring the mountains in their winter cloaks. Plus the exercise felt a little more substantial than my typical morning run. I couldn't get enough of it!
My last three trips had been to lakes that I had passed in the summer en route to climbs—sparkling blue in the summer, and frozen solid in the winter. I decided to continue the lake theme and check out Spectacle Lakes nestled under Mt. Ypsilon. I had passed by the beautiful Spectacle Lakes after Ypsilon via Blitzen Ridge in August 2020. At 12 miles and 3000 feet gain, it also sounded like the day of fitness I was looking for.
I started early (5am) so I could get back to Boulder with plenty of time to get in an afternoon of studying and research. It was a mostly sunny morning, so it was a beautiful time to be in the mountains. This was the first trip this year where I opted to bring both snowshoes and microspikes, and I was glad I had both. Given that this area is less trafficked than other parts of RMNP, I broke trail (in snowshoes) to Ypsilon Lake and Spectacle Lakes. The micro spikes were nice for the icy section in the drainage just below Spectacle Lakes and the icy packed trail near the trailhead. I did not see a single person the entire day. My round trip car-to-car was 6 hours 45 minutes from the Lawn Lake trailhead.
Below is a sampling of photos from my day out.
A few summer photos of Spectacle Lakes and Lake Ypsilon for comparison!
