Maroon Peak from West Maroon Basin

            The basin surrounding the headwaters of the East Fork of the Crystal River, below Hasley and West Maroon passes, holds the richest flower fields I've ever seen in Colorado.  The reason became obvious when I first visited this basin in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness in July, 1999.  I spent a lot of time walking past incredible flower fields in the pouring rain, thinking, "I sure wish I could shoot that."  I returned to the area in July, 2001.  For several days I explored the basin, dodged thunderstorms and shot various groups of flowers.  Finally I discovered this spectacular field of lupine and red and yellow Indian paintbrush a short distance below Hasley Pass.  As storm clouds gathered to the west, I shot this image with my Zone VI 4x5 field camera, then packed and bolted for camp as the clouds darkened ominously.  Shortly after reaching my tent, the skies opened and rain fell in torrents for three hours.  The next morning, after a brief respite, the summer monsoon returned in earnest.  I packed up my gear and headed for home, happy that I had produced at least one image that captured a bit of West Maroon Basin's lush beauty.