Wildflowers of the San Juan Mountains - Part 3 (Gold King Basin Area)

Fireweed at Gold King Basin
     Gold King Basin lies on the Telluride side of Ophir Pass.  Despite the fact that it is not frequently mentioned as one of the most prolific producers of wildflowers in the area, during my visit there I found it to have one of the better stands of wildflowers.  I suspect that this may be due to its tendency to shade heavy snowpacks for much of the day, and perhaps this spot was  one of the later areas to melt out during this unusually hot and dry summer, hence the better stand of wildflowers that remained relatively late in the season.

Tech Info- (all images)  Canon 40D, 18-55 IS lens.

 I found the wildflowers to be abundant at this spot- the biggest difficulty in photographing them was keeping from sliding down the relatively steep inclines of the sidewalls of this basin.  More than once I got all set up, only to slide down the hill before I tripped the shutter!

 Paintbrush- Gold King Basin

 During my visit to Gold King Basin, I had the entire basin all to myself.  No worries about people walking into the frame of my photo as I was preparing to shoot.  Sometimes I really enjoy photographing in seclusion- just me, the mountains, and the flowers.  However, at my next stop (Alta Lakes), I did run into several photographers who had not been to Gold King Basin yet, and I was happy to recommend it to them as a worthwhile spot for finding stands of wildflowers.

Pond at Alta Lakes
      Alta Lakes are located only a short distance from Gold King Basin (or perhaps I should say vice-versa, as there were quite a few people busy fishing and camping at Alta Lakes during my visit there.)  I've seen a nice image taken at one of the Alta Lakes, with a clear blue sky and a mountain peak reflecting in the clear blue water.  During my visit there, it was windy and the sky was overcast, but I found the nice group of flowers above beside one of the small ponds, leading me to capture the above image.