The weather forecast was grim but Zarita and I had been wanting to hike up to Highland Mary Lakes so we decided to go for it and see how far we could get before the storms hit. We didn't expect to get far. Fortunately for us the weatherman was wrong and we were able to hike the entire 9.1 mile loop from the Highland Mary Lakes trailhead to the continental divide trail and down the Cunningham Gulch trail without getting rained on. We only got a few sprinkles as we got close to the end of the trail. During the early morning hours on our way up, I enjoyed taking pictures of the ground cover that had started to change color and were covered with raindrops. We hiked passed the 3 pretty Highland Mary Lakes and enjoyed the reflections but didn't stop as our goal was to at least reach the Verde Lakes/Continental Divide. The elevation change from the trailhead to the divide was approximately 2000' and the high point at the divide was 12600". This is where we ate lunch and enjoyed a viewpoint overlooking the spectacular Grenadier Range and nearby Verde Lake. Arrow Peak (13,803 feet) is considered to be one of the most difficult summits in Colorado and is eye catching from this viewpoint. The weather looked promising so we made the decision to go ahead and complete the entire loop. Heading across the Continental Divide trail we ran into a huge heard of sheep and their herder. The sheep dotted the mountainsides around us. This high altitude trail has it all and the views were amazing in every direction. As we headed down the steep Cunningham Gulch Trail we stopped often to look at the the mountains laid out in front of us. The ground cover was turning red, yellow and orange and glowed in the sunlight. We enjoyed a great hike and are happy to share some of our photos.
