Alpenglow and A Dream Lake Reflection

Breakfast at the Meadow Mountain Cafe in Allenspark is always a special adventure. You never know who you are going to meet and share time with. You don’t go to Meadow Mountain just to eat, although the food is wonderful. You go there to spend time, talk, share a table with a new friend, and patiently wait for a wonderful breakfast.

This morning, we joined a couple visiting from out-of-state, sharing a table and conversation. Of course, the discussion included photography, and, as it turned out, she was a iPhone photographer. Her joy was capturing amazing images with vivid colors of striking landscapes on her phone’s screen. 

When she showed me an image of Dream Lake, I sat back struck by the beauty. I had hiked to Dream Lake in RMNP many times yet never at the moment the sun breaks the eastern horizon creating the alpenglow. The alpenglow is that instant when the rising sun creates a red glow on high mountains. In this case, her iPhoto showed bright red on Hallett’s Peak, a magical image..

I sat on the wooden bench along the porch railing of Meadow Mountain Cafe. A fresh Denver omelet with butter fried potatoes and a side pancake soaked in Maple syrup was  before me. Looking at the iPhone image, I knew I needed to hike to Dream Lake before sunrise. I knew I needed to be there the moment the sun peeked over the horizon and the mountains turned alpenglow red.

From that moment with new friends at the Meadow Mountain Cafe, a photography goal was created.

That September, three times I hiked to Dream Lake. With the sun up at around 6:30 am, I knew I needed to be at the lake’s edge by 6:15. That meant leaving Estes Park at 5:00 to hit the trail head at Bear Lake by 5:30 where I began the trek. Each time, I hiked with my headlamp leading the way in the dark as light slowly began the day, my camera pack, tripod, and gear only a slight burden.

Along the way, I avoided the rocks and my Timberland boot guided me well. At one point in the dark, I was startled by a ptarmigan crossing the path in front of me, but she moved on, neither particularly curious nor frightened by my presence. 

Halfway up, I stopped to look to the east. Light was overtaking the distant Colorado prairie, so I slipped my headlamp into my pack, took another look at the approaching light, and smiled that I was there on a mountainside at that moment.

Moving on, I made it to the edge of Dream Lake with enough light to guide my steps. There, I glanced back again then looked up at Hallett’s Peak. Light had not yet reached the mountainside, but the day was coming soon. I looked back at the lake’s water. 

This was my third September sunrise at Dream Lake. Each time, the weather app had told me the winds would be still. The first two times, beautiful and tranquil, the lake had rippled slightly, taking away the reflection I sought. I wanted not just the alpenglow, but the perfect reflection of red glow in the mirror of the lake. 

This morning, I grinned at the perfection before me. The water was stillness defined. With great joy, I adjusted my tripod, the legs in the shallow waters. Attaching the camera, I looked through the viewfinder, and there it was. The image I hoped to capture with the redness of alpenglow edging down from the top of Hallett’s Peak.

I adjusted the lens, checked the setting to the exact ISO and f-stop, and once again looked over my shoulder for the sun’s position. As the light moved up, the alpenglow over the continental divide moved down on Hallett’s Peak. With it, the mountains glowed red. When they had all been captured by the sun, my camera created the slightest sound, capturing the image.

Moments later, as the red faded, I knew I had the image I’d sought. Fulfilled and happy, I moved around Dream Lake capturing other images. Not so bright as the alpenglow had passed, still, they were beautiful shots. I kept appreciating the lake, stillness, and quiet of the morning.

On the hike back down, I stopped often, looking beyond the mountains to the eastern prairie. Over fifty years before I had come from there to these mountains for the first time. Today it seemed full circle being at home in Estes Park and RMNP.

Viewing the distant horizon, I thanked the lady we’d shared breakfast with at Meadow Mountain Cafe. Her creative iPhone photography had guided me to this morning, and the image created was perfect.