Beautiful Southwest Colorado - Columbine Lake + Silveron, CO

these past couple of days I have spent exploring some of the most unique Landscapes here in Southwest Colorado from the deep canes of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park to pristine blue lakes near uray it's time to embark on yet another adventure today I'll be taking you on another hike to another mesmerizing high altitude lake called Colombine Lake after which we'll head over to the nearby town of Silverton good morning and welcome from the sanan Mounds following up on my epic day yesterday from climbing to the Blue Lakes I'm taking you on another Alpine hike to Columbine Trail it is not an easy hike as you could see right off the bat you're test with going up these switchbacks there's over 3,000 ft of elevation but once we reach the top it is going to be beautiful and we're starting off here just outside of [Music] [Music] Silverton [Music] for the first mile and a half or two miles there's not much to show you guys I'm in the tree line and there's a lot of switch backs not much to show you I'll report back once I get past the tree line and we'll come into some [Music] views after two miles of dreadful switchbacks we finally come out of the tree line and we're greeted by these views sometimes couple miles of suffering is worth the views at the end we still have a couple miles left to go but I am so excited as these miles are coming into [Music] view [Music] time for another break but I just learned I see a guy going all the way up this switchb and right across is another half a mile until we reach the lake but I believe this might be the hardest part of the hike nonetheless I'm so happy to be here look what I found some snow this late in the [Music] year [Music] it got a lot chillier and a lot windier up here thank God I brought some layers always be sure to bring layers don't ever underestimate the weather here in the mount but we are so close just behind that hump should be colombi [Music] Lake I am at a loss of words we finally made it Colombine Lake I've seen many blue lakes in my life I've been to Canada I've seen Lake Louise I've seen morine Lake I've been to Washington I've seen cold Chu Lake but nothing compares to that this is such a unique hike and Lake I'm just going to sit down for a little bit and take it all [Music] in [Music] this was a challenging hike it took about 3 hours with many stops to just catch my breath to get here with over 3,000 ft of elevation we're standing around 12,500 ft of elevation so like I said the air is very thin here so take your time and be mindful of the kind of hike that this is because it is not easy but as you see you are rewarded with such magnificent views I'll be back here in San Juans very soon because there are so many more beautiful lakes to explore but I'm heading back to the car after enjoying some time at the Columbine Lake and I'll be putting my camera away but don't go away because afterwards I'm taking you to the nearby town of [Music] Silverton I'd like to welcome you to Silverton one of the tallest situated towns in Colorado at over 9,300 ft it is also one of the most beautiful in my opinion and the name as you might have guessed came from a lot of silver that was excavated here in the surrounding mines my goal right now is to take you on a quick tour of this beautiful city before I start making my way back home [Music] this is the silveron train depot the trains back in the mining times were a Lifeline because they not only brought the gold and the silver that was dug out in the mountains here behind me but they also transported the workers between the towns there is a very scenic train ride that I recommend you take from Durango to Silverton you get to experience the S Juan mountains while riding an old school train it is an unbelievable experience and I hope to be back here to try it one [Music] day talk about a coincidence I came just in time as I witnessed the scenic train ride from Durango and Silverton came and pulled up into the [Music] station this is the main street of Silverton and you can tell it by it's the many restaurants that line out the streets all the tourists that are coming that just got off the train and if you Google Silverton this is probably the most photographed spot here in Silverton and the smell from the restaurants so delicious [Music] guys [Music] I know I haven't covered a lot of what this beautiful spectacular town has to offer believe me there's so many activity there's hiking there's mine tours there's you can rent off-road vehicles you can ride the train as I previously mentioned there's try the Local Foods here try the local gift shop there's so much here to do but I'm only driving through I will make a separate video in the near future as I take you down the million dooll Highway that passes from uray through Silverton and all the way down to Durango this is Christ of the minds he was erected here in 1959 to bless the miners working in all the mines in the surrounding area now you can see why he he was put in this specific location it's because he overlooks the entire city of Silverton and this brings us to the last part of today's video I hope you guys enjoyed the hikes and the beautiful scenery of Southwest Colorado and I can't wait to be back here again