I had a fourth of July holiday combined with a flex day combined with a furlough day that gave me five days off, and since my boyfriend Nick has not started his grad school yet, we decided to do a multiday backpacking trip. Nick made a YouTube video:

Day 1 – Goose Creek Trail 612

I had done this trail as my first solo backpacking overnight in 2019, so I was excited to go back and knew what to expect. We left early and drove a lot of dirt road to arrive at the trail head. This trail starts looking over fire damage from the 2002 Hayman Fire that burned for a month.

There were lots of wildflowers the entire hike! We descended into a shady forest along the creek, and had some uphill to gain before the campsite. I hoped to go to the creekside campsite I’d gone to the previous year, about 5 miles in.

Along the hike, we started to see distantly the giant, weird rock formations of the Lost Creek Wilderness.

There a short, worthwhile detours where we put down our packs to explore historic cabin ruins. According to the sign, the Lost Park Reservoir site between 1890 and 1913 attempted to create a reservoir damming lost creek, and these cabins were employee housing hand when from native trees. There’s even remains of beds/mattress/oven. It’s amazing!

After a some uphill hiking…

We got to our campsite fairly early (My campsite was free!) and were excited to hammock and read books all afternoon.

This was a great first day – no rain all afternoon. We were definitely tired and ready to rest and relax, with the nice trickle of the creek. It was surprisingly not very busy – we only saw a few people pass our camp on the trail. To me, it was a bit exciting and nerve wracking to find out what was next, as the next day we would get into a lot harder elevation gains and new territory.

Day 2 – Goose Creek to McCurdy Park

The next day was our most challenging day that at times made us ask WHY DOES ANYONE DO THIS. We got about 11.7 miles into the loop this day – so did around 6.7 or so miles. There was an incredible variation in landscape this day and steep up and downs. Supposedly we only gained about 1000 feet, but my GPS app measured 2500 between the ups and downs.

When I came in 2019, I’d gone on a bit up Goose Creek. It continues uphill through beautiful forest, which was gorgeous and quiet in the early morning.

Eventually it opens up to a beautiful viewpoint, which shows you how far up you have come.

We then turned onto the McCurdy Park trail, which was steep downhill.

This was a bit ominous – we knew we had more uphill to go. We descended into a beautiful aspen forest. The way that the sun glows through the aspen is quite magical.

We then had to go up and up and had huge rock formations ahead. It was hot, and challenging. We had a couple of steep up and downs among the red rocks.

At one point, we descended to a cave with the river flowing through, and a really cool campsite right there. We almost got lost, but our handy paper map plus GPS on phones helped. We stopped for lunch in the shade before pressing on.

It was hot, with more steep ups and downs. We ran out of water, but descended into an aspen valley near a creek and refilled with our water filter. We really wanted to make it to a meadow we had read about with good camping.

The last part was challenging. Some clouds, but a storm didn’t really roll through. We had an uphill portion in a forest that seemed endless, and everything hurt. We stopped a few times and made slow progress.

We looked so close to the meadow on the map, but it took forever. Finally, we reached the clearing and found some campsites in a beautiful meadow next to the creek.

It started to thunder so we set up our tent quick and waited out some thunder inside. It was already late afternoon. We were starving so we made our freeze-dried dinners. That chicken fried rice was the most delicious meal ever. However, the mosquitoes were horrible. We covered every part of our body and put our buffs over our faces, and devised a method of walking and eating to keep the mosquitoes at bay.

We split a cup of hot chocolate inside the tent. Of course, the mosquitoes started to die down as it got cold.

Several other tents joined the meadow – according to the paper map we had, it’s exactly halfway so a good campsite for people doing the trail as an overnight. We were all at least 200 feet apart though.

Day 3 – McCurdy Park to Lake Park to Hankins Pass

We woke up first to a beautiful sunrise, and walked across the meadow to take down our bear bag and make breakfast.

We set off feeling much better than the afternoon before. We knew we had a big climb up to the highest point on the trail, 11,500 feet. We went through the “McCurdy Park” area and passed lots of great campsites, including among a forest and out in another meadow.

We came to the junction of McCurdy Park and Lake Park and took a break before a steep uphill climb through switchbacks. It was at least shaded, and in the first part of the day. At the highest point, there is an incredible pile of red rocks with a great viewpoint.

We took our lunch break here and rested. There’s an awesome campsite, but I don’t think any water source close (dry campsite). From here, we headed down and down. It started to look more like a desert landscape than a forest, and was not shaded. We saw some trail runners which to me is mind blowing that they run any part of this.

We headed to a meadow around mile 17 where we had seen some campsites marked, which was we found. However, there didn’t seem to be a good water source close. There was some uphill coming up and so we tried to stop and camp, but a marshy pond was too difficult to get water from. However, the stopping was reinvigorating and we made it up a bit of downhill to go down and down and down.

We reached the intersection with Hankins Pass. There were very dark clouds that looked scary, but never really resulted in more than some light rain and ominous rumbling.

Then, we were tired and our feet hurt from all the downhill. We looked for a campsite. Hankins Pass luckily didn’t have any high mountain pass climbs, but was a gorgeous forest. However, the campsites we found only had stagnant water – perhaps in wetter years the creek was flowing. We kept going what felt like forever. Around mile 20.2 to 20.5 (so we probably did 8-9 miles this day total), we found a beautiful aspen campsite with a stream. We set up camp and miraculously, it seemed to be bug free. It was surprisingly not too late into the afternoon so we set up our hammocks.

Nick fell asleep and that hammocking and reading was some of the best ever. The scenery was beautiful. We made a nice dinner and hot chocolate and settled in for more hammocking to watch the sun go down. We settled in for a great sleep knowing that we only had a few miles to go the next day.

Day 4 – Hankins Pass to HOME

We were ready to head home on our last day. It was a beautiful sunrise as we woke up and made breakfast. The forest was really beautiful with early morning sun shining through.

The last part of Hankins pass had a few more nice campsites and we started to follow a creek.

It seemed like we had to cross the water a million times those last 3 miles or so. We stopped very little as it was a nice, peaceful, morning going downhill.

Finally, we reached the junction with the Goose Creek trail, where we had originally veered left. We headed slightly uphill in the sun to finish the trail. Apps and GPS seem to pin the loop between 21-25 miles – our map says it’s 23.4 miles.

Overall, this was a challenge for Nick and I, but we had an amazing time. We totally social distanced and completely missed the heat and loud illegal fireworks in Denver for the 4th of July. There’s a lot of backpacking to be done in Lost Creek Wilderness, so we definitely want to try more loops in the future.

My first backpacking trip of the summer was also my first backpacking trip with my boyfriend, Nick, and first trip to Ceran St. Vrain trail, just an hour outside of Denver near Jamestown, CO. Last year, I did all my backpacking trips solo in preparation for my Laugavegur Trail trip in Iceland.

We were going to go Friday, but the Friday weather was very stormy and Saturday looked like perfect weather which it turned out to be, no monsoon storms at all! It is rare not to get rained on when backpacking in Colorado in the summer so it was nice. We got to the trailhead around 6:30 am and there were still a good amount of people camping from Friday night.

Ceran St Vrain is a gorgeous trail that runs along a creek for two miles. It’s named after Ceran St Vrain, a fur trader from the 1800s. Nick and I referred to the book Base Camp Denver, which has a nice description of the history and logistics of the trail.

There were lots of green aspens and beautiful wildflowers as we walked along the trail, listening to the comforting murmur of the creek, including the famous purple and white columbines.

Right away we saw people camping – some people had a lot of stuff. You can almost car camp with some of the closest sites, keeping in mind its still the backcountry. People had large camp chairs, coolers, and huge tents set up. There are lots of campsites, and to follow leave no trace principles, it is best to reuse sites that have already been established. When we went June 20-21, 2020, campfires were prohibited – it’s easy to check online beforehand and there were signs. However, we still saw campfires which is sad. Being from Arizona I know how dangerous this is. Please follow the rules!

 

We decided to explore the entire trail since it was only two miles and fairly flat and easy, and scout out some potential sites. We found a few candidates and decided to go with a creekside site right below the trail, with lots of hammocking trees, but not too large a site that others might try to share.

It was still quite early at this time, around 8 am or so, and we decide to set up camp, and based on Pete’s advice in the base camp Denver book, head to Miller Rock.

You follow a jeep road steeply uphill after Ceran St Vrain trail ends. We were glad to not have our packs for this. It was not very busy for a Saturday, which was nice. It’s about a mile up to Miller Rock with a few turns on some rocky roads. Apparently there’s an easier and a harder way to climb Miller Rock depending on which side you’re on. Pete had said that the North side had a gentler climb. We found a spot partway up with great mountain views. The clouds were really surreal looking, and we found out later this is called a “mountain wave” cloud.

 

A hiker let us know you could climb to the top of the rock fairly easily for 360 views. Soon after, some jeep guys pulled up and climbed up a steep side of the rock one-handed (holding beers). We went up more slowly the less steep side, but it was worth it for the true 360 views of the Indian Peaks and Long’s Peak/Rock Mountain National Park.

After this adventure, Nick and I were excited to set up our hammocks and relax the rest of the day. Reading in a hammock next to the creek is the best feeling.

Nick and I finished out our day by eating our backpacking meals, drinking hot chocolate, and more hammocking and reading. I feel asleep fast. I do find it a bit easier to sleep at night with another person in the tent.

Since it was a bit cloudy we slept until 6. Usually the sun wakes me up when I’m backpacking or camping so this was nice. We had breakfast and did not have far to go back to the trailhead. We saw lots of campers, particularly as we got closer to the trailhead. For a weekend trip, overall, it did not feel overly busy, which may be partly because we camped further down the trail.

Overall, this was a great trip to introduce Nick to backpacking and have him test some equipment, and was relaxing without as tough as some of the other backpacking trails around. I’d definitely go back – this would be easy to do as a quick overnight since it’s close and easy.

September 27 and 28, I decided to go for a weekend getaway to Steamboat Springs. I knew they were supposed to get leaves changing earlier in the northern part of the state. Also, I had briefly stopped at Steamboat Springs on my way back from the Mount Zirkel Wilderness and was really charmed by the scenery, arts, and culture of the town.

So I had made this drive before, but it was stunningly different now as the leaves were changing.

Fall in Colorado is special. There are brilliant colors set against the peaks.

It was definitely hard not to stop to try to capture the leaves along the way like every few minutes.

Driving into Steamboat was so gorgeous. The mountains were covered in multi-colored leaves. I stopped in at the visitor’s center to ask for some advice on things to do. It looked like some rain might roll in, and I wanted to head into the Strawberry Park Hot Springs before that.

The drive up to the hot springs was pretty short but magical, as the sun shown through the yellow aspen leaves.

It was a great time to be in the hot springs. You could sit and view the beautiful leaves changing. As ever, the photos don’t really do the vibrancy of the sun shining through the leaves justice.

There were different temperatures you could experiment with in the different pools. One was more lukewarm up to pretty hot. It was really beautiful and I stayed for a while.

I had a dinner reservation for Restaurant Week in the evening, so I got out and headed to my hotel. Before I left I wandered around my hotel. It was just a Quality Inn, but I really enjoyed the scenery around.

Cafe Diva was located in the ski village part of Steamboat Springs, so I headed over there at 5 pm, a nice early reservation for a solo diner. The place filled up quickly and the staff were very nice in serving me the preset restaurant menu with wine pairings.

I really enjoyed everything. The first course is pictured below.

After that lovely treat, I knew there was an event downtown at the art museum for painting en plein air as artists depicted autumn scenes around Steamboat Springs. It turns out there’s a free bus that goes all the way around Steamboat Springs, even to the Quality Inn!

The event was great. There was free wine and it was packed. There were prize winning pieces and everything was for sale.

After that, I wandered around Steamboat Springs, which was just charming at night. The trees were strung with lights and there were tons of lively bars and restaurants. I found a lively place downstairs from the street called The Barley, with lots of craft beer and live music. I took the night bus back to my hotel after that.

The next day, I woke up fairly early to check out Fish Creek Falls. I had heard at the visitor’s center that the second falls wasn’t as good as in summer with snow run off. I mostly wanted to go for a fall leaf hike, so I planned to view the first falls and maybe start to head up to the second falls.

Before the falls, I stopped at the Smell That Bread Bakery and got a blueberry cinnamon roll pastry. It wasn’t too busy as I arrived, but got busier into the later morning (9-10 am). I took an easy paved path around to view the falls, and really enjoyed the views there before descending toward the falls.

I saw a river otter in this area! He was moving really fast but I got really excited as I watched him crawl over rocks and swim through the river water.

I enjoyed relative solitude heading up the path toward the second falls and watching the sun shine through the leaves. I could see why the artists used so much pink in their paintings. I did not want to do the entire 5 miles though, so I turned back. I had other things I wanted to do.

Steamboat Springs has the most charming little bookstore called Off the Beaten Path. It’s also a coffee shop, and I included a picture of the menu below.

It was really beautiful and sunny out, so after that I started to scope out a lunch spot. There were some restaurants along the river and I stumbled upon Sunpies. It was a casual joint where you could drink a beer and eat some fried clams along the Yampa River.

With this view and the sun out, I struggled to leave the place for a while. I thought I might do something suggested at the visitor’s center and ride the chairlift at the ski resort for the views.

The ski resort was mostly filled with mountain hikers, who take their bikes on the lift and then bike down the mountain. The views were of course stunning, but I did find parts of the ride pretty terrifying due to my fear of heights! The view below was one of my favorite parts.

After my ride, I headed back to the downtown area. There was a chili cook-off with live music, so it was lively, plus it was gorgeous out. I enjoyed shopping. I found a store I really liked and got a couple of shirts and stickers. I knew I had a long drive back but struggled to leave, as I wanted to linger by the river and read the new book I got at the bookstore.

The drive back was beautiful. This view is quite close as you leave or come into Steamboat.

I really enjoyed my weekend in Steamboat Springs. It’s full of surprises for such a small place. Of course there is natural beauty, but lots of arts and culture and some great restaurants. I definitely want to return and explore more!