With so much happening in both our personal lives and the broader world, Skyler and I opted for a shorter hike on June 7th. Strawberry Lake, directly East of Granby and south of Lake Granby’s Arapaho Bay, would be about 3.7 miles round-trip according to online sources.

The trailhead was easy to miss, as it wasn’t marked, and we drove past it at first. After doubling back, we immediately started the purely uphill jaunt to the lake amid the typical pine and aspen foliage.

Strawberry Lake is named as such for the red water that flows out of it. It required seeing this feature to believe it, but even near the trailhead the water looked like fruit juice (we didn’t do a taste-test). The red color darkened the further up the trail we went.

The water, despite its coloration, still supported an array of wildflowers and undergrowth. This green provided needed contrast to widespread beetle-kill in the area (a massive beetle epidemic went through the area in 2004, and the forest was clearly still recovering). Several of these dead trees blocked parts of the trail, slowing what would otherwise be a fairly rapid hike.

Upon reaching the lake we were greeted with the decomposing remains of a Forest Service cabin and views of the stunning valley surrounding the red waters. I’ll let Skyler’s photography speak for itself in this regard.

Fens are an uncommon ecosystem that spring up in areas where cold water can limit the decomposition of dead plants. These plant remains build up over centuries to form peat, a type of soil which fosters unique lifeforms. Strawberry Lake was partly encompassed by its own fen ecosystem, and a boardwalk extended out from the trail to allow hikers access to the water’s edge without causing damage to this feature. Getting shore access would mean circling to the far side of the lake.

Circle to the far side of the lake we did, taking a poorly-marked offshoot trail which quickly disappeared. The ground went back and forth between being dirt and soggy mush. Fallen trees were everywhere. Still, we eventually made it to the far side and were able to approach a shallow, tranquil section of water with lily pads floating atop it.

Sadly, we weren’t at the lake side for long before the mosquitoes began descending. We put our packs back on and climbed again across the puddles and trees to the collapsed cabin. Temporarily quiet, Skyler managed a couple more photos there before we decided to head back to the car and call it a day. At the end of the day, with our additional trip to the far side of the lake, we ended up with nearly 5 miles of hiking and just shy of 2,000 feet of altitude gain.

Until next time…

~Ty & Sky