This is the second time I have been to these lakes, the first time was not a good experience. I won't even bore you with the details of my previous trip. I have been wanting to get back here since the first time, because I didn't spend much time here and I didn't get to fish.
This is one of the best hikes I've done so far. The scenery along the way is spectacular and I have never seen so many aspen trees nestled so close together. There are points where it looks like the sun never shines because the trees are so dense. Some of these trees reach 18" in diameter, very large for an aspen!
You start from the trailhead west of Green Mountain Reservoir, just past Cataract Campground. The trail is easy to follow most of the time, except there is some serious ground cover in some spots. I am talking dense ground cover. Right out of the gate you are given a field of columbines that is spectacular. These flowers quickly disappear as you gain elevation.
The hike goes in a westerly direction for the first two miles, and the trees steadily change from aspens to pine. The pine trees are also very dense, some also very large in diameter. After the first two miles, the trail turns to the south and resumes climbing. It goes through some more dense parts and then starts to traverse across a steep grade. You are walking level across the grade, but the hill you are walking on is at least a 45 degree slope. It continues this way for about 0.75 miles and finally re-enters the forest and you come upon a trail junction with Gore Range Trail #60 (I think it is #60). Turn west again and continue for about half a mile to the bench between the lakes. There are two lakes here, and both are beautiful. The large lake is to the left, the small one to the right as you are facing west.
The large lake is where we spent about an hour fishing, without much luck. We had some nibbles and there is quite a bit of moss at the bottom. You can see tons of fish swimming around in front of you, most about 2-3 inches long, just babies. The scenery is great though and this is a great place for a short backpacking trip. We saw at least 6 campsites already graded and level, just waiting for a tent.
The smaller lake
is significantly smaller than the first, but just as beatiful.
The trail goes out the same way it came in, but you can complete a side loop to Upper Cataract Lake if you feel up to it. It adds 7.5 miles and 1200 feet of vertical to the 7 mile round trip to Eaglesmere.
Just as a side note to forewarn anyone about this climb, there is a lot of downed timber along the trail. Some trees are easily 2 feet in diameter and require you to get quite a way off the trail to get around if you can't climb over them. Most of the timber in the early going has been cleared of the trail, but apparently, the rangers didn't get all the way back to the lake. Don't forget to take the bug spray along too, the mosquitoes are horrible!