Katie and Trevor | Cathedral Lake Elopement
Savannah Chandler Photography | Aspen Elopement Photographer
Katie and Trevor wanted a hiking elopement filled with beautiful Alpenglow. Boy oh boy did Cathedral Lake in July deliver!
We all met up top just before sunrise (I peeked down at them from atop the “oh so wonderful” switchbacks in the dark). Once the sun started to break the horizon, Katie and Trevor got into their attire and we started off the morning with a Whiskey drink. No better way to hang in the mountains than with a celebratory drink!
Colorado has had quite the rainy season this year – with a downpour occurring nearly every evening. All this moisture has made wildflower season absolutely stunning. Cathedral Lake had flowers around every corner – namely hillsides of Indian Paintbrush.
As the sun began to rise, we headed out into the alpine meadow overlooking 13,950′ Cathedral Peak (it’s a Colorado Centennial!). First, the sun hit a little of the horizon and we got a small Alpenglow (which is always a win). A few minutes later – the sun broke through the small section of clouds that were blocking our light, and THE WHOLE RANGE lit up. It was one of the most glorious Alpenglow’s I’ve ever witnessed. We certainly got the pink mountains that Katie was hoping for <3.
Just above the lake, we found a little watershed pond that had formed from all the recent rains – boasting a perfect reflection. I’ve found that sometimes the best spots are the least expected (or the muckiest).
As we made our way back down to the trailhead, we made sure to throughly enjoy the Aspen forest that encompasses the first 1/2 mile of the trail. I would LOVE to see this trail in the falltime – I imagine that the entire area is full of yellows and oranges.
Congratulations again, Katie and Trevor!! I hope you had the honeymoon of a Lifetime traveling around to multiple National Parks.
Cheers –
