Pretty Little Lake and a Magnificent Moose in the Colorado State Forest: Lake Agnes

It's not as pretty as it could be on a sunny day but it's still a nice lake and luckily I've seen it a couple times on a beautiful day.  I've got great memories to go with it.  The first is hiking around it with my parents dog Lunk (part Lhasa, part Poodle) in my backpack since his little legs were too short to do the bouldering.  The other is hiking around it with my two dogs when one of them (the one you would have expected to do this) fell off a cliff above us into the water.   We didn't think it was going to end well but thankfully he wasn't hurt but I'm pretty sure his pride was.  And lastly, this was the first stop on a girls weekend to Steamboat which unfortunately has been too long in recreating.

The hike is short but steep getting up to the lake.  If you want to hike around it you should be prepared for a lot of bouldering.

The good news with the bouldering is that you have a high chance of spotting some marmot if you take the time to pick your head up.  Be careful that you stop walking or you are going to trip!  The picture below is a little like a Where's Waldo book....except Where's the Marmot?

We crossed a pretty stream and had a view of a nice waterfall across the way.  That's where C is pointing.

Tall Chiming Bells:

Mountain Laurel:

Spot another marmot:

Columbine with Nohku Crags in the background:

I just had to take a selfie by my selfie since my family took one without me.  I 'might' have been taking too long taking those awful flower pictures as they call them.

Indian Paintbrush:

Early Larkspur:

The icing on the cake for me was spotting this moose heading back to our campsite on the road that takes you up to Lake Agnes.  Typically if you head up to the Colorado State Forest you get to see a moose but it's never a guarantee!  I love looking at these ungainly creatures!!

Hike: Lake Agnes
Trails Used:  Lake Agnes in the Colorado State Forest

Distance: 2.87 miles
Difficulty: Easy but steep
Overall average: 1.6 mph
Overall Time: 1 hr, 49 min
Total Ascent: 633 ft.