Backpacking, Bus, Colorado, Tips and Tricks

Backpacking Silverthorne to Vail with Bus

When we had stayed at The Pad Silverthorne last year and used the free bus to hike Lily Pad Lake, Nick and I examined the map and thought it would be possible to thru-hike to Vail using buses only. Well, we put it to the test without having much intel about some of the trails that we used to complete the hike. I wanted to share this with others who are interested in a car-free thru-hike! It ended up being some of the most beautiful scenery we have seen.

  • The trails we used were Buffalo Cabin to Buffalo/South Willow Connector to Gore Range to Gore Creek, ending at the Gore Creek Trailhead on the Vail side. We also included a side trip to Gore Lake off of the Gore Creek trail.
  • The hike was about 15 miles, 3700 feet gain and 4600 feet descent. I think the route finding would be a bit easier going the other direction, but there would be more elevation gain. I would recommend the hike only for advanced and experienced backpackers/hikers.
  • This could done as a day hike (we met some people doing that) if you skip Gore Lake. In this case, it would be 11.5 miles and around 2,500 gain/loss.
  • I will go into more details in my day to day recaps, but the main route is to take a Bustang to Frisco, take the free bus to Silverthorne and then the free Wildernest bus to Trailhead (Lily Pad Lake trailhead). Then, on the Vail side, we walked to the Main Gore/Bighorn bus stop from the Gore Creek trailhead and took the free bus to Vail, where we then took a bus back to Denver (in this case Pegasus, which I only recommend if you have a smaller pack, otherwise take Bustang which has luggage storage). Don’t forget to used the pull cord to request your stop on the buses.
  • Check out my LighterPack for my backpacking gear and weight.

Day 1: Frisco to Gore Range

After getting off of the Colorado Trail, Nick met me in Frisco at our favorite spot, Outer Range Brewing. He had a chicken bowl waiting for me, and I grabbed a beer. Nick resupplied my food, we repacked and then set out to the bus stop. We were able to line it up so we caught the bus to Silverthorne and then immediately hopped on the Wildernest bus. We got off at the “trailhead” stop.

There was a helpful sign explaining how to access the trails from the bus (along with a bus schedule).

This is what our trailhead looked like.

The trail started nice enough. As we got to the Buffalo/Willow Connector, there were some very steep downhill sections. The trail appeared to have been rerouted and was a bit tough to follow at times.

However, we kept our wits about us and navigated based on seeing people and following the correct direction, and eventually made it to the Gore Range trail, which was much more easily navigable. It appeared most people went the other direction, and there was some blue chalk that appeared to be the best route to follow (but was harder to see from our direction).

I was really tired from my backpacking earlier in the day, and it was later afternoon already, so we started looking for a campsite pretty quickly. We found a great spot after the waterfall lookout, which was actually right along the upper section to the waterfall.

We set up and discovered quickly that we had a big mountain goat friend.

He got a lot closer than we would have liked, but we quickly discovered he was harmless and would not be scared away, so we lived in somewhat harmony until he retired for the night (and we did not see him again in the morning).

Our campsite area had a nice big rock overlook, so we made our meals up there and hung out for a bit before getting tired.

We were woken in the night by campfire smoke; it’s technically legal to make campfires in certain parts of the wilderness, but I strongly dislike when people do it. Personally, I never make fires when backpacking, and I don’t have much trust that people know what they are doing with campfires. It was also strangely not as cold as expected for nighttime, so we removed some layers. Eventually, we went back to sleep.

Day 2: Gore Range to Gore Creek to Gore Lake

The next day, we woke up in time to watch the sunrise from our rock viewpoint. We made coffee and breakfast and set off early for a big day.

We really had no idea what the Gore Range trail would be like, but it turned out to be really beautiful. We saw lots of birds, marmots, and pika.

There were lots of trickling streams, trees, and mountain views, with a gradual uphill slope to the trail.

We took a break near the junction with the Gore Creek Trail. Soon we would be climbing over Red Buffalo Pass, per our maps. The scenery was breathtaking, with only a few other hikers and runners around.

We definitely felt lucky as we climbed in the beautiful alpine and saw perhaps the most wildflowers we had seen all summer, including pink paintbrush, purple elephant’s head, and a variety of yellow flowers.

 

There was a very steep climb up toward the top of Red Buffalo Pass.

At the top we had amazing views of Buffalo Mountain and Silverthorne on one side.

We took a break facing the Vail side, where we saw what we would do after we hiked down the valley and went back up; go to Gore Lake.

Heading down the Vail side was extremely steep and slippery in parts because of the rocks and travel; we used our trekking poles and stuck our feet to the sides of the trail at times to head down. This is part of why I would rate this trail as difficult; it has a lot of elevation and some trickier sections.  

It continued to be very beautiful with lots of flowers as we headed down and the trail finally flattened out.

We saw a few people every so often, but the trail was still not very populated with everyone going the other direction. The trail was overgrown and sometimes a bit confusing to follow at times. However, we knew Gore Creek was supposed to be on our right, which helped. 

We knew we had made it when we got to this crossing of Gore Creek and in a sudden shock, heard lots and lots of people. Backpacking to Gore Lake from the Vail side is extremely popular.

Once we crossed Gore Creek, we had a steep uphill climb, busy with lots of people and some large groups with huge packs climbing up as well. We were worried it was going to be crowded at the lake, but the area is huge, so even though it was probably as busy as could be on a Saturday night, we easily snagged a fairly private spot.

The destination of the lake was well worth the long day and the crowds.

Of course I went for a dip.

We ate, read, and had our hot chocolate by the lake. The only downside was the most mosquitos we had seen all summer. We watched groups of mountains goat wander impossible looking paths through the rocks and people swimming and camping all around the lake.

It even rained while the sun was still out in the late afternoon, which was actually really pretty.

We still had goat friends and even babies; I did not get good pictures of the babies with their faces showing, but here is a friend we had at our camp. We carefully maintained our distance as best we could and let the goats be.

We went to sleep early again and had another surprisingly warm night.

Day 3: Gore Lake to Vail

We were definitely motivated to wake up at sunrise again so we could get an early start to beat the crowds down to the trailhead. Plus, eating breakfast and coffee and watching the sun come up over the lake was beautiful.

We quickly packed up and said goodbye to the lake and began to head out.

Hiking out in the morning is always really pleasant. The light is gorgeous, the air is still cool, and animals are out, but few people are up yet.

We were pleased by our pace getting down the steep Gore Lake Trail. Now, as we hiked along Gore Creek to the trailhead, this was new territory. At first, we were happy with how flat and easy to manage the trail was. It was nice hiking along the creek, with lots of flowers and pretty scenery.

The trail definitely got more difficult and had some very steep, technical sections. Lots of rocks, tree roots, and loose gravel. Plus, we were going down even further than what we had ascended. As the day wore on, it got hot and crowded. We were very happy to reach the wilderness sign that meant we were almost at the trailhead.

At the trailhead, there were Town of Vail volunteers to help direct hikers. We chatted with them, and they were impressed by our bus only trip. They confirmed that we would need to walk along a road to Main/Bighorn bus stop and could take either Vail bus to town. They also had this “bus it to hike it” sign at the trailhead.

The road you walk to the bus stop is not too busy, and soon enough, we were at a nice bus stop with shade and trash and a schedule.

After less than 15 minutes wait, we caught the bus to town. We made it to the Vail Transit Center and met Nick’s aunt Jill, who lives in the area. Since it was Sunday, it was Vail Farmer’s Market day, which is both a food and crafts market. There are vendors serving lunch, regular farmer’s market type stalls, and lots of nice local products and goods. After grabbing some pizza and a few items from the market, we headed to the transit center again to catch Pegasus, since that was the next bus (only catch Pegasus if you have a small pack; bigger packs will need the luggage storage of Bustang, which doesn’t come as frequently).

It rained on our ride home. Our whole trip had pretty good weather with only a bit of rain, so we definitely lucked out missing the weather. We still had I-70 traffic, but being on the bus, we could read or nap instead of just sitting in the traffic.

Overall, this trip was definitely an adventure and turned out better than I could have imagined. We started by looking at a map and theorizing this trip could be done, and it actually worked. And it had some of the best scenery, wildflowers, and wildlife I’ve seen in Colorado. I think that even with Gore Lake being so stunning, our favorite part was around Red Buffalo Pass, which we had almost to ourselves and was scenery out of a dream.

by admin
Backpacking, Bus, Colorado, Diary from the Road, Tips and Tricks

Colorado Trail Segment 7: Thru-hike by bus (car-free backpacking!)

You can take the bus exclusively to thru-hike (no out and back needed) Segment 7 of the Colorado Trail between Copper Mountain and Breckenridge (or the opposite way, of course). I am going to explain how I did it from July 26-28, 2023, with photos! Segment 7 is 12.8 miles with 3,674 feet of elevation gain located in the Dillon Ranger District. You hike across the Ten Mile Range, where you enjoy the eastern views of Breckenridge, Lake Dillon, Torrey’s and Grays peaks, Keystone, Georgia Pass, and Boreas Pass. Looking to the west, you enjoy views of Copper Mountain, the Ten Mile Range, Vail Pass, the Holy Cross Wilderness, and the Collegiate Peaks.

  • Coming from Denver, (or a number of places such as Grand Junction), you can use Bustang or Pegasus to get the Frisco to begin your journey. Note that Pegasus is a small van style service that does not have extensive luggage storage, but if you have a small pack, it’s definitely doable.
  • Check the bus schedule for the free Summit Stage buses
    • Unless you are getting off at the very end, you need to pull the cord for your stop, or the bus may not stop if no one is there. You can ask the drivers for help if you need it!
  • Google Maps is usually fairly accurate as well but can be slightly off sometimes, so refer to the bus schedules or ask the drivers to be sure.
  • I recommend the COTrex app for offline maps – although, as it happened, I got good cell reception a large portion of the trail due to the proximity to Copper Mountain, Frisco, and Breckenridge.
  • There are lots of resources for the Colorado Trail – of course, I recommend the two books put out by the Colorado Trail Foundation, the guide book and data book, and the Far Out (formerly Guthook) app, in which users update latest conditions. Here is a breakdown of the segments.
  • My gear was a bit heavy since I was carrying a two person tent and not splitting gear. See my LighterPack.
  • If you need a place to stay, our favorite place is the hostel/hotel The Pad Silverthorne, which is 5 minutes walk from a bus stop in Silverthorne. I love Frisco, Silverthorne, and Dillon.
    • If you have a “layover” at Frisco Transfer Station, Outer Range Brewing is a coffee shop by morning and brewery with Birdcraft, a delicious chicken place, by afternoon/evening.
    • Silverthorne favorites include Red Buffalo Coffee and Sauce on the Blue

Day 1 – Frisco to Copper Mountain

Nick and I were already in Silverthorne staying at The Pad for Noah Kahan at Dillon Ampitheather, which we also did completely by bus. We took Bustang from Denver to Frisco, and used the free bus to get to Dillon Amphitheater.

Nick headed on Bustang back to Denver to work and take care of the cats, and I grabbed my backpacking pack and headed on the bus to Frisco Transfer Station. I hopped on the bus to Copper Mountain and got off at the Copper Mountain Entrance station, which then has these convenient instructions on how to get to the trail. I followed the instructions to get to segment 7.

This is what the bus stop looks like at Copper Entrance.

This is what it looks like to approach the Rec Path.

You stay on the paved Rec Path for a bit, and have a nice walk that looks like this with lots of bikers.

Once you get to this sign, you know you are at the trail. I headed toward “Denver” or left to hike Segment 7.

I was not planning to hike far the first day, but find a spot to camp and relax and save the big climb for Day 2, since I had 2 nights to spend before meeting Nick again for another backpacking trip. So I stayed in sight and reception of the road and Copper Mountain, but it was still pretty and relaxing.

You can see the location of my campsite on the COTrex screenshot below – it was less than a mile out, near the water source marked on Far Out. The water source was a nice creek to filter water from. 

I had a good portion of the day to relax at my campsite with my ultralight hammock. And my campsite was right next to the trail, so I talked to lots of people passing by – day hikers, bikers, and thru-hikers for the Colorado and Continental Divide Trail.

I spent a lot of time reading on my Kindle – on this whole trip, I actually finished an entire book start to finish and read about half of two other books.

It was a beautiful evening. It didn’t rain until dark, when I was in my tent, but in my bomber backpacking tent, I was definitely super safe. I went to bed early to prepare for the climb the next day.

Day 2 – Segment 7 Climb

I woke up at sunrise the next morning and enjoyed some nice coffee and breakfast before packing up and heading out.

It was up and up and up, but with a cool, beautiful morning, felt great. I saw a couple of people camping and the first day hikers I ran into were solo older women, very cool. I started in the forest with lots of water and lots of flowers, and mountain views you knew would just get better and better.

I took a snack break at the trail junction; as you can see, there were bunches of columbines at the base of the sign. One nice thing about the Colorado Trail is the clear trail markers everywhere and good trail conditions, with volunteers doing annual projects to keep the trail maintained.

There were lots of wildflowers as I continued to climb and climb. The mountain and town views started to get better and better.

Every so often I’d like back at the steep trail I had come up and check out the views.

Soon enough, I was starting to get above treeline into open single track.

I was smiling the whole way hiking this trail in such beautiful weather. The trail snakes along the side of the mountain, but it is always solid and not too scary to walk. I mean, this is the high alpine hiking you dream about. Flowers in the breeze, gorgeous mountains, and blue sky. Snow hanging out and contrasting with the green landscape, but no snow or mud on the trail.

Looking back to see where I came from:

Finally I made it to the top of the ridge. You top out at about 12,500 feet, right near Breckenridge Ski Resort.

Yes, this is how close to the resort you are; that is the chairlift.

This was about as good a place as any to take a lunch break, which I did, even though it was only 10 ish am or so. Being up before 6, I was definitely hungry after the 2500 feet up.

Here is a zoom of the mountains, with their beautiful colors showing. It is hard to capture in photos or videos the majesty of the mountains.

I carried along the ridge to the section where you start to go down the other side, toward Breckenridge and Frisco. Looking back, I loved this view. I met a bunch more hikers and bikers up here, including a group biking the entire Colorado Trail. I also met a solo guy who had hiked the CT and CDT and was back again. He gave me good campsite suggestions.

Then as much as I had been going up, it was time to go down, and down and down. This was steep but once again, a good trail and not too scary. I could now see Lake Dillon. There were tons and tons of flowers on this side too, but different kinds.

Then I came to this beautiful view, which reminded me of nearby hikes like McCullough Gulch.

I enjoyed the views of Lake Dillon as I descended down into the forested section again.

Among the trees, it flattened out with fields of wildflowers next to flowing creeks. I found a great spot with hammocking trees and set up midday.

My view was incredible, with the relaxing sound of water and tons of flowers.

Here is the location. It was a little sooner than I was thinking I would camp, but I loved the spot so much, and since I had an entire day to spend, thought it was worthwhile, even if I’d have six miles to hike the next day.

 

Once again, I hammocked and read a lot. Occasionally it threatened rain, but never did. I wore the gloves, socks, and rain jacket for the mosquitos more than anything, along with my head bug net. I had a fabulous, relaxing day. At dusk, it got chilly surprisingly fast, so I went in my tent before nightfall to lay down. This was the coldest night I had, and bundled up in my jacket and quilt – but my gear is great for temperatures down to freezing, so I stayed warm. 

Day 3 – Six Miles to Gold Hill Trailhead

I enjoyed another sunrise and early breakfast and coffee at my gorgeous campsite before packing up and heading out early.

 

I had about six miles to go mostly downhill. I got to Miner’s Creek, another potential campsite area near a jeep road, which had lots of water and campsites. I continued to meet lots of backpackers, mostly solo. After Miner’s Creek, the hike started to have a lot of beetle kill trees, and various dead/downed trees. 

I was motivated to keep a good pace to get to town and meet Nick for our food, and was able to do so. Even with some ugly trees, there are still gorgeous views, especially if you look back on the mountains you came from.

The last section is very open and exposed as you hike down to the road. It was already hot, and it was only morning.

This is what the trailhead looks like at Gold Hill:

I turned to walk along the Rec Path. If you wanted to catch a bus to Breckenridge, you would go to the bus stop on the same side. I, however, was headed to Frisco, so I needed to cross the highway – but there is an underpass for hikers!

There is a trusty sign with the trail symbols under the highway.

I walked to the bus stop, which was shaded and had a trash can for me to dump my trash.

 

There are also handy instructions and bus schedules posted at the bus stop. 

And then, I zipped off to shorts and changed to my sandals, caught the bus, and met Nick at Outer Range Brewing, where he was waiting with my chicken bowl.

Overall, this hike is really beautiful and I enjoyed it a lot. Stretching it out over a few days was easy and fun, and taking the bus allows an awesome opportunity to thru-hike a beautiful section of the Colorado Trail.

by admin
Backpacking, Fishermen's Trail, International Travel, Portugal

Fisherman’s Trail Honeymoon: May 2023

The highlight of our 17-day trip to Portugal, Spain, and a bit of Iceland was definitely spending 4 days hiking the Fisherman’s Trail, or Rota Vicentina in Portugal, from May 18, 2023-May 21.  It is 76 km or 47 miles for the portion we walked. We mostly did the portion in the Alentejo region of Portugal, with beautiful beaches and scenic cliffs, and a little bit of the famous Algarve southern beach region. I discovered this hike when I enjoyed the Laugavegur Trail in Iceland as a great way to see a country, but found that this one involved staying at hostels/hotels and eating wine and seafood every night. This is an associated trail to the Caminos, the most famous of which is the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage.  The trail has actually been expanded since we originally planned the trip in 2020 (obviously that was canceled), and you can now walk all the way to Lagos and spend 12 days hiking.

To skip to Day 0 of my hiking journal, click here.

Overall Fisherman’s Trail Advice and Guidance:

  • The Stingy Nomads guide was our favorite resource for this hike. We used this when we were originally planning our hike for 2020 and then recently, discovered that the couple that run this site loved this region so much that they moved to the south of Portugal. I won’t go into planning details that are already covered on this site here, but it’s a must-read if you want to do the hike.
  • The Rota Vicentina official website was also a great resource. We downloaded the map from Gaia to our phones from here, which was our main map that worked great. The trail is clearly marked with the green and blue lines, but the sand and social trails can make it confusing at times, so having the map is helpful.
  • If we did it again, we would do the luggage transfer service. We pride ourselves on traveling light and obviously typically backpack carrying a lot more supplies like a tent and cookware, so we thought it was really unnecessary (and you couldn’t have convinced us otherwise at the time anyways). However, while weather in the 70s by the coast sounds nice, hiking in no shade is very hot, and carrying a really light day pack would have been nice. The van service goes between the towns and is not really that pricey for what you get, and appears to be what most people did.
  • We completed what is listed as days 1-4 on Stingy Nomads. Day 4 was the hardest both technical and weather wise and had a bit more road walking due to some private land along the coast, so if we were to skip a day, it would have been that last day.  Days 1-3 would be excellent for a shorter trip.
  • By far our favorite towns were Porto Covo and Zambujeira do Mor. I will go into details and photos in those sections, but we wished we had spent an extra day in either or both. They are small but charming and beautiful places. We did an extra day in Odeceixe, and the day seemed really long (once again, rain didn’t help).
  • As for technical difficulty, most Colorado backpacking and the Laugavegur Trail are harder. The difficulty mostly lies in walking in sand, which is hard on your feet and legs. There is nearly no shade. They warn you not to do the trail if you have a fear of heights (which I do, for sure), but I found this not to be very scary – the trails along the cliffs are stable and have some space along the edge. It might depend on your fear, but for me, this was not as bad as Pawnee-Buchanan and Four Pass Loop or even Laugavegur’s steep ascents and descents.
  • People of the Fisherman’s Trail: this was a older crowd generally than we backpack with – lots of camino hikers, 40s-60s retiree type age. Definitely some people our age or younger, but we were in the minority age group. Few Americans and English speakers and lots of Germans, Italians, French etc. It was cool and inspiring to me to see. This would be excellent to do solo; there’s a good amount of people on the trail so you aren’t out there alone (a couple hundred a day?), but spaced out so it’s not super overcrowded. I just love the atmosphere of hikers and walkers; it’s a lot more fun than hanging out with your typical tourists since you are all interested in this hiking adventure.
  • I would follow the Stingy Nomads packing advice and prioritize sun protection. I highly recommend lightweight and light-colored long sleeves, long pants (I have the ones that zip into capris and shorts which was perfect), sun gloves, and a hat that can be secured in the wind. We did laundry every night by hand. Nick and I wore trail runners. My feet swelled up more than they ever have (despite wearing these trail runners a lot prior) and I got some blisters, which I really don’t get usually. Thru-hiking is a different beast than regular hiking with its long distances every day, and these were hotter temperatures, so I definitely advise wearing trail runners and sizing up half or full sizes.
  • I brought my p-style and Kula cloth – it is hard to find a private spot to pee, so definitely recommend these tools (there was TP everywhere which was gross – Kula for the win). I also swam in the ocean which allowed opportunity to pee freely, but I understand it was too cold for most.
  • This was probably the most affordable part of our trip – we could get private rooms for good rates, food and wine was cheap and delicious, and our activities of walking all day and going to the beach were free. It was also less touristy, even with all the hikers, and we felt more like we glimpsed every day life in Portugal in the towns with kids going to school, people playing soccer or going to the beach, commuting to work in the mornings, and hanging out eating and drinking.

Day 0: Lisbon to Porto Covo

Hotel: Hotel Apartamento Porto Corvo

I am the target text.We took the bus from Lisbon to Porto Covo, which was a nice air-conditioned bus. Here is what the bus station looked like out of Lisbon.

We arrived in town in late afternoon, with perfect timing to catch the sunset.

Our hotel was really cute; we had a private room which was wonderful after hostels, and I wish we had time to enjoy the little pool and terrace. The town is small but incredibly charming with its whitewashed walls, red tile roofs, and coastal views. The houses match, and immediately, I dreamed of moving here. To have a house with a beautiful garden in a quiet town, with the ocean as your soundtrack, sounds so wonderful. I imagined a world where Nick could have his sewing machine set up, me with my laptop and notebooks writing, and reading out by the coast every day.

Porto Covo was a wonderful change from Lisbon. For us, Lisbon was beautiful but hot, crowded, and touristy. Porto Covo’s cool sea breezes and quiet was just what we needed.

We had the most incredible meal at Lamelas, Chef Ana Moura’s restaurant. She is a Michelin-trained chef and every drink and dish was prepared with such thought and care. This was our favorite meal of the entire trip.

We headed to bed after our amazing meal, eager to start the hike the next day.

Day 1: Porto Covo to Vila Nova de Milfontes

Distance: 19 km/11.8 miles

Hiking time: about 8-4 pm including all stops

Hotel: Casa Amarela

We had some free breakfast at our hotel with mostly other hikers. Portuguese breakfast has some croissants and other breads, deli meats, cheese, and coffee. We would typically grab some fruit or bread from breakfasts each day to take on the hike.

One fun part about this trail is it starts in the town and you go through directly through the towns as part of the trail.

We started off along the coast and had some climbing up and down, including the part shown with a rope.

Throughout the first day, you can choose to follow the trail or walk directly on the beach. We chose to walk directly on the beach, mostly.

I think I was the only hiker I saw who got in the water this day, but I could not help myself. I love swimming in the ocean, and although many said the water was cold, I grew up swimming in the Pacific Ocean on our California vacations, and the water is about the same temperature as Southern California ocean. Plus it was immediately hot, so the cool off was so refreshing. The water was crystal clear. I liked having my Tera Kaia set for this, which is underwear that is meant to double as swimwear.

There is a restaurant really early on in the hike (3.5 km or 2.2 miles in), so we stopped for cappuccinos, which was nice. We did not necessarily need a break at this point, but it felt luxurious to take advantage of stops like this when we are typically backpacking out in the wilderness with no restaurant or coffee shops.

We did see some surfers along the beach. There was a boardwalk along a public beach. Then, we got into the cliffs section, rising above the water and hiking through a sand dune.

Storks nests with baby storks lined the cliffs, along with some pretty flowers.

It was hot, but the wind helped with cooling.

We soon approached a restaurant on the way in to our next town (Porto das Barcas). All the hikers were out and about at the outdoor bar section, which was a perfect place to grab some snacks and drinks and rest our feet. In Portugal, “toasts” are basically grilled cheeses and delicious, often with ham or other ingredients added.

We got to town and walked to our hotel. We were trying to find the place based on the address on Google, and then ran into a man on a scooter who happened to be the owner and showed us to the room. It was a pretty little private room and bathroom, with some nice common spaces and clotheslines. The owner has decorated the place with art from his travels.

Vila Nova de Milfontes is a pretty sizable town compared to the others, so there were lots of restaurants and cafes. We decided to head to the beach to relax, and then head back to our room to shower and get ready for dinner. Grocery stores in these towns tend to close somewhat early, so Nick made a quick snacks run for some nuts and trail mix.

We headed out to dinner at Ritual tapas, which was lovely.

Someone started playing the guitar – Country Roads, Take Me Home (American music is universal, it seems). We tried to get ice cream, but the place was closed, so we headed back to the hotel to rest up for the next big day of hiking.

Day 2: Vila Nova de Milfontes to Almograve

Distance: 12 km/7.5 miles (shortened 4 km due to ferry)

Hiking Time: About 9-3 including ferry ride and all stops (2 hours beach rest)

Hotel: Pousada de Juventude

We woke up, packed, and had breakfast at a nice cafe in town. Getting a big breakfast in is another luxury of this hiking style we aren’t used to from wilderness backpacking.

IMG_3888

We walked to the fortress to take the ferry to the other side of the river. It saves 4 km of road-walking, so no-brainer for us.

As a bonus, there is a cat colony that the ferry owners care for, which I was so excited about. The ride is really short and we rode with some other hikers.

 

You then walk along the beach and cut over to the trail, which gets you back up along the cliffs with the breathtaking ocean views.

There is a field and a section through some forest, and then along a fence.

There are stairs down to a beach, which is your only opportunity to go to the beach. I believe this was Praia de Brejo Largo. It is a gorgeous beach with white sand, clear blue water, and lovely cliffs.

Since it was our shortest day mileage wise and it was only 11:30 at this point, we decided to relax at the beach for about 2 hours. I finally saw some other hikers relax and even go in the water. I went in the water, of course, and we walked up and down the beach too.

We saw some hikers go along the beach and they must have found a way to reconnect to the trail later. We really did not see a good way to do that – there was an old collapsed stair and maybe scaling cliffs? So we just came back up the stairs we came down on and continued along the trail.

It was very hot with lots of dune walking along the cliffs. We got to a solid ground road which was a relief and walked to town.

Our hostel was towards the beginning of where the town starts, which was great. Even though it was a hostel, we had a private room and bathroom with an incredible view of a field of horses and a clothesline. It seemed to be all hikers staying there, which was fun. It also had a nice little outdoors hangout with hammocks.

Almograve is really small with a few restaurants and a couple of shops. The beach is not very walkable from town. We decided to buy some snacks at the convenience store and relax in the hammocks.

Dinner restaurants were not open yet, so we waited until they opened and then headed to a small, casual restaurant around 6. Honestly I’m not sure the name of the restaurant; it was near the roundabout with a menu in chalkboard outside.

As always in Portugal, the food was fresh, cheap, and fantastic. We had Portuguese wine for a few Euro, As always, there was bread, olives, and cheese for cheap – here, they also had shrimp as part of the snacks. We had octopus stew and fish, which was delicious.

Our friendly waiter brought us a shot of liquor to finish off with. We took our leftover bread to snack on the next day. We caught the sunset at our hostel before heading to bed.

Day 3: Almograve to Zambujeira do Mar

Distance: 22.5 km/14 miles

Hiking Time: About 8-4:30 including all stops

Hotel: Ondazul

After a breakfast with all the hikers at the hostel, we headed out of town early through a little forest along the coast to start our longest day, 14 miles.

We rested at a beautiful beach and had some snacks.

Then, we walked on a road with a cute exercise route.

 

This was a gorgeous cliffs day, with lots of storks and babies.

Once we got into the forest a bit, we were really appreciative of the shade.

We came to our first tiny town, Cavaleiro, and were able to get another “toast” which as you know is basically a big grilled cheese sandwich.

There were lots of hikers at the restaurant, but we found a spot. We met an older British couple who were taking their camper around Portugal and brought e-bikes to explore. They had biked in, and asked us about the hike. We ended up seeing them throughout the day. They were staying near Zambujeira do Mor, which they told us was great.

We walked by a lighthouse at Cabo Sardao, and then saw so many more storks and babies and many wildflowers.

My feet were killing me so I switched to sandals and socks for a bit, and we rested along the cliffs and enjoyed the scenery.

We came to some stairs which were surprisingly steep and led to a fishing area.

There was then a restaurant at Entrada do Barca, where we got some cold drinks and coffee and saw our British friends again.

The last part of the day was road walking, so not very pleasant.

We got into Zambujeira do Mar, which was our other favorite town besides Porto Covo.

Our hotel was really beautiful; once again, we got a private room, bathroom, and small balcony with clothesline. There is a gorgeous beach 5 minutes from town, which had a body boarding competition when we headed there. I finally got to go in the water, which I had not gotten to do that day.

There are lots of cute seafood restaurants in the town (smaller than VNDM but bigger than Almograve and Porto Covo). We had a wonderful meal at a nice restaurant called Restaurante Cosa Alentejana with Portuguese wine, fried squid, and seafood stew for two. I love the option to share a seafood stew for two people that was prevalent in Portugal.

We also had a delicious dessert here.

We caught the end of sunset and headed to bed.

Day 4: Zambojeira do Mor to Odeceixe

Distance: 19 km/11.8 miles

Hiking Time: About 8:30-5 including all stops

Hotel: Residencia do Parque

After another wonderful Portuguese breakfast with other hikers at our hotel, we walked across the town beach on our way out to spend a few moments saying goodbye before heading out on the trail.

We started with an incline and stairs up and down and passed a nudist beach (no nudists out), and then we had a bit of a forest walk. Then we were by the sea again, with lots of storks and babies.

There was a steep descent to a gorgeous beach, Praia do Carvalhal.

We took a swimming break. There were some warmer pools of clear water and some caves carved into the cliffs to explore.

Next, we had to ascend steeply.

We came across an odd ostrich farm with an electric fence – it got a bit creepy when we saw a dead ostrich, so we just kept moving.

Then we were out by the sea cliffs again. We had some more steep up and downs right along the water that were quite rocky.

As I had mentioned in my advice section, this was the more technically difficult day.

There was private property along the cliffs, so the trail took a turn through the forest and onto the road.

At this point, the weather was looking really ominous. There was some small chance for afternoon rain from the forecast, but we were not expecting the rain we would eventually get. At first, it just started to thunder distantly. We had to do a road walk, which was probably the least pleasant part of the trail, before heading through a field back to the cliffs.

It started to rain lightly, and it honestly felt nice and cooling at first and added kind of a pretty Scottish vibe to the landscape.

We got to a restaurant at Azenha do Mar just in time for it to start pouring. The restaurant was absolutely packed since it is the only restaurant on the trail for miles. We were not able to actually get seated at the restaurant, but were able to grab some coffees and stand outside under cover. It poured really hard for a while.

When it seemed to lighten slightly, we decided we would just have to carry on with our rain gear (we had rain jackets, pants, and pack covers, which is a must on a hike like this). It still was pouring rain and windy, and I do not have many pictures since I was trying to keep my phone dry during this part.

As you can tell, this was our toughest day. Towards the end of the hike, we were walking on the road along the river to Odeceixe, which just seemed to take forever and ever.

It was beautiful scenery, just not our favorite walk since cars would join us on the road. We were excited when we crossed the bridge to town.

We had some stairs, of course, but it was nice because the hotel was self check-in, so we were able to get right into the room, which was another private room and balcony with a view of the town from the upper floor, which was kind of a narrow, windy place.

For dinner, we decided to go to a nice looking Portuguese restaurant called Taverna do Gabao and eat inside because of the rain. Typically, we would end up eating outside in the evenings, but alas, the weather had turned on us. It was very cozy, though, and we were happy to have our now ritual olives and breads with a local bottle of wine before digging into the main course.

We had a beautiful sunset from our room overlooking the roofs of the town before falling into a well-deserved deep sleep.

Zero Day: Odeceixe to Lagos

We had decided to overnight in Odeceixe, and with the next bus in the evening the next day, we had all day in Odeceixe. We maximized our time in the hotel resting after the hike and lounging. There is a cute cafe called AO Largo in Odeceixe that we went to for breakfast and to hang out, since we had all day.

Odeceixe is cute but pretty small, so the day seemed long, plus it eventually started raining again. We found the place pictured below, a coffee and juice shop (unmarked on Google). Also a note, Odeceixe was one of the few places everywhere seemed to take cash only, even when cash was preferred throughout Portugal, so heads up on that.

We went to a couple of shops and then back to the cafe to hang out, and then had some snacks at the Chinese place across from Ao Largo. At that point, we were really ready to head out on the bus.

If we did it again, I think having the night of rest was nice but having the hotel room even thought we weren’t staying the night would have been great, just to be able to relax during the day. But, we made it to Lagos on a nice bus journey and settled into another nice hotel in time to catch the sunset. Click here to go back to the top of the page.

Backpacking, Colorado, Diary from the Road, Hot Springs

Conundrum Hot Springs Backpacking

Conundrum Hot Springs is a famous Colorado backpacking trip.  We completed this August 12-13, 2022. It is in the Maroon-Bells Wilderness near Aspen, like the Four Pass Loop we completed last year. We thought the trip was worth the hype. A permit system has been enacted in recent years due to overuse and lots of trash and human waste, and I think it works well. This hike can have a “party” reputation, but we really enjoyed the others we met and did not observe that; ymmv, your mileage may vary.

Total Miles: approximately 18 round trip

Total Elevation Gain: about 3000 feet gain

FAQs and Tips:

  • Permits: Permits are required from recreation.gov to camp overnight near the hot springs. Make sure you get online as soon as permits are released to snag them. You may have some luck trying to find last minute cancellations. As with many Colorado high-country trips, the prime time for this trip is mid-July to August since you may encounter snow the rest of the year, and so getting one of these weekends is competitive. Proper bear containers are required (we used the Ursack). Additionally, free wag bags are at the trailhead and you should pack out all your waste (yes, this means poop).
  • Campsites: The permits are for specific campsites. As stated, it is competitive and some of the campsites are fairly far (half mile) from the hot springs. Our campsite, number 10, was past the hot springs and up an additional 300 feet elevation. I will describe more in this post, but be ready for some hiking. This site would be great for hiking up Triangle Pass since it is on the way (which we did not end up doing, but wanted to!). To me, the ideal sites seemed closer to the hot springs (like 7 and 8). The sites on the way up to the springs involve a bit of a trek, so you would want to do what we did and go out for soaking sessions rather than plan to go back and forth frequently.
  • Where to stay: Aspen is extremely expensive and campsites get booked fast. It is also a long drive from Denver. We stayed in Twin Lakes before and Salida after, which we really enjoyed.
  • Parking: There is a small lot and as of now, no parking permits (please add them!) and no alternative to getting to the trailhead, so I recommend getting in early. Do not illegally park, as this is a hazard to emergency vehicles and you can get towed.
  • Difficulty: Lots of people do this as a first backpacking trip, which I do not recommend unless you have done some high altitude hiking, as it is not an easy trail. Nine miles and 3000 feet elevation gain is intense. I have a post on beginning backpacking trails, and will always recommend testing out your gear on an easy trip. It is doable as a first trip if you are very fit and have the high altitude experience, but always be mindful of altitude sickness and bring proper nutrition, electrolytes, pack light as possible, and take your time.
  • Gear: See my LighterPack. Most gear was typical except for Ursack, required for food storage, and some kind of swimwear. I brought my Tera Kaia top and bottom, which is a cool brand that makes “basewear” that acts as both underwear and swimwear and is very light and compact. I also brought my ultralight travel towel. I always bring Skechers for camp shoes, but you can go in the hot springs barefoot, so it’s not required. I did not use my hammock, but probably could have hung it if I had more time. We wanted to maximize hot springs time, so did not hang out at camp much.

Day 1

Nick and I camped at Twin Lakes (free dispersed camping), as staying anywhere near Aspen is either booked up or very expensive. Sidenote: We later learned that a couple at Conundrum booked a campsite near Aspen with a last-minute cancellation. Lesson of the summer: always check for cancellations. This required a drive over Independence Pass, which is always slightly scary but gorgeous, as you drive right over the Continental Divide.

We arrived at the parking lot before 8 and were able to grab a parking spot in the small lot. We grabbed some free wag bags for number 2 just in case and started hiking. The trail was really nice (especially compared to the rough condition of the Pawnee-Buchanan Loop), and we really enjoyed the greenness and lushness of this trail.

There were still lots of wildflowers hanging out. And with the ferns and undergrowth, it was the most green trail we have seen yet.

There was also water along the whole trail, which was really relaxing. Yes, we trekked uphill, which was slow going at times; but so beautiful.

A few miles from the hot springs, we were in a part of the trail with lots of trees when a giant moose came running down the trail at us. Moose are actually one of the most dangerous animals in Colorado, partly because humans do not understand the danger. I yelled to Nick to duck behind a tree, and we both got off trail behind trees and bushes. This was a tip we got on the Maroon Bells bus last year, since moose won’t necessarily move to avoid you but will not charge through a tree. Luckily, the moose went off the side of the trail.

Unfortunately, I was reminded of a story told to us by our raft guide in Grand Tetons, who met a man that had his tent destroyed by a moose running from a bear. Nick and I started shouting “hey animal” so any animals would be aware of our presence. Four hikers came meandering down the trail, and we realized they likely spooked the moose. These hikers seemed unfazed by our scary moose story and said “oh cool, a moose!” and went off trail to approach it (by the way, this is what you should not do per the video I linked above). We warned several more people on the next section of trail, since this marshy area was prime moose territory with low visibility, being enclosed with lots of bush and tree cover. As a sidenote, both Nick and I have taken Colorado Mountain Club’s hiking safety class, which I highly recommend as they cover every type of animal encounter, among other topics.

After lots more uphill hiking, we finally reached the first campsites, quite tired and hungry. However, we kept going on and on. We saw the hot springs, which are at an elevation of 11,200 feet. But we had to keep going up and up and up to our campsite, number 10, which was an additional 300 feet up a steep trail on the way up to Triangle Pass.

The scenery was incredible, as you can see from this picture near our campsite trying to find water. The water source required a lot of bushwhacking, so we decided to collect water near the hot springs instead for the rest of the trip.

Our site was designated as a two-person site, but barely had space for a tent and a lot of rocks.

The picture above shows the other possible space at the site to set up camp, but it was not very flat and fairly root-y. No one ever came to campsite 9, below us, which looked much flatter; but I would not suggest trying to switch campsites, since we observed several people come in to camp very late (past sunset even).

We decided, given the distance to the hot springs, to eat our dinner first even though it was only around 2 pm when we got to camp, and then really hang out at the hot springs for a good portion of the afternoon.

The campsite area was a gorgeous place to hang out and eat, although there were lots of mosquitos (why are mosquitos hanging out at nearly 1k feet??). We then made the journey down to the springs, around 4:30. At first, we thought we might be in the wrong spot, because no one was there. However, it was a lovely temperature, so we headed in and realized this is definitely it. We did not know how we would ever get out; there were no mosquitos, and it was beautiful.

We had only a deer friend (see below) for around 45 minutes, before another couple joined us.

Soon, it started to rain. But there was no thunder, and so we thought we might as well stay in the springs. It was really nice. We avoided any thunder and lightning, luckily.

Eventually, more and more people joined us in the hot springs, but it was really fun talking to a variety of people about lots of random things. We even met a couple of guys who backpacked over Triangle Pass from Crested Butte and were carrying on toward Aspen, but taking a break at the springs. The hot springs definitely lends itself to socializing. We even filtered more water there.

We stayed for several hours; our campsite did not lend itself to wandering back and forth. We headed back to our camp and headed into the tent. We got some rain throughout the night.

Day 2

We had wanted to try to hike up to Triangle Pass, but felt quite tired and had a long hike out. We decided to pack up our campsite first thing in the morning and hike down to the hot springs for breakfast. Once again, I was surprised that no one was down there. We carefully made our breakfast and coffee while soaking in the hot springs (packing out all trash and food, of course!). It felt luxurious, since it is so cold in the morning backpacking.

Yes, it was very difficult to get out since the sun had not yet hit the hot spring. But we were able to change into our clothes quickly and layer up.

We headed out around 9 am. The hike back always seems longer, especially when you know you can get delicious food in Aspen, Colorado. It’s a beautiful hike, and we eventually got some clouds and light rain which was actually nice in helping keep us cool in the non-shaded areas.

We got to the trailhead around 1:40 pm, and we were ready to be done! The parking lot was overfilled at this point, including people parked in some very tough positions to drive around who hopefully got towed, since they would definitely block emergency vehicles. We were able to get out and had just a short drive to Aspen. One of my favorite places, where the locals took me when I did a consulting job there, is Meat and Cheese. We were able to get in to sit at the bar and have a delicious feast before we had to drive back over Independence Pass to get to Salida, where we had an amazing time staying at Simple Lodge, a fantastic hostel.

Overall, even though this trip takes quite a bit of planning and permitting, it was very fun, and we would like to return and try to do two nights, if possible. We would still like to make it up to Triangle Pass and have even more time to relax at the hot springs.

 

by admin
Backpacking, Colorado, Diary from the Road

Pawnee-Buchanan Loop Backpacking

The Pawnee-Buchanan Loop in the Indian Peaks Wilderness of Colorado has some of the most stunning scenery of any backpacking loop in Colorado. It is also the hardest backpacking trip I’ve done to date (AllTrails). 30 miles, about 7650 total elevation gain, two mountain passes, and some steep terrain. We had some weather and trail condition challenges that made this one extra difficult. We completed this July 29-31, 2022.

I’ll start with some tips and tricks and then break down the details of each day! To skip to Day 1, click here.

FAQs and Tips:

  • Rockfall obscuring route on Pawnee Pass: From FSDA– ALERT! A rockslide in Indian Peaks Wilderness Area has impacted the upper portion of the Pawnee Pass Trail west of the Continental Divide, presenting a significant route finding challenge and potential rockfall danger. The 2-3 switchbacks 50 feet below the top of the pass have large rocks completely obscuring the path. Workaround routes are sandy and unstable. Use extreme caution or pick and alternate trail. 
    • I describe this in detail, but I found this section absolutely terrifying. The women we were with said it was comparable to Longs Peak which is Class 3 climbing.
  • Permits: You are required to get a backcountry permit for this trip from recreation.gov. You will need to mark the day the permits come out on your calendar and determine your route; depending on how many days you want to spend and mileage per day, there are a lot of ways to route this. We had a permit for the Buchanan Backcountry Zone and Cascade Creek Backcountry Zone. We were unable to get a permit for the Crater Lake zone even though we were online as soon as permits were released – I’ll describe how we did a side trip there on Day 2. While we did not experience it, I’ve heard of park rangers checking the permits.
  • Parking: The overnight permit does not include overnight parking, which is not clear on the website and as you will see, is on totally different pages on recreation.gov. For this loop, the most convenient parking would be either Mitchell Lake or Long Lake trailhead, which are less than a mile apart. Make sure you chose overnight parking and not day pass. Brainard Lake is an option if those are full and adds about .8 miles of extra hiking. We did not get the parking permit, so we parked at the winter trailhead, Brainard Gateway, which is free with no reservation. This meant we hiked three extra miles in. It was raining when we reached Long Lake Trailhead and we were able to hitch a ride with a nice young couple – THANK YOU.
    • Tip: For permits for both camping and parking, try checking for last minute cancellations on recreation.gov. We have met several people who had luck with that recently.
  • Check for updates to any policies on FSDA or recreation.gov; these apply as of summer 2022 when we went, but could change in the future.
  • Campsites: This is the most trouble we have ever had finding campsites on a backpacking trip; usually I’ve found them very obvious. A lot of the terrain was not flat, had tons of blowdown/widowmakers aka dead trees, or was marshy. I would try to both plot out your trip to known campsites, and have flexibility in case campsites are taken. I will provide advice on where we camped.
  • Trail Condition: Overall, this is also the poorest trail condition I’ve seen in a while. There were a lot of downed trees that required workarounds, and we got off-trail easily in sections. It’s still a fairly well-traveled trail, but be mindful of directions and have a map.
  • Gear: Check out my LighterPack for my gear list. I didn’t end up using the hammock because our days were very long, and it rained and stormed quite a bit.

Day 1

Brainard Lake Gateway to Mitchell Lake Trailhead to Buchanan Pass to Fox Park

Total Miles: approximately 13.5

Total Elevation Gain: about 3500 feet (would have been 3000 if we got parking)

Total Descent: about 3100 feet

We drove up in the dark to get a sunrise start, since we did not have a parking permit and the addition of 3 miles would make for a long day. We parked at Brainard Lake Gateway (winter trailhead) with few other cars on this early Friday morning.

Starting at 5:45 am, we took the trail for a bit and then did some road walking. The sunrise was beautiful. There was a magical pink glow reflected on the trees.

The magical thing about the Indian Peaks Wilderness is that it is beautiful from the parking lot on.

We made it to Brainard Lake itself, finally.

 

We still had to hike to our starting point, Mitchell Lake Trailhead. Our first leg was on Beaver Creek trail. We had a steep climb, but it was a beautiful day. The landscape was full of trees and then opened up. We only saw a handful of people, which surprised me.

At about 5 miles in, we made it to Coney Flats trailhead at about 10:45 am. We would continue on Beaver Creek trail to Buchanan Pass trail, with a goal to get over the pass without getting stuck in a storm. The possibility of a storm seems wild with the blue skies photos so far, but storms blow in very quickly in the mountains.

We started to get rained and then hailed on. We continued up toward the pass, trying to determine which way the storm was moving. Before the pass, we started to hear thunder, so we set up our tent quickly before it started hailing again. We waited out the storm and enjoyed a break in the tent. The temperature dropped rapidly and we went from sweating to putting on our down jackets.

As the storm let up and the sun came out, we decided to continue up the pass. It started raining lightly, but no thunder and lightning, so we carried on, hoping to catch blue skies on the other side. Part of the beauty of this park is that you are hiking along the Continental Divide.

Overall, this entire loop has some of the steepest terrain I have encountered, and this was quite a climb. There was a scary section for me with a ledge drop-off, but we made it to the top and – blue skies suddenly appeared. By this point, with our waiting out the storm and hiking up, it was around 4:30 pm. We took a little break at the top, and a man suddenly appeared with a small day pack walking down the side of Sawtooth mountain in one of the most Colorado things ever. We said hi and then he set off to “continue his loop,” likely running, whatever that was!

Coming down the other side of the pass was like a whole different world; and this world was a real Sound of Music, Lord of the Rings, gorgeous mountain painting.

We descended down, and down, and down. This is where we came up the most wildflowers I have ever seen.

It was a magical wildflower field. We enjoyed the beauty of the afternoon light, but it was getting to be almost 6 at this point, and we were ready to find a campsite and make dinner. However, there was nothing suitable, so we carried on downhill for what seemed like forever (apparently it was only 30 minutes, lol) with no flat ground. Finally, we opened up to a flat meadow in Fox Park and camped among some trees near where the photo below was taken, with amazing views.

We quickly set up camp, found water at a stream nearby, and made dinner. We were absolutely wiped after hiking over 13 miles in a day. Every trip I think I’ve had my hardest day ever and could not be more tired, but the next trip seems to top it. We had some cute deer near our camp for company as we got ready to go to sleep. We thought Day 2 would be easier, but would it be? All 3 days were extremely hard, as it turned out.

Day 2

Fox Park to Cascade Creek to Lone Eagle Peak to Pawnee Lake

Total Miles: approximately 10

Total Elevation Gain: about 2500 feet

Total Descent: about 2000 feet

We woke up at sunrise the next day and made breakfast, feeling better and prepared to get an early start. We said goodbye to our deer friends and started out in the chilly morning.

This was a really nice section of the trail as we carried on Buchanan Pass Trail. Flat and relaxing with lots of water and flowers.

Both on this trail and the next section, Cascade Creek, there were many waterfalls. Impressive ones too! It was so gorgeous.

After 4 nice miles, we made it to the junction of Cascade Creek Trail around 10:30 am, and it was noticeably busier with people on Cascade Creek Trail. Cascade Creek was also beautiful and packed with waterfalls, but extremely steep in several sections and a lot of elevation gain.

 

 

We were hopeful we could find a campsite on the way to the junction where you turn off for Lone Eagle Peak and Crater Lake, but we could not find anything. There were a couple of spots taken, but no obvious water, and a lot of marsh and non-flat land. Even though we did not snag a campsite at Crater Lake, we wanted to do a side trip there another 2 miles round trip, and once you see the pictures, you will understand why. We left our packs at the junction and carried on.

The scenery is like…the Alps? A painting? Remarkable to see in person.

The rain we got added to the moody landscape. The pointy cone mountain is Lone Eagle Peak. It was around 3 pm at this point, and although we were tired, we needed to press on to find a place to camp.

Looking at the map and talking to some others, we decided we would try to find a campsite along the Pawnee Pass Trail, and if we did not find anything, we could camp by Pawnee Lake, which is in the Cascade Creek Backcountry Zone and does not require it’s own permit.

There was a lot of uphill hiking and nearly no campsites; little flat land, and any campsites we found did not appear to have water nearby. This is also the section where we got the most off trail.

We now were determined to camp at Pawnee Lake, and made it around 6 again just in time. A thunderstorm was rolling in, so we quickly had to set up camp. The storm was relentless, and it was raining hard and thundering for a couple of hours.

Keep in mind we still had not eaten dinner, so we were hungry. Luckily, the storm let up, and we were able to quickly cook dinner by the lake as darkness moved in on us. We hung our bear bag in the dark, and went to sleep.

Day 3

Pawnee Lake to Pawnee Pass to Lake Isabelle to Long Lake Trailhead

Total Miles: approximately 6.5

Total Elevation Gain: about 1600 feet

Total Descent: about 2000 feet

So the previous night had been pretty rough – but we woke up to blue skies and this beautiful view.

After a peaceful breakfast at Pawnee Lake, we started the climb up past the lake up Pawnee Pass Trail. There were several camping spots between the trail and the lake, and we saw a few more backpackers. The scenery was as beautiful as ever.

Pawnee Lake got smaller and smaller, and we reached a portion of switchbacks heading up to the pass that was all scree (loose rock as pictured). At this point, there was at least still a very visible trail.

It started to get more and more scary for me with my fear of heights (or evolutionarily advantageous fear of falling down a 1500 foot dropoff), the loose rocks, and the steep dropoff.

We came to a section that seemed to have no trail, and just involved climbing boulders up near the top of the pass. We did not know at the time, but this was the rockfall I described above. I started to have a true panic attack. We paused, and I did not see a way I could make it up, but I knew that if we called search and rescue, I’d have to hike out anyways.

Nick spotted a group of women backpackers coming up and asked if we could go with them. They had come down this way already to camp at Crater Lake. I can’t thank this group enough. They let us go between them, and one woman was a volunteer ranger with the most calming presence. She suggested going hand over foot and ditching my trekking poles, and found a good route with handholds. They had just completed Longs’ Peak, which made me feel even better because that is Class 3 climbing. She said the route must have had a rockfall because it was comparable to Longs. I would never choose Class 3 climbing on purpose, and max out at Class 2 with my anxiety for heights.

I’ve never been so relieved to complete a section of trail, and we relaxed at the pass, but of course as you can see, rain was threatening. It was still only 11 am at this point. We carried on down and down and down and down.

The scenery never lets up on this trail, and even when we were tired and hungry and ready to go home, we had to enjoy moments like this.

We were heading down to Lake Isabelle, and it seemed to take forever. Nothing would compare to the scariness of the boulder climbing, but there were some pretty steep dropoffs along here as well.

And after what seemed like forever, this is what that lake above looked like up close. Lake Isabelle was gorgeous, but it was starting to rain. And this trail is an extremely popular day hike, so the trail was crowded now.

When we reached Long Lake, we knew we were getting close. We saw our third moose of the trip near the trailhead.

At the trailhead, it was starting to rain, so we started to approach people to see if we could get a ride from anyone the 3 miles to the trailhead. We rode with a couple and their dogs, and it turns out that they were backpackers too, having permits for Conundrum Hot Springs later in the summer just like us.

In Boulder, we had an epic selection of world foods from Rosetta Hall and well-deserved drinks. It was definitely my hardest trail to date, with the most challenge for my fear of heights. But like I said, arguably the best scenery of any trip ever. Would I do it again? I’m not sure, but I’d love to camp at Crater Lake and Lone Eagle Peak from the Monarch Trailhead (and avoid Pawnee Pass altogether), or spend more time in other areas of the Indian Peaks Wilderness.

by admin
Backpacking, Colorado, Diary from the Road

Four Pass Loop

Four mountain passes to summit. Over 25 miles and 8000 feet of elevation gain. Highest elevation around 12,600. 4 days, 3 nights. This is the Four Pass Loop! Nick and I have had this on our list since 2020, and I’ve had it on my bucket list since 2019. I’ll start with some tips and tricks and then break down the details of each day! To skip to Day 1, click here.

FAQs and tips:

  • Permits will likely be required to be reserved in future years, so do your research! This article explains more. Currently, if you want to start the hike from Maroon Bells, the most typical starting point, you must reserve parking or shuttle tickets. We reserved shuttle tickets the day they came out, and much was sold out already. Aspen Highlands was charging $40/day for parking, so to avoid that, we parked in Rio Grande garage for $12/day and took free Aspen public buses. It’s quite easy! And, as of 2021, masks were required on all of these buses. Personally, I think this is great. While we met lots of amazing, well-prepared people, I have never seen so many novice backpackers with giant backpacks. There was also a large amount of trash, which is always disappointing.
  • There is an excellent Four Pass Loop Facebook group, as of my writing this post. Search and ask for approval to join! People provide trip reports, conditions, tips, etc.
  • This is not a beginning backpacking loop. Everyone brings too much on their first trip, and gaining 2-3k vertical feet at high elevation is not the time to try out backpacking. There are a lot of great easier loops/trips in Colorado. See my post on beginning backpacking trips. After an initial overnight, try a multi-day in Lost Creek Wilderness. We also felt Highland Mary Lakes was great preparation since it is at a similarly high elevation. And a lot of great classes out there too that will help prepare  – I did the  Introduction to Backpacking class via REI and a hiking safety class with Colorado Mountain Club. Ideally, you can also practice some day hikes with a lot of elevation gain or at high elevation. I initially found this loop when I was trying to prepare for the Laugavegur Trail and wanted to do it solo as practice for that trail, but realized Four Pass is much harder and I should wait, which was a great decision.
  • Pack light! My pack for Four Pass: https://lighterpack.com/r/pf59u4. Nick and I weighed and were around 24 lbs fully loaded with food and a liter of water, so the estimates are quite accurate. We had hammocks and I had a chair too, as well as each having Kindles. We certainly did not sacrifice comfort for pack weight. See my Gear page for more details about how I lightened my load. There are a lot of easy, low cost ways to lower pack weight including: don’t bring full size bottles like sunscreen (decant or buy one ounce), don’t bring a heavy water bottle – Nalgene or what we use, SmartWater, don’t bring clothes for each day or anything extra “just in case” beyond 10 essentials/first aid.
  • Temperatures can get down to freezing, even in summer. Lowest temps were at our campsite at about 11,700 after West Maroon Pass going CCW. My thermometer said 35 degrees in the morning, but there was ice and frost on the tent.
  • Clockwise or Counterclockwise? The eternal debate. We did CCW because we are acclimated and wanted to get the hardest over with first. We dislike long downhills and wanted a shorter last day. Honestly both ways are hard and so I don’t know how much it matters which way you go? Most people seemed to be going clockwise so we liked going opposite. If you are coming from out of town and attempting to acclimate, clockwise would probably be slightly better. Or if you are starting later in the day – there are a lot of camping spots on the way up and you can avoid completing a pass on the first day.
  • Afraid of Heights? I push my limits a bit for rewarding activities like this trip – I do not do things like climb class 3 14’ers. I’m afraid of heights and found Buckskin to be easiest to manage and Trail Rider and Frigid Air were my least favorite due to steep uphill or downhill, but everyone is different with these fears. Just go slow, look at your feet, talk to yourself. I didn’t find the passes themselves scary personally, once I got up.
  • Use COTREX. COTREX is the app created by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. It’s an awesome app generally for hiking in Colorado – you get up to date trail closures, for one, and the maps are great. You can also download offline maps and customer routes. For Four Pass, someone has mapped the campsites which appear to match the Forest Service and were very accurate. Be aware of water sources – some are intermittent, but anything in solid blue is fairly accurately running. We forgot our paper map and COTREX worked great for us. We also had an emergency satellite device, Garmin InReach Mini, if all else failed (the trail is also extremely busy, if you’re worried about navigation).
  • Look at elevation gain, not just miles. Usually when backpacking you mark your progress with miles, but elevation gain is no joke here. A very short distance can take a long time both up an down. So don’t forget to look at it (which you can see on COTREX). All the passes are around the same elevation between 12,400 and 12,600 feet.
  • Rainproof everything. We got fairly unusual weather for Colorado mountains Monday and Tuesday – instead of big monsoons, it rained a good portion of both days. We were well prepared, but our REI Flash 55 packs, like many light packs, are designed to be used without pack covers and use internal waterproof bags, which worked fine. It rained horribly Tuesday and apparently everyone got wet (which made us feel better, ha!). I think a pack cover would have helped since we mostly wetted through where the bottom of the packs collected water- hope that helps anyone else with that pack!! I am definitely going to bring a pack cover as well as the internal waterproof bags.
  • Flowers were great but were past peak by about a week.  We are spoiled since we were in the San Juan’s in July.
  • River crossings did not require taking off shoes, at this time. These fluctuate based on on snow melt and such so this may not always be the case, but Nick did not take off his shoes – I did only a couple times, as more of a precaution. These crossings weren’t even half as bad as other backpacking trips in Colorado – I hate sketchy logs over rushing water.
  • Please LEAVE NO TRACE. There was so much trash on this trail and at the campsites. You should pack out all toilet paper. I highly recommend a Kula Cloth for squatters for #1, if you insist on wiping. Do not burn trash – we saw trash in campfire rings – I recommend not having a fire, even if allowed, which is not for many of the campsites (all above 10,800 feet ban fires). Pack out absolutely everything you bring in! If you are not prepared to do this, then please reconsider overnight camping in this area.

Day 1

Maroon Bells Trailhead to over Buckskin Pass

Total Miles: 6

Total Elevation Gain: about 3000 feet

Total Descent: about 1000 feet

Day 1 was August 2! We had an 8 am bus. We woke up at 4:45 am to pack up our campsite in the dark near Marble (Bogan Flats) and drive about an hour and fifteen minutes into Aspen. We got to Aspen and rearranged our packs while we waited for Paradise Bakery to open at 6:30. We grabbed a cup of coffee and some breakfast burritos, and then parked in the Rio Grande lot. Luckily it was not raining, although it was cloudy. We locked our car and headed to the bus stop and ate our burritos while we waited for the Aspen free public bus. It showed early, so we hopped on with our packs and got off at Aspen Highlands. The reason we did not park at Aspen Highlands is they are a ski resort charging $40 a day (at the time of writing) for parking, and paying $12 a day at Rio Grande saved us significantly. We checked in and had plenty of time to wait to board the 8 am bus; you must arrive 10 minutes early or they might give away your seats to standbys. While we were waiting, we started to see backpackers. There was a group of young guys who asked if we were doing the loop. They had driven 24 hours from Georgia just for the trip! They were going clockwise, opposite of us. It’s fun to talk to people participating in such a unique and difficult experience; it reminded me of the camaraderie I felt with people on the Laugavegur Trail.Our bus ride was surprising – there was a lot of educational content. Before we got on, they warned us not to get near or feed wildlife. They said just the day before a women was feeding a fox and encouraging children to as well, claiming it was her “spirit animal” (I mean, multiple problems here, wow). On the bus, the drive pointed out a marmot along with avalanche trails from winter.

We were excited to arrive at around 8:30. It’s a bit odd because there are mostly day hikers, walking around the lake or heading up to Crater Lake. Maroon Bells was moody and cloudy. We set off, filled out our self-serve permit, and started climbing uphill. The day hikers drop off after Crater Lake, and we set off counterclockwise.

 

I was excited to talk to backpackers going the opposite way about the Loop. We met a few people who had completed it but been rained on the whole time. We met some people turning back for various reasons, including weather. The previous day, they had been forced to spend all afternoon and evening in the tent due to rain. It was a bit worrying, but we were hopeful the weather would turn around at least our last couple of days.

We started to have to deal with some on and off rain as we continued the climb up. There were a ton of clouds blocking the epic views. It kept seeming like it would clear, and we would see bits of blue sky, but then the clouds would roll in again. The climb over Buckskin had some wide switchbacks. Some guys we met while it was raining said the key is to go slow, and I have to agree. Basically pretend you are walking in slow motion, stop, look at the views (if any), and keep going. This was my favorite pass to go up and down for heights, as I did not feel I could slip easily and it had some switchbacks.

We did at least get some views at the top, though cloudy!

We started following the path and it seemed odd, but luckily spotted a solo backpacker coming up (we were maybe going to accidentally summit the deadly Bells? oops) and talked to him. He was caught in a storm in Trail Rider (which now sounds so terrifying), but really enjoyed the loop despite the rain.

We headed down and had planned some flexibility in campsites. The furthest we would go was Snowmass Lake, but that was 8 miles total for a day and involved going slightly back uphill. There were also some campsites around the creek about 7 miles in we eyed. We ended up camping at some of the first sites after Buckskin, so it was more of a 6 mile day. This was because there was a break in the rain to set up our tent, and the spot we found had good tree coverage and nearby water. Plus, we were tired. We did well on Buckskin and had trained well for it, but 3000 vertical miles is no joke. So at 2 pm, we set up our tent, which still never dried from our previous nights camping, and made dinner. We made our hot chocolate and brushed teeth early so we could hang our Ursack and relax.

In the first of weird misfortunes on this trip, the plastic pack liner I used got caught and ripped on a plastic hook meant to attach a hydration bladder, which I was not using. I tried to duct tape but it was pretty done for. Luckily, I had a DCF rolltop bag and some water resistant bags for my quilt and wool sleep clothes, the most important layers to keep dry.

Here, Nick demonstrates the glamour of wearing full rain gear and bug nets and cooking your food in a Ziploc with seat pad insulator.

We got lots of on and off light rain, but were able to hang out comfortably under the tree in our hammocks with our rain gear and our Kindles, which we can read without worrying about rain since they are waterproof. It got chilly early so we retreated to the tent before sundown. We saw some deer in the evening and probably the only bits of sunlight.

Day 2

Campsite to Trail Rider Pass, with Snowmass Lake on the way

Total Miles: 7

Total Elevation Gain: about 1900 feet

Total Descent: about 3,100 feet

We are waking up later with the sun rise later, and got up and got going as quickly as we could, with a goal to enjoy a breakfast at the spectacular Snowmass Lake. There was no rain, just clouds, so we enjoyed the hike and set up right at the lake edge around 9 to enjoy coffee and oatmeal. There were plenty more moody clouds setting the scene. This is truly a stunning lake with beautiful reflections. It looked like a painting.

We were satisfied with our camping spots – a lot of people seem to have a goal to camp at Snowmass Lake. We met a ton of people headed there. I’m not sure how busy it gets, but there could be potential competition for camp spots. I enjoyed our time there, but I was glad we were not deadset on camping at the lake.

As we met people on the way up, they told us the views of Snowmass Lake are spectacular. They are right! Close to the lake, the water was clear and reflective; as we started to hike above it, it was a beautiful, bright turquoise color. We had to cross some scree pretty high up, which was slightly scary, but not as bad as other scree fields I’ve seen in Colorado and with a trodden path, so I did fine. I don’t love jumping on rocks a lot to cross trails!

We met a son and dad as we approached Trail Rider and chatted with them before started to head up the pass. This was the first time I started to get a bit scared of the heights, as we headed up and up the steep path to the top with a huge drop off. At the top, we got to enjoy some views of the lake again. However, some women we met at the top pointed out that it was now raining on Snowmass Lake, so we got a move on to get down the pass before the rain started.

Views from Trail Rider:

This was the hardest rain yet. We put on our rain suits. We thought the earliest sites we might camp at would be about 5 miles in, but it was pouring so hard we wanted to keep going (plus it was only like noon). After we walked through a valley for a bit, we started a steep descent down. This was the toughest part of the trail in a lot of ways, because of the neverending rain and the steep downhill grade hurting our knees and feet. Also, apparently my phone got wet enough that it never really dried out (my fault, should have just left it in the waterproof pocket). iPhone are not really waterproof – be careful!

We got onto the North Fork Crystal River trail, which starts to flatten out. We found a campsite about .12 miles into the trail, and the rain had stopped reasonably to put up a tent. We discovered we had wetted out – my butt was wet on my pants where my pack had been gathering water, and a bit on the bottom of my shirt. Nick was similar. As I noted above, we will definitely be using pack covers in addition to internal dry bags. Our base layers had stayed dry in our pack bags, so we changed into those once we got into the tent for the day.

We rushed to eat dinner during a break in the rain, but soon heard thunder so hurriedly put away our items into our Ursack and retreated to the tent – this was around 3 pm. It turned out, we would not emerge again until the next day (no hot chocolate, what the heck!). Also the next of random/weird misfortunes happened: my long spoon with its silicone head broke. The spoon head completely broke off the top. So Nick and I spent the rest of the trip sharing his spoon, which was surprisingly not bad. We took turns eating.

We got some rain and hail that really did not let up until around 8 pm. We were tired anyways, but napped and read. Being under a tree was less advantageous than our previous site since the tree dripped on us all night, even when the rain ended. Oh, and we were definitely on a slant that became noticeable once we were trying to lay in the tent for so many hours.

I was dead asleep, but Nick said he heard some kind of creature running close to the tent at night – running close and then running away. It definitely seems most likely it was a marmot – they will get at your food and chew anything salty including trekking pole handles and boots. Later, we met a ranger who said porcupines do the same thing, so I’m guessing it was one of those if it was not a marmot!

Day 3

Campsite to summit both Frigid Air and West Maroon Passes to camp about half a mile down from West Maroon

Total Miles: 8

Total Elevation Gain: about 3100 feet

Total Descent: about 1700 feet

We were really relying on the 0% rain forecast, per Garmin, and woke up to a beautiful sunny day. Nothing was dry and it was cold to start; it takes a while for the sun to come over the mountains and really warm you up. We put on our wet clothes and packs, hoping everything would dry. The sun quickly shined on us, and we had a nice flat walk to start.

We saw some guys who appeared to be sunning themselves on their sleeping pads by a river, and it turned out to be our Georgia friends we had seen at the shuttle stop! It was comforting to hear from them and others throughout the day that everyone had gotten wet, but now we had a beautiful day ahead. I find it so comforting on these trips to get to see people you saw earlier again – so nice to report out how everyone did.

There is a really cool waterfall and some great campsites before you start heading up again.

We had two passes to get over, and finally nice weather to take our time! Frigid Air was up first, and probably the moment I got most scared was going up the steep, crumbly rock. The pass itself was nice and we finally had a full, sweeping view without clouds, but man was the downhill steep! The ground was not slippery and the dirt was almost sticky, but my brain could not comprehend that, so I still made it pretty slowly.

Once you descend Frigid Air, there is a stunning valley that is truly a highlight of the trip, particularly with the nice weather.

There were tons of wildflowers, which even past peak by about a week were wonderful. There’s a huge variety of color and type in this area – yellow, pink, purple, and red. The mountains, greenery, and flowers are so beautiful.

We stopped to get water at a little creek. We were excited to only have one more pass to complete, West Maroon. Even day hikers come up to hike the pass from the Crested Butte side. It is a very steep ascent and descent with little to no switchbacks, as I recall. We proceeded up slowly, and I found this one not as scary as Frigid Air or Trail Rider.

We once again got to actually enjoy the view instead of rushing down, which was nice. We heard many people say this was their favorite view, and I had to agree.

Then we just had to get down the steepness of the other side. It was not too bad, especially as I distracted myself by staring at my feet and recounting my book to Nick. It was now getting to 3 pm though, and we were worried about finding campsites, since many people coming clockwise would be snagging them. We heard from a group they were filling up, but there were some good campsites not too far from the pass.

We found an amazing campsite, one of the first coming down the pass, that it off the trail in a jut of trees, past some bushes. The views of the mountains were phenomenal. It felt absolutely amazing to put everything out to dry – in the sun, all the items that would not dry yesterday dried in an instant. We got to have a leisurely dinner by the creek and enjoy our hot chocolate.

As soon as the sun fell behind the mountain, it started to get cold. We retreated into the tent but left it fully open – not just to prevent condensation but to see stars. We stayed warm in our gear but this felt like the coldest night. In the morning, we still had condensation, which had frozen, and frost outside the tent. My thermometer said 35, but it clearly got down to freezing!

Day 4

Campsite to Maroon Bells

Total Miles: 5.5

Total Elevation Gain: about 400 feet

Total Descent: about 2300 feet

We were excited for our last day, and woke up to cold but sunny weather.

We started heading out at around 7, after a nice breakfast by the creek, with dry gear.

We saw a few people we had seen previously, including the dad and son again! This seemed to take forever since we were hungry and ready to be finished.

There was a lot of rocks and scree that slowed us down a bit, despite the mostly downhill and easy grade. We started to meet day hikers, many of whom were walking Aspen to Crested Butte – it’s about 15 miles and you can arrange a shuttle. Then, when we got closer to Crater Lake, there started to be a ton of day hikers from Maroon Bells. People kept asking us “how far are we?” and we were like, from what? Where are you going? Someone asked us how far they could go and we were like, you could walk to Crested Butte? Go over four passes?

It is definitely tough to push through crowds after what we had done, but we did it. We passed Crater Lake, which we did not think was appealing at all. It was kind of muddy and small. We though Maroon Lake is much prettier (and obviously both incomparable to Snowmass), but I wonder if it was once prettier. We met an older woman at Maroon Bells who said she used to come with her parents 70 years ago and thought Crater Lake was beautiful and crystal clear. Personally, I’d recommend people just walk around Maroon Lake and go do another hike to an alpine lake (St Mary’s Glacier? McCullough Gulch?).

Maroon Bells and lake was beautiful in the sunshine. We finally made it to the bus stop and were on our way! The bus driver recommended Aspen Highlands Ale House at the resort, which turned out to be perfect backpacking food. They have beer, burgers, pizza, and AMAZING chips and salsa. Truly. I’m a chips and salsa snob – but I asked why they were so good, and they make their own chips and salsa!

We took the bus back to Aspen and got into our car. Our next stop was Glenwood Springs, where we enjoyed the hotel room so much, and soaked in Iron Mountain Hot Springs. We then headed to Hot Sulphur Springs the next night – definitely recommend hot springs post backpacking!

Overall, like Laugavegur, I can’t believe I did this. Nick and I did a lot of hard working, training, and planning, and it paid off.

by admin
Backpacking, Colorado, Diary from the Road, Hiking

Highland Mary Lakes Backpacking

Nick and I had a four-day weekend for 4th of July, and were definitely wanting to do a backpacking trip July 2-5. We had originally been considering Ice Lakes and Island Lakes in the San Juan mountains in Colorado, but the entire trail is closed for summer 2021 due to fires/overuse. We put a few possible trips on our list and kept an eye on the weather, which at first was predicting storms, and then decided to do the Highland Mary Lakes Loop in the San Juans near Silverton, about a 7 hour drive from Denver.

Day 1

It is a fun drive from Denver to this area – we went through Fairplay, Buena Vista, and skipped Salida this time, stopping in Ridgway for lunch. What I did not realize was we would be driving the famous Million Dollar Highway, which is between Ouray and Silverton. We were taking turns driving and I started to get a lot of anxiety so Nick took over. Now I feel a lot better knowing this is considered one of the most dangerous, windy roads; however, it is absolutely phenomenal scenery. I would highly recommend it despite the fear of heights. There are mountains colored red from oxidized minerals.

There are numerous mining ruins throughout this entire region, and some educational signs along the highway at viewpoints. We got to Silverton, but needed to get to the trailhead, so drove through. Silverton is a beautiful Victorian mining town.

We were originally planning to drive to the Colorado Trail Segment 24 trailhead as an “add-on” to the loop, since it is considered a beautiful part of the trail. However, as soon as we left Silverton, we were on narrow dirt roads mostly occupied by OHVs and large trucks. These are clearly old mining roads with lots of mining ruins. We attempted the road to the Segment 24 trailhead and it just did not seem feasible in our Crosstrek; we knocked a plastic cover off our car. So, we turned around and headed to the Highland Mary Lakes trailhead, nearby, to just do the regular loop.

The scenery is like a painting the whole time. The road was rough and rocky so we proceeded slowly, and we saw bunches of wildflowers and marmots running. There is dispersed camping near the trailhead so we saw people camping all over. We parked and decided to proceed with the river crossing to the trail on foot.

We started hiking, intending to possibly even camp by the lakes the first night, since it was only a couple of miles. But the trail was extremely steep and we were very tired from the drive. So we decided to camp at a spot we found fairly close to the trailhead, near a waterfall. Even the small bit of hiking was stunning; I’ve never seen so many columbines.

We set up our camp and read near the waterfall for a little bit before heading to bed.

 

Our campsite was very peaceful, and we were glad we had stopped to rest. We had the entire next day to head to the lakes in the morning, which was a great feeling.

Day 2

We woke up early the next morning and had less than 2 miles to hike to the lake, but it was steep! We were also at high elevation, which makes everything feel harder – breathing, walking, and certainly backpacking. The lakes were above treeline at 12,000 feet.

But the scenery is so beautiful you really do not mind stopping to catch your breath.

We had to climb over a rocky section to get to the lakes that was a bit tricky.

We arrived to the lakes still quite early in the morning and saw just a few tents. We found a perfect camping spot by the third lake, 100 feet from water as required but with amazing views.

This was quite a leisurely day in which we explored the lakes, ate, and read. The weather held up nicely and we did not get any storms. We found a lovely kitchen/dining spot.

I was able to finish a book and complete its prequel on this trip as well, which was amazing.

There were some day hikers, backpackers, and trail runners, but it was amazingly uncrowded for a holiday weekend, and it seemed like there were few people camping by the lakes. We went to bed early with lake breezes blowing into our tent.

Day 3

Once again, we woke up early. We had breakfast and coffee on our cooking and dining rock and enjoyed last views of the lakes. We were excited to climb to the top of a hill and get views of the lakes. We decided we would have hot chocolate and snacks at the Verde Lakes. People had some pretty incredible camping spots. These lakes were gorgeous with the epic mountain views starting to peek through.

We were excited as we continued on, because we knew we would be connecting with a section of the Colorado Trail that is also along the epic high-altitude Continental Divide Trail, a thru-hike from Mexico to Canada. These sections are supposed to some of the best.

On the way to the connection with the CDT, we started to get some stunning Lord of the Rings style mountain views.

Best snack break ever?

 

The Continental Divide Trail has these markers, so we are trying to take pictures every time we conquer a small part of the trail.

The scenery only got more beautiful as we went along. We met a Continental Divide thru-hiker, who had a bag of Fritos strapped to his pack (never has anything looked so good). He said he had been in this area in May and it was absolutely snow-covered, so they had done the New Mexico portion and then planned to do the Wind River Range next.

We soon left the CDT but the gorgeous scenery continued. Tons of flowers. We started to look for possible campsites, but there was not much flat land with water near.

We had decided to camp another night so we didn’t have to hike and drive 7 hours in the same day. We wanted to give ourselves an easy last day and time to enjoy the drive. As we reached Cunningham Gulch, the last section of the loop, we managed to find a flat spot for camp. It required some steep climbs up and down slippery rocks for water, but then we settled in for reading and eating.

 

We once again went to bed early, after a day full of remarkable views and mostly easy hiking at high elevation, with some steep and rocky downhills.

Day 4

We had an easy, short hike out the next day, crossed the river back to our car, and drove the rough road to Silverton.

Silverton is a beautiful preserved Victorian town, with colorful buildings surrounded by mountains. We stopped for pastries and coffee at Coffee Bear, a charming coffee shop with a rooftop deck.

We then could take our time on the Million Dollar Highway to stop at some of the viewpoints and read about the immense mining projects that went on here. The region seems remote even now from Denver, so it’s fascinating imagining what it was like in the past. Here is Nick with the mountains and some mining ruins.

As you drive to Ouray, there is a sign declaring the town to be the “Switzerland of America.”

It’s definitely worth enjoying your time on this highway.

 

Once in Ouray, we tried to find a breakfast spot as it was still quite early but there was really nothing open. We headed down the road to Ridgway, and waited about an hour and a half for what turned out to be a huge green chili breakfast. The mountain towns have suffered worker shortages even pre-pandemic, due to a lack of affordable housing, which has been worsened by the pandemic. So this wait probably would have held anywhere similar we tried to go.

We then had a long drive home featuring rain and lots of traffic. It was all worthwhile for this incredible trip. This region of Colorado is harder to get to, but the hiking and scenery is remarkable, along with the charming preserved towns. We can’t wait to see more of it!

by admin
Backpacking, Colorado, Hiking, Tips and Tricks

Beginner Backpacking Trails in Colorado

Updated March 15, 2024: Here are my top beginning backpacking trails in Colorado. These are all within a couple hours of Denver/the Front Range. They are also lower elevation compared to a lot of the backpacking trails in Colorado, so these are good warm-ups for the early season of backpacking in May and June. Many higher elevation trails are not feasible to access until July and August anyways due to snow. Before you go, check the website of the appropriate park or area to ensure that it is open, check fire restrictions, permitting/fee information, if applicable, and conditions. Also check AllTrails for recent reviews for conditions, and both AllTrails and COTrex often have campsites marked by users on the map.

Safety First: I highly recommend testing all gear at home before leaving even on an easy overnight, carrying the 10 essentials and practicing Leave No Trace, and educating yourself as much as possible (I have taken hiking safety and backpacking classes through REI, Colorado Mountain Club, and Kula Academy). I am a backpacker happy to share my experiences, but I highly recommend getting expert education and not relying solely on social media for backpacking knowledge.

Golden Gate Canyon State Park

The backcountry sites at Golden Gate Canyon State Park, also about an hour from Denver near Golden, are perfect for beginning backpacking. You will need to reserve a site (currently says on the website to call to reserve); when I went in 2019, I believe the fee was $18 per night. There are several sites to choose from (even some shelters so you can ditch the tent) on a variety of trails. I did a solo overnight here in July 2019 as part of my preparation for backpacking in Iceland and really enjoyed. I did the Mountain Lion Trail and camped at Deer Creek campsites. It’s about a 7 mile loop with 1500 feet elevation gain, and I made the longer part of the hike the first day so I could have an easy hike out in the morning. There are some great views and beautiful forest landscape along the way!

It’s good practice hiking uphill with a pack, but not overly difficult or lengthy, and it’s nice to have a designated campsite near the creek with a metal bear box (no bear bag hang needed here!). Otherwise, the campsites are completely basic and give you good practice with your tent setup.

Lost Creek Wilderness

Lost Creek Wilderness, 2 hours from Denver on Highway 285, has many trails and a lot of options for out-and-back and loops. It’s a very popular backpacking area, so you will be in good company. I did a solo overnight trip over 4th of July 2019 on the Goose Creek Trail #612.

This entire trail is about 12 miles total out-and-back with about 2300 feet elevation gain, but I camped about 5 miles in near the creek. Similar to Mountain Lion Trail, this is a good bit of a challenge uphill with a pack but not too difficulty, and a good distance for a beginner trip. To level up to a multiday trip, I recommend the 23 mile loop along Lost Creek Wilderness Loop that Nick and I did also July 4th break 2020. We did it as 4 days/3 nights, which we really enjoyed as Nick’s first multiday backpacking trip. It includes the Goose Creek Trail and adds on a few others to make the loop. The loop adds on so much diverse scenery from big rock formations to aspen forests, and it was a challenge, but we loved it.

This is creekside camping along Goose Creek Trail.

This is our last campsite on the loop, among the aspens.

Colorado Trail Segment 3

So – we have actually technically backpacked this two times and never stayed overnight; but I will explain why that makes this the perfect beginner’s backpacking trail.

First of all, I recommend the Colorado Trail official guidebook and data book (at a minimum, the data book), particularly if you will be backpacking any more in Colorado, because these guides include things like campsites and water sources and trailhead information. Note that if you start at Little Scraggy, the last times I’ve been it’s a paid, cash only lot (but there are additional places to park not in the lot that are free). This segment is also very popular for mountain biking, as an FYI.

One reason this is a good beginner trail is because like all the ones I have here, it is lower elevation so you can get out here earlier in the season, maybe even late May or June, and be snow free. Its ascent is also pretty gentle and there is good water and camping. You also do not have to backpack all 12 miles; you can do an out and back of your choosing.

Okay, so in May 2021, here is why we ended up not staying overnight. We backpacked out and set up our campsite. In doing this, we realized that we were missing a piece of our tent and had to rig it, so it was a bit wonky, as you see below.

The second thing that went wrong was our water filter did not work. I always bring backup, so I had iodine tablets. We used those, but with the weather also deteriorating to rainy conditions and the two issues we had, we decided to hike out and just go home. That’s the nice thing about this backpacking trip – you can easily bail and make it back to Denver if you need to! And the best part, which I highly recommend, is you can stop at the Snowpack Taproom in Conifer. They have delicious food, beer, and even had live music when we went, so even though we were disappointed, it was a fun way to quell our disappointment. Plus, we had backpacked 12 miles, which is not bad!

In June 2023, we planned to do a loop in the Lost Creek Wilderness for a four-day weekend, but it had been insanely rainy and the road was flooded out. We went to Segment 3 as an alternative, but then it started raining and we were like…maybe we should just go to Snowpack. We did exactly that, went home, and salvaged the weekend by camping in Twin Lakes and Salida.

So yes, this is a great beginner trail not just because it’s easy to bail, but because it is beautiful, easy to get to and from, and has good water and campsites.

Ceran St Vrain

EDIT 5/23/2021: Since I wrote this, camping is closed here for a year due to overuse. This is why I always encourage you to look up regulations before you go! Just outside Jamestown about an hour from Denver, Ceran St. Vrain Trail is only 1.9 miles one way and fairly flat alongside a creek, with lots of camping spots by the creek. The featured photo at the top of this post is me backpacking along Ceran St. Vrain trail. Not only is it fairly easy, but it’s a beautiful, peaceful, forest escape!

This is a perfect first overnight backpacking trip, as you can get used to using gear, but are not too far away from the parking lot if anything happens. Check out my post on our trip to Ceran St. Vrain near the end of June 2020; this was Nick’s very first backpacking trip.

You can also take a side trip up a steep 4-wheel drive road to Miller Rock for 360-degree mountain views, so despite the short miles, there is plenty to do. The Forest Service says conditions are best mid-May through October, so depending on snowpack/conditions, this could be a good early season and late season trip.

Those are my top beginner backpacking trails so far in Colorado; I’m sure there’s more great options that I’ll continue to discover. I’m looking forward to heading back to these areas soon as backpacking season starts up again.

by admin
Backpacking, Hiking, Tips and Tricks

Gifts for Outdoorsy People

Here are my suggestions for gifts for the hikers in your life. I have included handmade and low-cost options and different price ranges to suit everyone. This post contains some affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something I may earn a commission. 

Handmade and Low Cost Ideas (under $20)

    • Artsy? Browse your person’s social media and paint a scene from a hike they have gone on! Or a drawing, or cross-stitch…
    • Homemade trail snacks. If you know your person’s food preferences, make a homemade trail mix (peanut butter M&Ms are a great high calorie snack) or if you have food dehydrating skills, dried fruit is great. A homemade powdered hot chocolate is really nice too!
    • Photo album! Find some photos online from the person’s hiking adventures. You can either make a photo album with your printer or find a variety of companies that print albums and calendars.
    • Map art. I’ve seen lots of antique and book stores and online retailers selling old maps for cheap. You can frame them into art, or decoupage onto a keepsake box…get creative!

Zipper Pull Compass, Thermometer, and Magnifying Glass

I have this and it’s great to hook on a backpack for hiking and backpacking excursions.

Under $50

Wool Socks

Getting socks is kind of lame as a kid, but a pair of socks is honestly an amazing gift for a hiker! Wool is pretty much stink-proof, durable, dries fairly quickly, and keeps you warm even when wet.

Compass Jewelry

Similar to the keychain above, if you want to get someone something pretty but also practical but also symbolizing their love for adventure…this is perfect! There are lots of version on various retailer and vendor sites like Etsy for men and women.

Buff (neck gaiter)

Buff brand or generic neck gaiters are awesome trail tools. They are multipurpose – it’s a scarf, beanie, hairband, and quick mask on the trail. I’ve used one to keep my nose warm at night in my tent and as a cute hairband. Throw it over an inflatable pillow and it’s a pillowcase!

Between $50-200

Kindle Paperwhite

This guy only weighs 6.4 oz. If you know a reader that loves to backpack and hike, this is a great gift. I still love and own lots of paper books, but having a waterproof ereader makes a lot of sense for outdoor activities!

Ultralight Hammock


At 5.8 oz, the Eno Sub6 Hammock is less than half the weight of most hammocks. Make sure you get the matching ultralight straps as well (4.3 oz, a whole hammock set under a pound!).  Kammok and Hummingbird are other brands that make ultralight hammocks.

Over $200

Garmin InReach Mini

This device is only 3.5 oz and is commonly used by backpackers and hikers. It is a satellite communication device that can be paired with a mobile phone. If you are a worried parent or friend, this is a great gift to help your person stay safe in the wilderness!

 

by admin
Backpacking, Colorado, Diary from the Road

Blue Lakes Backpacking (Mt. Sneffels Wilderness)

Over the fourth of July holiday this year, Nick and I decided to head out to the Telluride/Ouray area of Colorado, six hours away. I did not think it would feasible to do much of anything when the pandemic hit, so I was excited we were able to take this road trip. We decided we would keep it safe by doing only dispersed and backcountry camping, in which there are no facilities. We had a fun drive out on Wednesday, July 8, stopping in fun places like Buena Vista and Salida along the way. Our goal was to get to a dispersed camping spot near the trailhead of Blue Lakes in the Mount Sneffels Wilderness so that we could begin a backpacking trip there the next day. I had somehow seen this hike and marked it as something I wanted to do as soon as I saw the pictures, but knew it would be a long drive. I was so excited when I realized we could actually do it.

We drove down a rocky road and wondered if there even was a dispersed camping site, but enjoyed gorgeous scenery with 14er Mount Sneffels in the background. When we got to the site, we were amazed at how stunning it was.

The weather was so clear that we were actually able to have our tent in stargazer mode. Whenever we woke up, we saw tons of stars. I also started testing out the night mode on my camera phone.

The next day, we got up at sunrise to beat the crowds and headed to the nearby trailhead. We strapped on our packs and started a steep, uphill climb. It was gorgeous and peaceful, but started to fill with people. We saw a solo backpacker coming down who told us about an amazing camping spot that we would end up taking. The trail up was tough with lots of stops, but it did start to flatten out a bit towards the end which was nice. It was 3 miles to the lower blue lake.

It was definitely worth all the work as we came upon the lake in the morning light. It is truly stunning. I have not altered my photos a bit to get this blue color.

We were there early enough that there were a lot of backpackers still with tents up from the previous night. Based on the advice from the kind backpacker, we snagged this spot:

Truly unreal. Our spot was far from other backpackers and was like our own little paradise, and still far enough from the lake (100 feet away) to be within regulation. The sky was perfectly blue with no sign of a Colorado monsoon. It was so early that once we set up camp, we had our coffee by the lake.

Next, we wanted to do a day hike to the upper lakes. It’s another mile to the upper blue lakes. It was a relief to just have our light daypacks as we headed up the steep path. Fueled by our morning coffee, we got stunning views of the lake below.

It was a tough hike up and the landscape turned rocky, with pikas and marmots scurrying past. Nick and I stopped for a snack break at the first upper lake, which was just as blue as the lower lake.

As you can see, the scenery was truly gorgeous. It felt like being in Lord of the Rings, or Iceland, or Scotland. We took the path to the second lake. It’s not as scary as it looks here! There were also a ton of wildflowers along the way.

We had lunch next to the upper lake. We watched people hike up the steep path to summit Mount Sneffels. Many people camp at Blue Lakes and then tackle the peak the next day. It requires some technical rock scrambling to get to the peak, but apparently, you can see all 3 lakes from the top.

We were ready to get back to our camp to relax for the rest of the day. We hiked down and it was pretty warm at this point. We decided to try getting in the lake, although I struggled to get past my waist deep due to the cold. It definitely felt amazing, and in the sun, you dry quickly. People swim, kayak, and fish in the lakes!

Nick and I settled into our favorite afternoon backpacking activity; reading and hammocking. And you can’t beat these backpacking views. The skies remained totally clear (the lack of rain was bad for Colorado’s fire season but made for good backpacking). It felt extremely peaceful despite the fact that this is a popular hiking and backpacking spot.

We ate dinner by the lake and watched the sun go down. We again were able to leave our tent in stargazer mode (no rain fly) and had the view below.

The next morning, because our tent fly was off, I saw a silent fox scurry through our campsite. We woke early to make breakfast by the lake. We decided to watch the sun come up over the mountains and the lake. It is amazing how different it looks as light hits it differently throughout the day.

We actually spent a perfect 24 hours with the lake, as we had arrived around 8 am the previous day and left around the same time.

It was definitely hard to say goodbye to the lake, but now that it was Friday, we wanted to beat the crowds, so headed out. We saw a ton of backpackers coming up as we left, along with day hikers, so I was glad we were able to do a midweek trip. We passed on our camping spot location to another friendly couple – hope they found it!

We headed to Ouray, a delightful mountain town, for food and drinks, and Black Canyon of the Gunnison as well, before finishing out the night in Salida and finding another dispersed camping spot. These are all places we loved and want to go back to.

Overall, this part of Colorado in the San Juan Mountains is absolutely beautiful. This was a trip we will definitely remember for a lifetime. We would definitely love to repeat it, but we have so many things in our list!  Also in this area are Ice and Island Lakes, which are similarly stunning apparently.

by admin