Colorado Mountain Engagement Photos at Long Lake and Lake Isabelle | Kyle and Lindsay (and Piper)
Kyle and Lindsay’s hiking engagement session at Long Lake and Lake Isabelle was the perfect way to kick off their wedding week! These two love hiking in Colorado’s mountains, and so does their rescue dog Piper. (Even at 11 years old, Piper was scrambling over rocks like a puppy!) We spent a lot of time leading up to the session trying to decide on a location. Kyle and Lindsay scouted out several different trails, sent me lots of photos, and I did a ton of Googling. And we ultimately decided on the Brainard Lake Recreation Area for the amazing mountain views and an 8-mile hike that seemed moderate enough for someone like me coming from sea level!
Lindsay and Kyle picked me up from my hotel in Denver at 5:00am, and we were off to the mountains! It was 24 degrees when we got out of the car, and I was definitely thankful that I got to keep my hat and gloves on the whole time! But these two braved the temperatures with no problem, and Lindsay even changed into a dress later on in the hike.
Although the trail began in the Brainard Lake Recreation Area, we actually didn’t even hike by Brainard Lake! We began our hike at Long Lake, and what a place to start. The giant boulders in the water were perfect for climbing on, and I love that we even got the moon in a few photos. Waking up in time to beat the sunrise was totally worth it!
Oh my gosh, isn’t Piper’s winter jacket just the cutest?
Check out Piper’s Colorado flag collar!
See how full their backpacks are? This was partially due to the fact that Lindsay and Kyle packed extra food and water for me! They knew my bag was going to be full of camera gear, and they wanted to make sure I was taken care of. Lindsay is a nurse, so she was constantly checking on me to be sure I didn’t have any issues with the 10,000+ft elevation! Thanks guys!
By the time we got to Lake Isabelle, the sun was out in full force! I put sunscreen on TWICE during this hike, and still managed to get sunburned. The Colorado sun is no joke!
And here is where Lindsay changed into her beautiful dress! The sun warmed everything up slightly, but definitely NOT to dress weather temperatures haha. But Lindsay is tough, and you can’t even tell she was freezing!
And we finished our hike overlooking Lake Isabelle! By finished I mean we then turned around and hiked another 4 miles back to the car haha. But it was definitely easier (and warmer) on the way back down!
