{"id":6842,"date":"2024-09-25T14:59:28","date_gmt":"2024-09-25T20:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grunschev.com\/wordpress\/?p=6842"},"modified":"2025-04-07T17:29:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T23:29:09","slug":"storm-lake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/grunschev.com\/wordpress\/2024\/09\/storm-lake\/","title":{"rendered":"Storm Lake"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In Indian Peaks Wilderness, in the high valley above Jasper Lake, there is a series of snow-fed lakes and ponds. The highest one, at 11,946′ is Upper Storm Lake. Below that are a few small, unnamed ponds. The lowest body of water in this valley is Storm Lake, 11,426′. I’ve been looking at the map of this area for more than a year. My inner voice tells me I should try to visit Upper Storm Lake. I sometimes have to tell my inner voice to be quiet. My heart, lungs, and legs know better. But there isn’t any reason I can’t get to Storm Lake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I asked Chad if he’d like to join me. He may be regretting that he said, “Yes!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weather forecast was not favorable. An upslope storm was approaching and Denver was expected to be rainy and cold. The forecasters weren’t sure whether the weather would get bad by mid-morning or mid-afternoon. The National Weather Service said this for Jasper Lake:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Snow showers likely, mainly after 3pm. Some thunder is also possible. Increasing clouds, with a high near 44. Breezy, with an east southeast wind 9 to 14 mph increasing to 17 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Saturday, September 21<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jasper Lake is reached from the Hessie trailhead. Being a weekend, even with the rather threatening forecast, all the parking was taken and we had to use the shuttle bus from Nederland High School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a beautiful autumn morning, calm with cloudless skies. Not as chilly as I expected. When we got back to the car at the end of the day, we agreed that we couldn’t have asked for better weather. Clouds were widely scattered and thin, until nearly two o’clock. There was only a slight breeze at Storm Lake, which is as good as it gets at treeline beneath the Divide. On the drive out we had only a few sprinkles until we got closer to Denver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took us two and a half hours to reach Jasper Lake. The trail isn’t my favorite. Jasper Lake is a reservoir, and the trail mostly follows the road they made when they built the dam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s no official trail above Jasper, but I was expecting to be able to follow a social trail or a game trail. There are stretches where a trail is obvious, but much of the time it’s subtle. That said, the navigation is simple: stay on the south side of the stream. There are a couple of small willow patches to negotiate near the top, but nothing bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s a bit steep, but the views are worth the effort. The stream is waterfall followed by cascade followed by waterfall. I’d like to come back in July when the stream is running high. I’m sure it’s spectacular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Storm Lake is nice. The shore has a mixture of boulders, willow, and krummholz. I made a minor exploration of the outlet area. The stream looks much smaller here than on the falls below. The outlet area is rocky rather than marshy. So I was surprised to see that the lake has two outlets. The smaller one joins the main one a couple of hundred feet away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n