The next morning was cloudy and cool. Frank and I hiked straight through untracked woods, staying near the sound of rushing water from the stream, to Sugarbowl Lake where I stayed but a moment, and then over west to Upper Twin Lake. At Upper Twin I found the most prolific stand of Columbines I’ve ever seen, in a calendar or not. A massive rockslide had created thousands of little moist pockets where columbines grew and were at peak bloom that morning. The sun began to shine faintly through high clouds creating a soft glow among the flowers. I fished and landed 6 rainbow and brook trout from the south end of the lake. Most of these were fairly small, but a couple were good size. Regardless, it was fun to catch them.

While I fished, Frank explored the rockslide, searching for the marmots that kept peeping at him from unseen crevices.  I twice saw the marmots, but I don’t think Frank ever did. The sun came out full by around 9 o’clock. The route I decided to take up to Iceburg Lake was steep, following uphill the stream that entered Upper Twin from the west. This stretch of the hike was gorgeous, since the sun was out and I followed the creek that was constantly crashing and splashing down rocks and logs. I went very slow to avoid aggravating a new headache, and I snacked frequently on Clif bars. When I got to Iceburg Lake, the clouds had returned. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful lake to behold. Much like Rawah #4, it was surrounded by imposing rock walls with permanent snowfields. I fished the lake, but the water looked so perfectly clear and sterile I thought there couldn’t be any fish in there. I was wrong. A red-bellied cuttthroat trout streaked up to my fly and struck. I had him on the line for about 5 seconds before he managed to get off.  I fished more and threw my fly at a large brown trout 4 or 5 times before he decided to bite. I landed him and that was the only fish I caught at that lake, bringing my final trip tally to 30. 

By that time, the sun was out in full again, and I decided to hike up the steep south side wall to get an elevated photograph of the lake. I went up 50 feet and it was so easy, I just kept going. Within 15 minutes I was 800 feet above the lake on the crest of the Medicine Bow Range looking almost straight down into the depths of the greenish pool. I toured the flat hump and looked out over North Park to the west, all the way to Mt Zirkel and Rabbit Ears Pass. From this lofty perch I could also look down on Upper and Lower Twin, Sugarbowl and McIntyre Lakes, though not all at once. I regret that I didn’t take more water so I could have hiked a significant distance on the crest. As it was, I chose to go lower within 30 minutes to avoid a headache, which had by then become a constant irritation. 
 

By my return to camp at McIntyre Lake after this 4-mile jaunt, the clouds had returned and it looked like rain any moment. I cooked lunch and read, waiting for the rain to begin. It never did. I halfway wanted to pack up and go to a new location, but kept worrying about getting caught in the rain so I stayed put. It was overcast and a little dreary, but I just pretended I was in the Pacific NW and everything was alright.