American Basin, San Juan Mountains of Colorado

American Basin is one of my favorite places and is a gem of the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.  This wildflower filled basin sits at about 11,500 feet in southwest Colorado, between Lake City and Silverton.  For the Fourth of July weekend, we had planned to do a four day backpacking trip near Vail, but the weather forecast predicted storms. At the last minute, we decided to head to Lake City instead and travel the Alpine Loop, a 65 mile, mostly 4X4 byway through some of the most spectacular scenery in the American west.

I was not expecting much in terms of wildflowers since this area typically doesn’t peak until late July or early August.  Spring must have been wet and warm, as we found fields of blooming flowers and lots of waterfalls.  Instead of continuing along the loop, we ended up changing our plans and explored the basin for a few days.  I will write up a full trip report at some point, but wanted to share one of the first photos I have processed from the trip.  This image was taken right near sunset, with some warm light hitting the clearing storm clouds.  There are numerous waterfalls as you head up the basin, following the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River up to Sloan Lake.  This image was taken off trail in the middle part of the basin.