Mohawk Lakes
PHOTO TOURS / SIGHTSEEING TOURS
Mohawk lakes provides some of the best opportunities for water photography in Colorado. Not only will you be able to photograph the beauty of two high alpine lakes which mirror the towering mountains around them, but there is a stunning waterfall display which spills from the high lakes down the side of the mountains. Actually it is not a single waterfall at all. It's really more like dozens of small waterfalls which cascade one after another down the mountain. The hike is difficult to complete in a day, not due to length, but due to the amazing photo opportunities which seem to jump out from every turn in the trail. It's a photography tour full of amazing images.
Continental Falls:
During the Spring and Summer the water flow is quite heavy and makes for some realy wonderful long exposures (time to pull out your Neutral density filter). If we are here early enough in the season (May or even June depending on how warm the year is) you can enjoy seeing the water jump out from walls of snow which cover the stream and fall into the next level of snow below (be prepared to hike up snow covered steep trails, "boot chains" or snowshoes would be advised). By late Summer and Fall the water has usually run thin and falls don't have quite the impact any longer. That is not to say they are no longer worth seeing and photographing.
Mohawk Lakes:
From the Mayflower Lake intersection, it is a steady, often steep climb of about one mile to Lower Mohawk Lake. Near the top of the climb are the ruins of an old cable car system used to transport ore down the hill. This provides some great photo opportunities, with the ruins in the foreground and great mountain vistas in the background.
Lower Mohawk Lake is a shallow lake, with its rocky bottom clearly visible. It is in a very scenic setting, with dramatic views of Breckenridge down the valley, mountain peaks as a background, and the lake itself surrounded by rocks and boulders.
From Lower Mohawk Lake, we can continue another 1/2 mile to Mohawk Lake (12,100', about 300' elevation gain from the lower lake). This upper lake is in a rocky basin, and isn't quite as scenic, but for those who have never been above treeline, it's an amazing new world to see.
Minning Cabins:
Near the very bottom of the Continental Falls we will find the ruins of some log cabins used during the Gold Rush era. These make for really nice photographs especially in mid summer when the grass is green and the old cabins are surrounded by alpine wild flowers.