Diamond Lake Trail, Our Final Backpack Trip

This time there there were no traffic jams, we didn't get lost in the rain and we had no unexpected credit card charges at the end of our trip.  We drove from Denver to El Dora Saturday morning and arrived to a pristine, sunny valley, that held numerous lakes, trails and waterfalls.

We had to park about a half mile from Diamond Lakes Trailhead.  The place was packed.  When we asked someone why it was so crowded he just said, "people from Boulder go hiking...a lot."  That statement pretty much sums up the state of Colorado.  People love to be outdoors and you have to get up pretty early to beat them to the campsite.  

We started off on a trail that hugged a South-facing mountain range and climbed up towards Arapahoe pass.  Across the valley we could see and hear the roar of a waterfall.

We hiked a mile and came to a fork in the road.  The trail had been full of families, couples with dogs and other backpackers.  We overtook some families bogged down by slow little kids, heheh, and made good time to the lake.  It was only 2.5 miles from start to finish and when we got there we were amazed at how stunning the lake was.  We were surrounded by mountain peaks and perfect wilderness.  

Above: Diamond Lake from multiple vies.

We set up our tent at campsite 10, the most secluded campsite which also boasted the most wildflowers and easiest access to the lake and river.  

The hike had been so short that we didn't know what to do with the time we had.  I went climbing up towards the nearest mountain peak and Jen headed to the lakeshore to read in the sun.

We relaxed and were constantly stunned by the natural beauty of this place.  Now we understood why it was so crowded.  Our only concern were the few signs we'd seen stating, "camping permit required!" and we had none.  We didn't even know where to get one, but we never saw a ranger so it was all good.

We took some time to explore our surroundings:

Mushroom :)

Below: I got my head wet, the water was clear and ice cold.

Super Mario Brothers?  I didn't get bigger.

We cooked dinner by the lake while the fish jumped and ate bugs.  A bunch of people were fishing but no one was catching anything.  The sun began to set and we just watched.

Sunday morning we got up after a rough night sleep.  In the day, the sun was hot, even scorching but at night the temperature plummeted and we froze! We took a short day hike to a higher elevation.  No one was around, it was quiet and peaceful. 

We made it back to our car and drove home.  It had been a great last trip!