Isolation & Ouzel Peaks

July 22, 2023 - at 5:29 a.m. I started my journey for day at the Wild Basin Trailhead. My goal for the day was Isolation Peak, and possibly Ouzel and Ogalalla (those second two's feasibility was to be decided later on). I had never been to any of these peaks before, so the purpose of the day was to explore some great alpine area and test out what the accessibility looked like.

My plan was to first head to Bluebird Lake (also first time visit) and then scope things out from there to find a good path forward. I personally think it's important to have some days where you have a destination in mind, but you don't necessarily have a direct route planned.. somehow it just feels like a greater connection to a sense of exploration!

Ouzel Falls

Sunrise came just about the perfect time as I was arriving at the bridge at Ouzel Falls (pictured left). It was such a great morning in the sunshine so I had to peel off the trail and get good snapshot of the bridge at sunrise.

Just kept up a good pace as the sun continued to rise and made my way towards Ouzel Lake. I didn't actually go to Ouzel Lake as I didn't see the need for the detour, and in the summer I try to make good time getting into the mountains in the morning hours to accommodate for any afternoon storms.

Bluebird Lake

The approach to Bluebird Lake (pictured below) is spectacular in the morning. There was a perfect mirror reflection in the water of Ouzel Peak standing tall straight ahead, and it was so peaceful to enjoy a quick snack and listen to the water rushing down the mountain. At this point I hadn't seen anyone yet on the trail, and wasn't sure I would until I got back to Bluebird Lake later in the day. However, just as I was thinking about pressing on, I noticed someone coming up the trail to join by the water - It was Josh Shelton!

Josh was planning to do a run that I believe he dubbed 'The Wild Heart' - which entailed starting with Bluebird Lake, moving on to Isolation Lake, then working your way down to Frigid, Eagle, and Box, then moved onto ANOTHER drainage and hit up Thunder Lake and Lake of the Many Winds. If that wasn't enough, the plan is then to ascend the Boulder Grand Pass, tag Alice, and then descend the hourglass and finally start working his way back down to the TH from the Lion Lakes - it's monster day out and I have yet to do it, but hopefully some day soon!

Crossing the Ouzel

In order to access the north side of Bluebird Lake you need to cross the Ouzel Creek right by the lakeshore. This is Josh making a slight maneuver to get across.

Onward

Once we got over to the north side we stuck together, working our way through the alpine until it was time for us to part ways. There are some nice creeks along the way in this area that we could filter from. From here Josh was heading towards Isolation Lake, while I was aiming for those snow fields that are just above Josh's head in this above photo.

Pipit Lake

As I kept working my way North of Bluebird, Lark Pond, and Pipit, I wasn't entirely sure what the best path up would be, but was prepared to check out my options and make a decision from there. This photo (left) is just passed Pipit Lake and looking back at it. The mountain in the center foreground is Copeland.

Ascending the Divide

This is the point where I tell you not to follow in my footsteps. Even in the heat of the summer, there is always going to be snowfields up at this height. Ascending the divide on these snowfields looks like it might be a good idea from Bluebird Lake, but there are certainly better options. I did end up ascending from these snowfields, but it was quite steep, and once I got to the top I was nervous about descending that way back down. I can now confirm that if your goal is Isolation Peak from Bluebird, you really ought to go to Isolation Lake first, and then ascend from there. There is a nice boulder field that is a much kinder grade that should make for an easier ascent/descent. However, considering my fondness for exploration, that would not be my descent route.

Picture right you can make out the edges of the humble Isolation Lake.

Ascending Isolation

Ascending the ridge to Isolation Peak is relatively straightforward. Pictured left is the most difficult section (which is not very difficult in my mind). This photo was taken at the top of this chute after I ascended it. As you can see, it gets a little steep in there, but there were always good handholds and never felt like it was risky or too exposed. Ascending and descending this gully is the natural path and works quite well.

Summit of Isolation

I've said it so many times and for so many peaks in this park, but Isolation is of course a spectacular summit that affords wonderful views of Wild Basin, Paradise Park, East Inlet, and of course, Longs Peak area.

On the summit of Isolation, looking north towards Longs Peak in the distance.

More views from the summit of Isolation Peak.

Onward (downward) to Ouzel

After summiting Isolation, there was still plenty of time left in the morning that I wanted to skirt over to Ouzel and as I was looking at the possible descent routes, I decided I would check out what the ridge down from Ouzel looked like as a possible option.

I started working my way back down to the ridge and started working my way over to the gentle western slopes of Ouzel it was a fine section of the ridge with some fun up and downs (pictured left is one example). It took a little longer to work over to Ouzel than I had thought, and so I decided that Ogallala was out of the cards for the day (mainly just due to an abundance of caution for weather as some clouds were starting to form, and the prospect of having to return to an unknown descent route).

Summit of Ouzel

The summit of Ouzel is a non-technical relatively flat summit with some great views of of Copeland Mountain (pictured left) and the ridge to Cony Pass. As of writing this post, I have not been to Copeland Mountain, or anywhere on that ridge, but I have heard it is gnarly and loose and just kind of gross.

In the left picture you can also see Junco Lake below, free of Ice!

I started to descend down the shoulder of Ouzel, committing to a this descent route back down to Bluebird. This photo was just a couple hundred yards down the ridge looking south to Copeland and Junco, such a fantastic view of these features!

Descending the Ridge

Descending the ridge of Ouzel Peak went fairly well. There were a few spots that were slow going and needed to carefully evaluate a safe route. However, there was an okay route all the way down, with a mix of blocky rocks and grassy sections. One of the great joys of exploring an unknown area is getting to see some hidden gems every now and again. As I got off the ridge and started working my way back towards Bluebird Lake, I came upon river that was flowing pretty good. I followed the river to see where it went to and I came across this fantastic (unnamed?) waterfall that was quite impressive. Below is a video that I snapped of the encounter.

Hidden Waterfall.mp4

Conclusion

Once I got back to Bluebird Lake I just took a nice and easy run down the trail back to the trailhead. There's often not a lot of running going on during the exploration of the alpine, so it's always nice to get some running in on the return journey and stretch the legs out a bit.

Total elapsed time of this day was 8 hours, 17 minutes. Total mileage was 17.6 miles, and total gain was 5,554 ft. Below is my Strava file with GPS and some additional photos.

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