Car Camping, Colorado, Diary from the Road

Twin Lakes and Marble

Nick and I’s big planned vacation for summer 2021 was our Four Pass Loop trip, and we decided to really make a trip out of it! Take off the week and explore some more of Colorado. Usually, when I take off a week or more, I’ve traveled internationally, but it’s fun to stay closer to home, and there is some pretty cool stuff to see around here.

Twin Lakes

July 31, our first stop was Twin Lakes, a small mountain town not far from Leadville. I-70 was closed at Glenwood Canyon due to mudslides, but luckily for this leg of the trip we already had been planning to drive through Buena Vista and then head over Independence Pass to Aspen/Marble.

We found a remarkable campsite on Hipcamp called Moose Crossing that I’d highly recommend. Unfortunately, it rained a lot so we did not spend as much time at the site as we would have liked, but it was a gorgeous rustic site next to a river. There’s a fire pit with firewood, a nice deck, and a lovely spot to pitch your tent. And it’s only a ten minute drive into Twin Lakes.

Calling Twin Lakes a town might be a stretch – there’s a general store, a lodge/restaurant, a couple food/coffee trucks, and a visitor’s center. But, it’s all so awesome. We set up our camp and decided to grab a drink at the restaurant and lodge, which is one of the historic 19th century buildings of the town. We made our reservation for dinner later – apparently the only place to eat in town (inside) during rain is popular!

The General Store is small but really fun. It’s also a historic building – be sure to check out the antique, working gas pumps. Twin Lakes is along the Colorado Trail and Continental Divide Trail, which means you get lots of thru-hikers. The shop is stocked with just the type of things backpackers would want for resupply – including smart things like individual hair ties and individual hot chocolate packets. There’s also cool gear like hats, shirts, patches, stickers, and books. Nick and I had fun shopping and bought some things to commemorate our visit.

The rain was light, and we decided to possibly do a bit of hiking with our rain gear. We went to the small visitor’s center first, which had two amazingly enthusiastic and helpful ladies who were excited to provide maps, brochures, and suggestions, as well as show off some of the history with the displays. One item they provided was a walking tour of the town – a map explaining what the different buildings in the small town used to be. The visitor’s center, as a matter of fact, was a brothel. The visitor’s center also provides WiFi and phone charging – there’s even an outside outlet you can use when they close.

We did a very short hike nearby with a view of the lake, and then decided to check out the Interlaken Trail. I had heard of this trail and read about it in our snowshoeing book, and really wanted to check it out. It includes part of the Colorado Trail/CDT. We found the trail very pleasant in the light rain. There are lots of aspen trees and lake views the whole time, and it was not very busy.

The cool part is it leads to a historic vacation home you can actually go inside!

The house is beautiful and has lots of clearly expensive details like the wood and door handles. You can walk through all the rooms and imagine vacationing there in the late 1800s, looking out over the lake. Nick said the house reminded him of New Orleans, and as it turns out, the owner/builder was from New Orleans!

After you explore the house, you can check out the ruins (not go inside this time) of Interlaken Resort.  It’s a Victorian era resort, and the educational information really painted a picture of a lively 19th century resort with canoeing, dancing, cards, and even a full orchestra that would come play from Leadville. In winter, horse-drawn carriages brought people to the resort. The resort closed at the turn of the century.

We headed back in the pleasant light rain and enjoyed some of the walking tour and looking at the General Store again before heading for an excellent dinner at the Inn, with great views of the mountain and lakes. The Twin Lakes Inn was built in 1878 by female entrepreneur Maggie Weber, and was visited by Theodore Roosevelt and Ulysses S. Grant, among others. It has a very illustrious history you can read more about on the back of the menu.

Marble and Aspen

We spent the night at our beautiful campsite and woke up early to drive over Independence Pass. It was still rainy, cloudy, and moody, so we played the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. Independence Pass, which I drove over years ago with my coworkers on our way to Pitkin County, our client, does not seem as scary as it did then – maybe it’s having driven the Million Dollar Highway and other Colorado roads since then.

We got to Aspen, where I have not been in years. Aspen is a beautiful, small mountain town. It seems down-to-earth, yet has Gucci and Versace stores, despite the fact that everyone in town wears a puffy jacket. My clients at the County told me that those stores do not make a profit but are kept so that the brand can say they have a store in Aspen. There is a weird vibe of rich people cosplaying as normal people, wearing athleisure that is a little too white.

We stopped at Paradise Bakery before heading to a 9 am dress rehearsal of Gil Shaham playing Barber’s Violin Concerto at the Aspen Music Festival. Aspen is a famous music festival and camp, and I just could not believe that we could hear Gil Shaham for $20! He was amazing – he is the most interactive soloist I’ve seen, engaging with the orchestra and audience. It was well worth it to attend.

After this, we grabbed lunch at Meat and Cheese, which had been a favorite lunch spot of mine years ago. We had an excellent lunch before heading to our campground near Marble. Bogan Flats campground is just stunningly beautiful, next to the Crystal River, with big camping spots and hammocking tree. We were able to relax and hammock a bit before the rain started.

We headed into town. Marble is another tiny but remarkable Colorado town. There is actual marble everywhere; the marble used in the Lincoln Memorial came from here! We stopped at the small General Store, which doubles as a marble sculpture gallery. There are lots of intricate sculptures of all sizes and price ranges. A very unassuming woman chatting with the store owner was one of the artists!

Our next plan of action was to go to Slow Groovin’ BBQ, the only restaurant in town. We sat outside and enjoyed a leisurely meal asit started to really rain. Typical Colorado monsoon rain are usually quick, intense storms in the afternoon, but this rain pounded on for what seemed like forever. We enjoyed some hot chocolate too before finally heading back to our camp for the night. We definitely are excited to come back to this small town and check out the Crystal Mill, which we did not have time to see on this adventure.

To see what we did the next few days, check out my Four Pass Loop post!

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
Biking, Colorado, Diary from the Road

Wine and Rocks: May Western Colorado Tour

Nick and I decided to do a May trip from May 5-8. This was one of the few breaks Nick had in his grad school schedule, which is jam packed. We decided to basically repeat the trip I had done in October to Western Colorado, as the weather would be really nice and we could escape mud season (melting snow), and snow hiking. See my October entries for details about these areas. We followed this itinerary:

Day 1, May 5: Denver to Paonia. See Paonia, Colorado Wine and Orchard Tour for details from my October trip.

Day 2, May 6: Paonia to Palisade. See Bike Wine Tour in Palisade for October trip details.

Day 3, May 7: Palisade to Colorado National Monument. See Colorado National Monument Scenic Drive for details.

Day 4, May 8: Colorado National Monument to Denver. See same entry above.

I’ll summarize some of the differences between this and the last trip and new things we did.

Day 1: Paonia Wineries and Orchard Camping

Nick and I had a beautiful drive out to Paonia. In the spring there is snow on the mountains which I didn’t get in the fall — but I did get those stunning fall leaves. I had us head straight for Root and Vine Market, but it was closed Wednesdays as it turned out. We needed lunch so we headed into town but it turned out a lot of places were closed — with being a weekday and more of a shoulder season and coming out of pandemic restrictions, I’m guessing. Most wineries were closed but it appeared the Azura up the hill was open. We decided to go to the grocery store and get a picnic lunch and head up to Azura.

Azura was absolutely stunning and not very busy. We did a wine tasting and then  shared part of a bottle and took the rest with us. I had loved this place in the fall, but in spring you get the snow capped peaks.

So it all worked out! We had a peaceful time with the place basically to ourselves before heading over to Big B’s. The orchard camping was not open so we camped next to a pond (which is right next to the orchard). The view were amazing. The top photo for this blog entry is an orchard blossom view!

After setting up camp we headed to main area to get food and cider and go shopping. It was lush and green with perfect temperatures, and we both tried out the swings.

At night we slept with the tent fairly open so we could stargaze. The stars were just incredible. One point during the night and early morning, Nick and I both couldn’t sleep. Nick and I went outside to look at the stars and saw these crazy lights moving across the sky in a formation. It was creepy! We later found out this was a SpaceX launch and lots of people saw these. I can’t believe we caught them though!

Day 2: Palisade Winery Tour and Peche Dinner

The next morning, we headed out early and stopped for coffee in Hotchkiss before driving out to Palisade. We repeated my strategy of going on a bike ride by the Colorado River at the lovely Riverside Park with our fold-up bikes. We then headed to park at our motel, the Spoke and Vine. We loved it here so much and it’s the perfect location to start your biking wine tour of Palisade.

We started bright and early at 10 am and got flights at Plum Creek Cellars, which I had skipped the last trip.

It was a great start to our tour before we headed to Maison La Belle Vie for food. Last time, I hadn’t gotten a charcuterie since I was solo and they were for 2 or 4, so this time we got their famous charcuterie with a tasting, which we enjoyed. It was much less busy than last time I’d been here and very beautiful.

We had a nice ride through the orchards with Mount Garfield in the background.

Next we stopped at Talon and St. Katherine’s for a tasting (it had been so busy last time I’d skipped it). We then went to Varaison, which does a free tasting with wine education. I had done this last time, but had the vintner’s wife this time around as our guide. We did the tasting at a table with others (outside) and it was fun to do something so social after the pandemic. Nick loved the educational element as much as I did.

By this time, we had acquired a lot of bottles of wine so we went to check in to Spoke and Vine. I hadn’t stayed here in October since I had a free stay at a Marriott, so I stayed in Grand Junction, but I’d spotted it as a future place I wanted to go. It’s a revamped motel that has small, lovely rooms (true luxury after camping) with lots of character. Since I had been to Palisade last, they added an outdoor patio in the parking lot.

We wanted to make our last wine bike tour stop of the day Colorado Vintner’s Collective. They are a winery but also showcase a variety of makers’ wines. I fell in love with their rose last time and had brought it home. We did a tasting and ended up joining their wine club to get our rose fix.

We headed back to the motel to get ready for our dinner reservation at Peche. This has been called the best restaurant in Colorado. I didn’t eat there in October for a number of reasons; staying in Grand Junction was one. But now, Nick and I were staying a short walk away and fully vaccinated (2 weeks from our second shots), so this was our first indoor dining experience since probably February or early March of 2020.

Wow was this dinner amazing. The cocktails, the food, the experience, and the ambiance were perfect. It’s not overly formal but very nice inside.

We slept amazing in our king bed.

Days 3&4: Colorado National Monument

Spoke and Vine delivered us amazing coffee, yogurt, and locally made granola in the morning. We brought the tray to the patio and enjoyed our breakfast outside.

After that, we headed to the monument. We repeated the hikes I did, Devil’s Kitchen and Serpent’s Trail. However, in October, I couldn’t find how you got inside the Devil’s Kitchen rock formation, and this time we figured it out.

My advice is go to the left of the big formation and kind of around; you will see an entrance around the left side. This photo shows where you start going around to the left of this “balancing rock” formation to find Devil’s Kitchen. The second photo shows the formation once you pass this rock and turn to the right, where you can then go inside.

 

We then did the scenic drive I described previously. It was so fun to show Nick all the stops along the way.

By afternoon, it was getting pretty hot (I think we got into the 90s) so we retreated to our campsite to relax and read. This was our first time setting up our non-freestanding backpacking tent in the desert, and rocks worked decently for set up.

We then enjoyed the sunset at the Books Cliffs overlook with some cans of cider from Big B’s. There were these really cool birds (swifts I think?) diving and gliding that were so fun to watch.

We saw some great sunset colors on the walk back to camp.

 

Since it was relatively warm (I think it only got into the 50s), we kept the tent open. However, in the night, the wind really picked up and started blowing dust into our tent (and into my nose). This woke me up and it definitely took me way too long to figure out to close off the tent and keep the dirt out. Don’t recommend, but what can you do? It wasn’t windy when we went to sleep.

We woke up early to watch the sunrise. It was too cloudy and not the incredible sunrise I saw in October, but still very peaceful. We made coffee and breakfast while watching the clouds float.

We finished out the scenic drive and then headed to James R. Robb State Park to do a quick bike ride along the Colorado River looking back at the Monument. Next, we headed to Fruita and got a big breakfast at Kamila’s before heading back to Denver.

This is probably going to be a regular trip, and is perfect for those shoulder season times when it’s too cold to camp in the mountains.

 

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
Colorado, Diary from the Road, Hiking

Royal Gorge, Wineries, and Pueblo Colorado

Nick and I have been dealing with our radiator being down for over a month and a temporary heater. After a recent big snowstorm, we were tired of the cold and snow. I had stumbled across this Denver Post article and once we looked at the forecast for Pueblo (70s), we were sold on the trip.

Saturday, March 20

Nick and I hit the road and decide to check out the Royal Gorge via the Overlook Trail. It’s an easy, 1.5 mile trail with amazing Royal Gorge overlook and snow capped peak views that are hard to capture in photos. It was a beautiful day and felt so nice to be warm. There is a lot more you can do at the Royal Gorge and we saw (and heard) people ziplining or taking the gondola over the gorge. There is also a train that runs through the Gorge that looks amazing. I definitely would love to visit again and ride the train.

After Royal Gorge, we headed to Legatum Cellars. There are several wineries in the Canon City/Penrose area. We were met with extremely kind staff and a beautiful outdoor setting, as well as live music. They had a free tasting and we got to chat with the winemakers. The bottles of wine were extremely reasonably priced so we left with one.

Next, we headed to Brush Hollow Winery in Penrose and sat out on their beautiful patio, where we were the only people outside enjoying the mountain views and beautiful weather. They had an extensive free tasting with purchase that included ciders and a dessert wine. We also got a beautiful charcuterie board. We got to speak with the winemakers there as well and left with a wine bottle and growler of cider.

I continue to really enjoy Colorado wineries. They are completely unpretentious, well priced, in beautiful locations, and have great unique products. Often they are family-run or tight knit and you speak with the winemakers. One thing we learned is that a big freeze killed a lot of Colorado grape plants, so sourcing local grapes will be a struggle for the next several years. Plus, fires in Palisade and California will make grape sourcing challenging. See this article for more information. Ways to help: Sign up for CSAs or Growhaus, which I use. Plan a road trip to Colorado’s fruit-growing regions and buy directly from them; see my Paonia Orchard and Wineries and Palisade Winery Bike Tour posts for ideas.

We headed to Pueblo next, where I had a free Marriott stay. We walked to the Riverwalk, which is a beautiful area to walk around with restaurants and bars. One restaurant had some excellent live music.

All the restaurants had a long wait, so we enjoyed drinks at a bar overlooking the river before deciding to order takeout sushi and sit at one of the many tables around the river. After that, we headed to The Clink Lounge for a fancy cocktail. This hotel and bar is in a former jail. The patio was lovely and the cocktails were so good.

After that, the one must-do I had on my list after reading the Denver Post article was to visit Neon Alley. We walked through the quiet historic downtown and then came upon the first lights. This is a collection of vintage neon signs turned public art installation, and it is so much fun to see.

We heard people commenting that there were new signs since their last visit, and I have read that the collectors keep adding more signs. There are also some really fun vintage posters in the alley. If you go, be careful because it is definitely a real alley that cars drive through.

This was a long day so we headed back to relax in the hotel room for the night.

Sunday, March 21

The next morning, the weather appeared nice, sunny, and 55, but it was quite windy out. We headed over to B Street Cafe. It was nice enough to sit outside this diner-style restaurant and we enjoyed an awesome breakfast across from the historic train station. There are a lot of preserved historic buildings in Pueblo that we enjoyed check out downtown before heading to the car. We stopped at Solar Roast Coffee before heading out, as the wind continued to pick up.

Overall, this was a really fun, mostly warm weekend. It is an underrated part of Colorado, in my opinion, and I really enjoyed how friendly everyone was and it was not as overcrowded as some other areas of Colorado. Spring is a really tough time in the Front Range of Colorado, when we are all getting tired of snow and mud season makes hiking unpleasant and/or impossible. I think we will definitely repeat this trip in future years around this time of year.

by admin
Colorado, Hiking, Winter

Five Favorite Colorado Winter Hikes and Snowshoes

We will still have winter conditions for a while in Colorado, but I wanted to round up some of the favorite winter hikes/snowshoe adventures for 2020-2021 so far. *Note that there is avalanche danger in many of these areas; always check out the forecast at CAIC.

Lake Agnes

State Forest State Park: 5 miles, 1000 feet elevation gain

I already covered this in my State Forest State Park Cabin entry, so head to my “Day 1” summary for details.

Ouzel Falls

Rocky Mountain National Park: 7.4 miles, 1130 feet elevation gain

This hike is so much fun that it does not feel like 7.4 miles at all. We tackled this the day after Christmas of 2020. We brought snowshoes but ended up not needing them, although I’m sure under different conditions you do need them. We did need to use microspikes to walk on some very icy parts of the trail.

Part of what makes it so fun is there a lot of landmarks along the way. For winter, you park at the road closure near Copeland Lake and walk down the road to the trailhead. We quickly came upon Copeland Falls once we got on the trail.

The hike through the forest was gorgeous to Calypso Cascades, the next landmark, a beautiful frozen falls.

From Calypso Cascades you start to head up to Ouzel Falls and get views of Mount Meeker and Longs Peak.

That first photo is Ouzel Falls themselves. We sat at a viewpoint overlooking the mountains before heading back. It’s gorgeous up there!

Vance’s Cabin

Ski Cooper, Leadville: 5.5 miles, 800 feet elevation gain

This hike near Leadville is in a beautiful part of Colorado with views of the Holy Cross Wilderness, Mount Elbert, and Mount Massive. You actually start right at Ski Cooper. The trail leads to a 10th Mountain Division Hut, but you stop short of heading down to the cabin and enjoy a gorgeous mountain panorama. We did this on a gorgeous day at the end of January. After heading down a groomed road, snowshoes were one hundred percent required (some people cross-country ski here too). We struggled snowshoeing uphill, but then snowshoed through what seemed like a magical snowy forest before getting to the open view. We saw very few people, and this was a wonderful winter adventure.

Mayflower Gulch

Copper Mountain/Leadville/Breckenridge: 3 miles to cabins, about 600 feet elevation gain

When we started this on a cold but sunny December day the temperatures were in the single digits. There are a ton of skiiers who pack down the trail, which opens up to a beautiful view and cabin ruins from a historic mining camp. We did not need snowshoes until we headed past the cabins to explore Gold Hill and watched the backcountry skiiers come down.

Fountain Valley Loop

Roxborough State Park: 2.3 miles, 324 feet elevation gain.

This is a favorite of Nick and I’s year round, but seeing the red rocks here after a good snow is pure magic! This trail is fairly flat, gorgeous with several lookouts, and has a historic cabin. You get views both through and overlooking the red rocks, and we see deer here frequently. We just wore microspikes, and I doubt you would typically need snowshoes unless there was a big, recent storm!

Well I could go on and on, but that’s it for now! I am looking forward to spring, with some continued snowshoeing but also warmer weather and flowers coming out in the Denver area in May.

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

State Forest State Park Winter Cabin


From January 4-6, Nick and I stayed in rustic cabins at the North Michigan Reservoir at State Forest State Park in Colorado. This is a gorgeous part of the state, near Walden and the Rawah Wilderness and Medicine Bow Mountains. Nick had a month off for winter break, and has a busy year ahead in his compressed grad school year, so a few days off in a socially distanced trip sounded nice.

This was not my first time at the cabins; in May 2019, I joined a Meetup group of strangers who stayed in the 20-person cabin that is available at the Reservoir. It was a great time, very snowy even in May, and struck me as a great, fairly isolated place for a getaway, so I thought of it when we were thinking of doing a January trip.

Day 1

Nick and I headed out January 4, stopping for a nice hearty breakfast on the Snooze patio in Fort Collins, which is only an hour away from Denver. I find if the sun is on you, sitting outside is lovely even if it is fairly cold. We then drove 2 hours through Poudre Canyon on Highway 14 to get to State Forest State Park. This was our first time driving in this area since the Cameron Peak Fire, which truly was a devastating fire this summer. We saw burned trees and scorched land, and it was honestly amazing how many structures and houses in the area were saved in these area. Firefighters did an amazing job, and we saw lots of signs thanking them. By the way, the Roosevelt National Forest in this area was still closed when we were there, so it’s important to check for closures before you head out to different recreational areas.

The drive is gorgeous along the Poudre River, which was flowing but icy and snow-covered. Then, as we approached State Forest State Park, there started to be truly stunning scenery of the mountains. Because the weather was scheduled to be sunny and the warmest of our days there (in the 30s!), we decided to stop along the way to hike and snowshoe on the Lake Agnes Trail.

We chose the trail from our snowshoeing book. It is 5 miles in winter; you park in a parking area along the road, which is closed to cars, and hike along the road. We didn’t need our snowshoes for this (spikes only), and walked along the road uphill; the views are stunning from the get go of the mountains and the Nokhu Crags, this fantastical rock formation. After a little over a mile you reach the summer trailhead, which has a historic cabin ruin and opens up to stunning views.

At this point, we needed snowshoes (or skis, we saw some skiiers as well!) as the snow was deep. We had to work on our snowshoeing uphill skills.

After another mile or so, we made it to the lake which is just stunning. It is frozen and the Nokhu Crags and in full view. Nick and I particularly enjoyed this hike because when we did our American Lakes backpacking trip over the summer, we were right on the other side of the Nokhu Crags at Snow Lake. Now we have seen both sides! It was lovely and sunny out so we took a brief snack break before heading back.


The timing worked out well to get to our cabin around 4 pm. There is a good, snowy dirt road leading to the cabins. The notes for the cabin suggested we might need snowshoes for the 100 feet from the parking down, but we didn’t when we arrived. We appeared to be the only ones staying at the cabins, and it was quiet and beautiful in the late afternoon.

Check in was easy as we just had to use a code to get into the cabin (no human interaction!), and unload our stuff. The cabin has propane heat, a table, bunk beds, and cozy futon type couch. It has a solar light and no electricity, and there is no cell reception. After we unpacked, we chilled our beers outside in the snow and attempted to make a fire in the grill, but it would not catch. We brought our backpacking stove and simple dehydrated meals along with some snacks to keep the cooking easy since the cabin does not provide a kitchen. We even roasted some marshmallows with the backpacking stove for s’mores.

We watched a gorgeous sunset and settled in for an evening of reading and games. It was truly peaceful, quiet, and relaxing. The three cabins share a basic composting toilet bathroom, so we did have to trek through the snow for the bathroom.

Day 2

The forecast had a small chance for snow on Tuesday with an inch, at most, expected. We woke up to try to watch a sunrise and it was snowy.

We had a lovely breakfast with hot coffee and spent most of the day reading and playing games inside our cozy cabin. It stopped snowing briefly and we saw some sun, but it just kept going. It ended up snowing a lot of the day! To go to the bathroom, I started strapping on my snowshoes, along with my gaiters and boots. The snow was getting really deep!

We got some pictures in the afternoon when the snow stopped briefly. We decided to bundle up in every layer including rain gear and snowshoe around outside our cabin on the frozen reservoir.

It turned out to be good timing because the snow continued into the evening. We really enjoyed having a peaceful, snowed in day.

Day 3

The next morning, we actually did see more of a sunrise and awoke to a sunny, but frigid, day. Temperatures were not supposed to get above freezing all day and it was cold, but felt better with sun!

After a nice hot breakfast, we decided to head out for a snowshoe right down the road. The road we drove in on continued to some winter trailheads for yurts, also available to stay at in winter. Our snowshoeing book suggested the yurt trails for outings.

We got to enjoy snowshoeing in perfect, sparkling fresh snow and even started to warm up in the sun. The mountain views from the road were beautiful. We did see a few cars parked for the yurts, and were passed by a few cars on the road. Apparently others were excited by the fresh snow and beautiful day and excited to get out for some backcountry skiing or snowshoeing. After about 1.5 miles roundtrip, we were back at the cabins and other cars had joined ours. We some guys headed down to the reservoir for ice fishing.

We packed up our cabin and snowshoed up to the car with our belongings. We swept up and enjoyed last views. With all the snow, we put Autosocks on my front wheels, which is a chain alternative. They worked well to help us get out on the snowy dirt road (by now there was also a family getting ready to ski/sled/snowshoe in the lot as well!).

We had a beautiful, different drive back, with everything covered in snow. We got some last looks at the Nokhu Crags, majestic as ever in the sun. It was odd as we got closer to Fort Collins, there was less and suddenly no snow. Very strange after all the snow we had gotten at the cabin!

We ended the trip with a meal outside a distillery in Fort Collins, with a lovely firepit to keep us warm. And, we even grabbed some ice cream at Old Town Churn. With the sun and another fire pit, it felt like a perfect ending to the trip.

Overall, I highly recommend these cabins for a getaway! They are rustic but a perfect pandemic era getaway.

Here is some recommended gear for a trip like this. These are affiliate links which allow me to collect a small amount of money for items bought, but I only link items I like and use.

Kahtoola Microspikes – Nick and I both have these traction devices – they easily slip on and off your boots for traction on ice while hiking.

Black Diamond Gaiters – These are the gaiters I have. They prevent snow from getting inside your boot when hiking and snowshoeing in deep snow. A genius little invention!

CMC Snowshoeing Book – Colorado Mountain Club’s snowshoeing book. I love how detailed this book is in describing snowshoeing trails!

 

by admin
Colorado, Diary from the Road

Colorado National Monument Scenic Drive

I woke up and enjoyed a nice sunrise out my window on Saturday, October 18. I decided to get a hearty green chile breakfast burrito to go at the cafe next door, which I ate before heading on my solo adventure to Colorado National Monument, after my Paonia and Palisade adventures. The Monument is only 10 minutes from downtown Grand Junction, which makes it easy to get an early start.

Colorado National Monument has a 23-mile scenic drive. Starting at the Grand Junction side, I identified a couple of hikes I wanted to try in the morning before I completed the drive, where I would end up camping near the Fruita entrance.

I decided to try Devil’s Kitchen Trail first, which is .75 miles one way as the sign says (1.5 round trip). It was a beautiful morning and I was surprised to see some nice fall colors alongside the prickly pear cacti on the trail.

The trail was really beautiful but got confusing with a lot of “social trails” as I got closer to the rock formations. I tried to take it to the end, assuming I’d end up at the “Devil’s Kitchen” formation, but the trail kind of petered out. Anyways, I found a place to easily walk up to the rocks (no crazy scrambling/stepping on prickly pears required!) to get a closer look.

It was not very busy and I spent some time enjoying the rocks and taking pictures before heading back to my car for a snack and sunscreen application.

I wanted to do more hiking so I chose the nearby Serpent’s Trail, 1.75 miles (3.5 roundtrip). This is an old road once called the “crookedest road in the world” with 20 switchbacks that was converted to a hiking trail. This means it is flat and wide. You start climbing right away and quickly get great views of the scenic road and the trail.

I completed the whole trail with great views all the way up. It just kind of ends at another part of the road. I would definitely do it again, but even just the first mile up and back down would be worth it for the views.

It really started to warm up in the sun. The weather was really perfect, getting into the 60s and 70s. I think it’s a nice time of year to come- summer would be hot! Plus the fall colors contrasted with the rocks is gorgeous. I decided I was done with hiking, having done it during the coolest part of the day to warm up, and was ready to scenic drive to my campsite in the afternoon.

The scenic drive is a bit scary for those of us with a fear of heights, so I focused on my music, the road straight in front of me only sometimes, and stopped at nearly every stop to break up the drive and check out the views. It requires full attention as it’s popular with bikers as well. It’s definitely a must do if you visit! It reminds me a bit of Black Canyon of the Gunnison, which has various stops – some are viewpoints, some are short hikes, and some are trailheads for longer hikes.

“The heart of the world,” is what a man some called an eccentric drifter, John Otto, said about this place. He built trails on his own from 1907-1930s, and then the Civilian Conservation Corps built Rim Rock drive mostly by hand, which is truly remarkable.

One of my favorite moments of the afternoon was on Otto’s Trail, a very short trail to a lookout. There was only one other group, and they left, and I was able to have the place to myself. I sat for a while. The canyon is odd, and you can hear far away voices almost like they are near – that’s how I first realized there were climbers on Independence Monument, and spotted them far away (it’s the big rock formation on the left side in the picture below). John Otto was the first to climb this, of course, and climbers still use Otto’s Route. They continue his tradition of planting an American flag at the top every July 4th.

I enjoyed my meditative silence for a while, but was getting tired after a long day of hiking, driving, and exploring. Luckily, I was almost to Saddlehorn Campground. This is the only campsite within the monument, organized into three loops.

The campsite is really cool! The ground is hard so I used rocks for my tent (it was windy so I flied it out with rocks, Iceland style!). I got in some good reading time at my chair and made an early backpacking meal dinner.

I wanted to check out the sunset, and a viewpoint called Book Cliffs view was only a ten minute walk away. It’s an amazing place – there are trails leading to Window Rock and the Visitor’s center, and it’s easy to find some rocks to hang out on. I had grabbed a Big B’s Cider from my Paonia day, and had a peaceful happy hour watching the sun go down.

It’s fascinating to see how different everything looks in different light, and watch the birds, and listen for animal and people noises.

I headed back to camp and had my hot chocolate, did some more reading, and settled into my tent after checking out the stars. Despite the rocky ground, I slept very deeply. It did not even get too cold at night (my guess is 40s?), so I was very comfortable with my gear.

I set an alarm to ensure I did not miss the sunrise, and I had a plan. Why not head back to the same spot where I watched sunset to watch the sunrise? And, since I had a backpacking stove, I could make my coffee and oatmeal there.

As you can see from this unfiltered photo, the sunrise was gorgeous.

I decided once I was done with coffee to warm up more by hiking from Book Cliffs viewpoint over to Window Rock, a short distance.

After that, it was a short walk back to my campsite. It was nice out, so I enjoyed sitting and reading a bit more before packing up camp. I had a few more stops on the scenic drive on the way to Fruita.

As I was leaving the last stop, I realized I would get to Fruita a bit early for lunch as it was around 10 am. I saw there was a state park right near where I was, called James R Robb Colorado River State Park. They turned out to have a really nice sidewalk by the river perfect for a quick bike ride, with fall color and the Colorado National Monument in the background. I unfolded my bike and enjoyed a quick two miles.

My last stop before heading home Monday was Fruita, which has a nice small downtown. I had to put in a picture of my insane meal from Kamilla’s Kaffe, which had a lovely patio. I grabbed some coffee to go from an awesome place called Bestslope with a walk up window.

Overall, I loved camping at the monument. I definitely recommend the fall for a visit, as the weather was perfect, and hiking in the morning to beat the heat.

Covid-19 Safety: Overall, this section of my trip was very pandemic friendly. I was outside nearly the entire time with a lot of spacing on mostly wide trails, and saw a large amount of people with masks. I skipped a few viewpoints that had full parking lots, but had plenty of others to check out! Camping required no check in as I had reserved the site and the shared bathroom had its door open the whole time.

 

 

 

by admin
Colorado, Diary from the Road

Bike Wine Tour in Palisade

Saturday was Day 2 of my solo Western Colorado trip. After my tour around Paonia, I woke up to a beautiful sunrise in the orchard. I packed up my tent early and stopped in Hotchkiss, Colorado, at the Coaltrain Coffeehouse, a very cute independent coffee shop. It was about an hour drive to Palisade, which turned to a much different rocky scenery (kind of like Paint Mines in Eastern Colorado).

I headed to Riverbend Park, since it was fairly early still. I have a foldable bike that I can fold up and put in my car. I got that out and tried out the flat bike/walking path along the Colorado River. Technically you can bike all the way to Grand Junction! The views are amazing and unique in Palisade with the rock formations, and I still saw some beautiful fall colors.

Next I checked out the town to find some food. The town is small but really nice, with a number of restaurants and cafes. I stopped at a funky cafe called Purple Cow and enjoyed sitting outside. After this, I was ready to start an afternoon of self guided bike winery touring!

I looked at a map online and decided on the West Cruiser Loop, which is 7 miles and passes a lot of wineries and nice scenery. I cruised back through Riverbend Park on this route. The great thing about the loop is that it passes a lot of places, so you have flexibility if somewhere looks busy to simply move on.

Safety Notes: I want to note that I wore a helmet, and a small part of the route was on a busy road, so please be sure to know basic bicycle safety if you choose to do this. I will also note that I wanted to be careful with my drinking amounts since I was biking and then driving to Grand Junction after, so drank slowly at each stop to enjoy my time, only got tasting portions and no glasses, and had my hydration bladder full of water (and each winery provided water as well!).

My first stop was Colorado Vintner’s Collective, a clean modern space with a lovely patio. I did a tasting, which included wines from local wineries as well as some of the Collective’s wine. It was really lovely – once again, I found my host to be extremely nice and friendly in explaining the wine to me. I absolutely loved the rose made by the Collective, and so I decided to put a bottle in my backpack to bike around with on the rest of the Loop (shows you how much I liked it!).

In my research, I really wanted to check Maison La Belle Vie. It was a French themed winery that had an excellent patio, according to information online. This location was busy and only got busier as I was there, but the patio was really lovely with great views of the winery and rocks. Their tastings were pre-selected and came with guide cards, which was nice. They had beautiful charcuterie boards for 2-4 people, but since I was solo, I went with a delicious quiche and salad.

After Maison La Belle Vie, I biked the loop and passed wineries and orchards. I really enjoyed the beautiful scenery and awesome sunny weather.

I came upon an area with Grand River and Talon Vineyard, but it was quite busy so I decided to skip tastings. It seemed nice and they had horse drawn carriage rides there apparently!

Next, I stopped at a fruit stand. They were out of peaches, and I already had apples, but I decided to take advantage of their end-of-season sale and buy some jam. Nick and I have been enjoying the Apple Pie Jam from the stand.

Next, I decided to go slightly off the loop to try one last winery, Varaison. This was an excellent decision, as it turned out. Their tasting is free and includes wine education with a person assigned to your group. Since I was solo, I was one on one. The woman who guided me through the tasting was very friendly, wore a mask, and we sat outside at a table across from each other. She was also from Arizona, as it turned out. It was very informative, and I decided to get one more bottle of wine. Total, from the trip, including Paonia, I brought home three bottles of wines I tried to share with Nick.

Covid-19 Safety Notes: The bike tour of wineries is extremely pandemic friendly. Wineries have excellent patios, and it’s easy to bike and check out to see the space and whether you feel comfortable to choose which wineries to check out. And biking outside is lovely. All the servers and staff wore masks and people were good about mask wearing when not at their tables. While this area of Colorado is busy and has tourists, it is also less packed then other tourist areas, in my experience.

I was staying in Grand Junction, so I finished my bike ride and drove about 15 minutes to my hotel, a SpringHill Suites (I had a free night certificate). I was apprehensive about staying in a hotel during a pandemic, and enjoy camping experiences, but the hotel did an excellent job with social distancing, one person in an elevator at a time, and mask requirements. They even encouraged you to bring your bike to your room to avoid theft (not a Covid related item but nice). I spent fairly little time at the hotel, as well.

I walked around downtown Grand Junction, which was full of fall color. There were several good options for dining with nice patios, and I ended up at a brewery. I also grabbed gelato to go.

My room had a really nice sunset view. I wanted to get started early the next day to maximize my time at Colorado National Monument, which will be my next blog entry!

Gear Recommendations

This part of my post contains affiliate links that allow me to earn a small commission at no extra charge to yourself. I’m genuinely posting items I use and believe are helpful for this type of adventure!

Foldable Bike: I have the Retrospec bike, but as that often sells out, here is a nearly identical alternative that you can throw in your car for flat bike rides – like the West Cruiser Loop on the Palisade Fruit and Wine Byway, or the Riverbend Park trail!

Hydration Bladder: I recommend this and your favorite hydration-compatible backpack to ensure you stay hydrated during a wine bike tour.

 

by admin