Lake Agnes, Gould, Co.

Vibrant Colorado Columbine with Lake Agnes in the background

Jackson County Search and Rescue (JCSAR) had an emergency call out to Mt. Richthofen for an injured female hiker below the saddle of the mountain. That injured hiked was Suzie who tore her ACL, but that was 21 years ago while we were celebrating our 6th anniversary as a couple with a weekend stay away from the kids at the Nokhu Hut. Flash forward to 2022 where we make our triumphant return to Agnes Creek Cabin, a little older, a little wiser, and ironically Suzie having just recovered from a broken foot on another hike we had done in May of this year. The cabin, ahem, didn’t look like it had been touched in 21 years.

The Agnes Creek Cabin with Nokhu Crags in the background

There was no wind in the morning making for this perfect mirror reflection of the mountains in the lake

An evening stroll by the Nokhu Crags, looking for moose

Since I have never covered Lake Agnes in this blog, I thought it would be fun to capture this from a different set of eyes. Not the President of Larimer County Search and Rescue having to call neighboring Jackson County SAR for help to evacuate his injured wife, but a seasoned, and little bit slower, mountaineer experiencing the lake without the drama of helping evacuate his wife in a litter from the side of the mountain. Spoiler alert, Suzie survived and is fine. Funny story, JCSAR stated that they only responded because they were impressed with me calling in GPS coordinates on my cell phone, both newer technologies at the time! They wanted to see who THAT guy was.

This lush bed of Colorado Columbine was at the south end of the lake

But I digress. Lake Agnes is a little gem of a lake tucked underneath the picturesque Nokhu Crags and nearby Mt. Richthofen. We often made a day bike/hike of it with the kids as they were growing up by coming in from Cameron Pass’s Michigan Ditch via bikes and then hiking the remaining half mile to the lake. This time we would repeat our anniversary trip by staying over at the cabin and hoping for no trip-ending injuries!

I can’t pass by an Elephant Head without taking a picture of it

The Nokhu Crags are always a welcome site to see. This time we hiked around the lake, expecting the trail that Suzie was evacuated on along the scree slopes of Lake Agnes were still there. Alas, they were obliterated by decades of rock avalanches making for rock-hopping the only way of successfully circumnavigating the lake.

Lake Agnes has an island in the middle. No swimming in the lake, too cold, yet people try it every year and end up on the island calling for help from the search and rescue team to come get them. The scree rock slides on the right of the image leave for little traversal except to rock hop across.

A waterfall coming off the side of Mt. Mahler

Wildflowers were still in bloom, with the classic Colorado Columbine being especially showy, but a treat was the pure white Columbine. We found a bed of what appeared to be wild Sweet Alyssum on the southeast shore of the lake. There were also many showy, but poisonous, mushrooms around the area as well.

Suzie in front of the bed of Colorado Columbine

There were colorful Fly Agaric or Amanita Muscaria mushrooms all over. Watch out, pretty to look at, poisonous to eat

A thick bed of Sweet Alyssum greeted us in one of the drainages. Oh, the aroma when we brushed through!

A shy mushroom peeking out from underneath a log

This is most likely an immature Fly Agaric just popping up

I have yet to identify this fungus. It is oddly at ground level with next to no stalk.

A pair of moose greeted us as we drove up the road to the cabin, ducking away into the woods before we were able to get a decent picture. While hiking I ran into a perplexed pair of marmots who were befuddled that I dare hike in their domain, giving me a glassy-eyed stare for quite a while.

These two marmots had a staring contest with me.

So, if you are a local and haven’t been up to Lake Agnes, or like us, haven’t been there in a very long time, check it out! It’s a great day hike or venture staying in the very rustic cabins for a relaxing stay. Enjoy!

7 replies on “Lake Agnes, Gould, Co.”

Thanks again for taking me along in text and pictures.

I was quite surprised to read that in 21 years the scree had shifted so much that the trail was obliterated. My goodness, such a higher rate of “weathering of them hills” than we find here in the flatter lands of the Midwest.

Also, how did you know that I wanted to swim out to the island?