Laura M Clark

Mt Yale in Winter – 14,196

RT Length: 9.58 miles

Elevation Gain: 4315’

The drive in was icy in spots, with about 3 inches of fresh snow on the road. I could tell a vehicle had made it to the trailhead at least an hour earlier, because there was snow over the tracks and it hadn’t been snowing on my drive. There were two other vehicles in the lot, which looked to be boondockers. I backed my truck in and got out my gear. The lot is huge, and since the road is closed for winter just past the trailhead there is a lot of room for vehicles carrying snowmobiles. When I got back later in the day there were no less than 40 large vehicles with trailers for hauling snowmobiles in the parking lot and lining the road.

I was on the trail a little late today, around 6am. I knew it was supposed to be cold and I didn’t want to start too early: the sun is my friend when it’s cold out! The trail starts at the north end of the parking area. There are trail signs here.

It’s winter, but since it hasn’t snowed heavily for a few days there was a trench in place, making this a class 1 trail all the way to treeline.

I followed the trail for 1.5 miles to a junction, then turned right, following the trail northeast towards Mt Yale.

After the junction the elevation gain picked up and the trail became icy in areas

At treeline the elevation gain became more intense. I kept heading northeast, rounding this hill

And coming to a larger hill to navigate. Here I passed two male hikers in their early 20s. I’m not sure when they started this morning, but they looked to be in good spirits and more than happy for me to start making tracks. Here’s how I navigated this obstacle

I wasn’t yet into the upper basin however. Here’s an overview of the rest of the route

And here’s step by step to the ridge. The snow was actually a few feet deep in areas, and I postholed a bit. No ice axe or snowshoes were necessary. I wore microspikes for the entire hike.

The weather was very nice today, but cold. Temperatures ranged from -3 degrees to 13 degrees, before windchill. I kept pumping my fingers back and forth to keep them warm, stopping every few feet to clap them together briskly. Strangely, my toes didn’t seem to get that cold. Luckily for me, this is my 4^th summit of Mt Yale, so I didn’t need a map: I knew where I was going and just kept heading towards the saddle. Once on the saddle I turned right and followed the icy ridge southeast towards the summit. Here’s the overall route

It was frigid, and icy, and windy, and cold! You can tell how cold by looking at the boulders

Here’s a look at the summit of Mt Yale

I summited Mt Yale at 11:05am. I was upset to find the camera I’d placed in-between my jackets to stay warm had once again frozen, so I had to use my cell phone for pictures.

It was very, very cold, so I didn’t stay long. I turned and headed back down the ridge

A shadowselfie just for fun!

Here’s the route down from the saddle

After making it back to the saddle I turned left and followed my tracks back down

About halfway back to treeline I passed the two young hikers again. They looked exhausted, but in good spirits. It was their first winter 14er, and I wished them luck. They were more than glad to be following my tracks. Here are my tracks back down to treeline.

Once back at treeline I followed the trench back to the trailhead. This part was fun; due to the light snow that fell overnight the wind was causing the snow on the branches to lift into the air and swirl to the ground. It was like it was snowing on a bluebird day.

I made it back to the trailhead at 12pm, making this a 9.58 mile hike with 4315’ of elevation gain in 6 hours. There were TONS of snowmobilers in the parking lot: more than I’ve ever seen at a trailhead before. They were loud, and I was glad I was done with my hike. No wonder I hadn’t seen any animals today!

Here’s a topo map of my route:

I usually wear sandals while driving home so my feet can dry out. Today, after putting on my sandals, I accidentally stepped in snow with my left foot and it instantly triggered an attack. My toes turned blue and stiffened. As I’m writing this it’s been almost 24 hours, and I still don’t have feeling in the two smallest toes on my left foot. Luckily however, they are now a normal color.

The Mt Yale Summit Sticker can be bought here

Mt Belford in Winter – 14,197

RT Length: 11.15.miles

Elevation Gain: 4764’

Note, this is the third time I’ve hiked Mt Belford, so this time I’ll just be giving a quick overview with a few pictures and thoughts. A full trip report can be found here for Mt Belford via Elkhead Pass, and here for Mt Belford and Mt Oxford in winter conditions.

Also note: whining ahead.

The last 3 miles to the Missouri Gulch trailhead were terrible! So bad I asked SkydiverHiker to drive. We were sliding in the ruts and eventually found a turnout about .7 miles from the trailhead and stopped there. This ended up being a fabulous idea, since the trailhead was too covered in snow to park. It looked like someone had tried and it took them quite a while to get out. This is the road to where we parked (easy until the plowing stopped)

Parking further away changed our plans a little, as it added an hour onto our trip. We decided we’d probably just hike Mt Belford today, and leave Oxford for another day. We were on the trail at 5:15am. Here’s a look at the Missouri Gulch Trailhead Parking area

We crossed clear creek and started ascending the side of the mountain wearing microspikes. We saw some elk tracks here, but luckily, no mountain lion tracks this time.

Once in the avalanche area the trench stopped. We crossed the drainage on some sketchy, snow covered logs

Then stopped for a bit to put on our snowshoes. These pictures were taken later in the day on our way back down, so you can see the trench. We put that trench in! I’ve done this hike several times, so I knew to aim for the trees, heading south

Once in the trees the trench picked up again until the cabin

Once past the cabin the trench stopped again. The wind in the gulch is fierce and I’m sure blows away trenches nightly that are made during the day. No worries though, we just headed through the gulch (still wearing our snowshoes) towards Mt Belford’s Northwest Ridge

As we were trying (unsuccessfully) to avoid the willows, I heard ptarmigans chirping, but couldn’t see them. Then, all of the sudden, a ptarmigan busted out from under the snow and walked away. It was here I learned ptarmigans huddle near the willows and stay in their air pockets when it snows to stay warm. They can do this for days, as their food source is under the snow as well. It was so cool to hear them calling to each other throughout the day!

We continued through the basin, only taking our snowshoes off once we reached the ridge. From here we followed the ridge to the summit.

I’m making this sound MUCH easier than it was. This is probably one of my most difficult winter summits to date. With my Raynaud’s I need to keep moving to stay warm, and while SkydiverHiker was doing an excellent job keeping up, we still stopped more than my body would have liked. In fact, about halfway up the ridge I was seriously thinking about turning back: my fingers and toes were burning and the wind was more intense than predicted. With windchill it was at least -20 degrees. We discussed turning back, and decided to continue on (Skydiver Hiker needed a ‘win’ today, and I wouldn’t let him go on without me). SkydiverHiker dropped his and we continued on up the ridge. I continued with my pack because I had an ice axe and essential gear. This continuing on included a lot of intense feelings and emotions, and there was some crying involved and also some nausea. Have you ever hurt so much you felt nauseous? Both SkydiverHiker and I felt that way today. But at least the pain told me I hadn’t lost anything to frostbite. While mountaineering is certainly physical, it’s emotional and a mind game you play with yourself as well. I felt as if I were dying every step of the way, not because I was tired, but because I felt my fingers and toes were on fire. I was dry sobbing at times.

We trudged to the top, where my camera stopped working (I really need to find a better cold-weather camera) so the photos we have are SkydiverHikers from his phone. About 20 yards from the summit SkydiverHiker laid down and didn’t want to get up. I didn’t know this, but his back had been really, really hurting him. This laying down right now was (of course) unacceptable, so I made him get up and lead the way to the summit.

We didn’t stay long, just long enough to get a photo of the summit marker, and then we were on our way back down.

Let me pause here to show you the great views of Missouri Mountain

The screaming and crying continued until we made it to where we were hiking in sunlight, near the base of the ridge. It’s amazing how the warmth of the sun made me feel better, even when it was still well below freezing. Once at the base of the ridge we donned our snowshoes once again and headed back out of the gulch, following our morning trail.

As we warmed up our spirits lifted and we were once again thrilled to be out here hiking. This is one of the most beautiful places in Colorado to hike, and we had it all to ourselves. Well, it was us and the chirping ptarmigans. We hiked back past the cabin and through the avalanche area, took off our snowshoes, and continued back to the trailhead in better spirits. Yes, this is a mental game.

We made it back to the truck at 1:15pm, making this an 11.15 mile hike with 4764’ of elevation gain in 8 hours.

Summit Sticker can be bought here

PT 10940 & PT 10770

RT Length: 8.32 miles

Elevation Gain: 2186’

Since the weather hasn’t changed since I was in the area a few days ago, I decided to get in a quick hike before work. Well, in the middle of work. I got up super early, worked for a bit, and then drove to the trailhead. The road in was still icy, and as I drove in the temperature gauge kept fluctuating between 0 degrees and 1 degree. It was cold!

I was on the trail at 6:45am. The trail starts behind this locked gate.

I travelled on this road (383) for 1.15 miles to the Crags Trailhead.

This trailhead will take you all the way to Pikes Peak. Instead, I followed the trail for half a mile, and then left the trail and continued up the ridge.

I was met with about 4 inches of snow, which was awesome! This meant I’d have an easy time re-tracing my steps back down. I followed the ridge as it wound northeast

Until I came to a rocky area. This rocky area kind of surprised me, and got more intense as I went on. It was all class 3, but with the snow it became a challenge at times to navigate.

Here I went down the chimney, and then skirted the rock formation to the left. This was the crux of the route.

That was the hardest move. From here it was a simple (but still rocky) trek to the summit.

There was a little bit of rock scrambling necessary to reach the summit.

I scrambled on over to the highest rock and sat quietly, looking down at the exposure.

And back on the way I’d hiked in

The sun had not yet risen over Pikes Peak, so it was still cold

I didn’t sit there long. Instead, I scrambled back down, placed a summit register in the opening between the rocks below the summit, and noticed this place got a lot of bird activity

Time to head back

Here’s that chimney I climbed down. Here’s how to climb back up

And then I followed the ridge back to the Crags Trail

Back at the Crags trailhead, I continued following the road south, past the Crags Campground (closed for the season)

I followed the road for just over half a mile until I came to a fork in the road and a locked gate to private property.

At the locked gate I turned right and headed west, across a meadow and then up the ridge

This entire hike is below treeline, so it’s difficult to gauge where you’re going. I just followed the rib/ridge west.

I passed some wiki-ups

And came to a large rock formation, which I skirted to the north to avoid

Once past the rock formation I kept heading west towards the highest point I could see

There wasn’t much of a view

I walked all around, looking for the highest rock, and placed a summit register there

And then followed my tracks back down to the dirt road.

Once on the road it was an easy 1.75 mile walk back to my truck and the trailhead

Along the way I saw a couple snowshoeing with their two dogs, who seemed to be quite enjoying the cold. It was now 16 degrees outside, which was a vast improvement on the 0 degrees from earlier this morning. I made it back to my truck at 11am, making this an 8.32 mile hike with 2186’ of elevation gain in 4 hours, 15 minutes.

Since I hadn’t made my 10 mile/4000’ goal for the day I went back home and hopped on the treadmill for a bit before resuming my day.

Raspberry Mountain – 10,605

RT Length: 6.5 miles

Elevation Gain: 1579’

I arrived at the trailhead to find the roads icy but plowed all the way to the winter closure. I was actually kind of surprised to find the gate closed, and this altered my plans just a little bit: I’d planned to drive down the road to other peaks after this one. With the road closed I didn’t have enough time. I parked my truck and gathered my gear, noticing there was a light on in the vehicle next to me. No one was inside the vehicle, and the doors were locked, so I couldn’t turn the lights off for them. I’m guessing they were hiking Pikes Peak today, and would most likely run down their battery. Luckily this is a popular trailhead, so they should be able to find help nearby.

It was a cold morning (once again, below 12 degrees) so I put on all my gear and set out just as it was beginning to get light. I love hiking without a flashlight! I walked past the gate and followed the road for .7 miles

After .7 miles I came to the Raspberry Mountain Trailhead

From here on it was a very simple hike: I just followed the bootpack. In summer months this would be an easy to follow trail. I had on microspikes, and didn’t need traction. From the trailhead it was 2.5 miles of hiking north to the summit, following the Ring the Peak Trail

I passed through a small meadow

And then gained and lost some elevation as I rounded the west side of the mountain. At the top of this small saddle there’s a trailhead of sorts. Turn left here

As I followed the trail I could see Raspberry Mountain in the distance. You actually summit from behind

I curved around the north side of the mountain and came to a rocky outcropping

This was class 3, but without any exposure and easy to navigate. I just heel-toed it up this ramp

And I’d made it to the summit. The summit had large rocks, but no exposure

There was also a nice view of the west side of Pikes Peak. This side doesn’t get much attention, I’m afraid.

There wasn’t a commit register, so I left one in an obvious place. This is a Teller County Highpoint, so I found it odd there wasn’t a register.

My camera stopped working about now. It froze, and I was told to replace the battery (this is what happens when it gets cold), and then when I tried to clean the lens the water instantly turned to ice. So I started using my cell phone. Did I mention it was quite windy and cold? Time to head back, first down the rocky area

Then re-tracing my steps back to the upper ‘trailhead’

And back to the lower trailhead

Following the dirt ‘road’ back to the gate closure

I made it back to my truck at 9:15am, with much of the day still ahead of me. There were quite a few vehicles parked at the trailhead at this time. Today had been much easier than I’d anticipated, so I drove home and hopped on the treadmill for an hour. Here’s a topo map of my route

Mt Sunflower – 4039, Kansas Highpoint

We live 3 hours away from this highpoint, so I’ve been saving it for a bad weather day, or a day in which I wasn’t able to hike but didn’t want to waste staying at home. Imagine my surprise when I asked my daughters if they wanted to go with me, and they said YES!

Since my oldest was going we decided to make this a write off (we’re starting a business) and get some pictures for our facebook page. We collected some stickers and snacks and were on our way.

The drive isn’t very pretty. There’s not much between where I live and the highest point in Kansas except wide, open fields. And no gas stations (this comes into play later). I stopped at the last place to get gas, did some mental calculations and figured I’d have just enough to get there and back without seeing a gas station, and we were on our way.

Also, we brought the cat. Westley is quite the road tripper. He likes to look out the window, and has no problem snuggling up on various laps during the drive. He’s not fond of getting out of the vehicle though.

Finally, after almost 3 hours of driving, we made it to a 12 mile dirt road that took us to the ‘summit’. It’s not a true summit, just the highest point, which was relatively flat. I drove 65mph down those dirt roads, kicking up dust. There was no one to see…

We pulled up and were the only ones at the site. Yep, THIS is the highest point in Kansas

I came prepared with all my gear, but was able to summit in just sandals. I got Rebecca to wear a helmet, and Emily felt confident summiting without gear, while also holding the cat.

We took a few photos just for fun, and then put one of our stickers into the mailbox (busines launch isn’t until next month).

They also have a nice little free library for anyone interested (bring a book to swap!)

2021 Hiking Related Goals – and Quandary Peak

Hike on 60 days this calendar year
Hike/walk/run/treadmill 2021 miles
Make it to 100 14ers (I’m currently at 94)
Hike/walk/run/treadmill elevation gain of 1 million feet
Summit a combined total of 10 winter 13/14ers
Finish the Bicentennials
Summit 3 new state highpoints outside of Colorado
Summit 3 new El Paso County Highpoints
Hike another section of the Colorado Trail
Keep my average above 10+ miles and 4000’+ of elevation gain per hike

Quandary Peak – 14,265

RT Length: 7.22 miles

Elevation Gain: 3444’

Just to get 2021 off to a good start, I set my alarm for early and made a reservation to hike the Manitou Springs Incline on New Years Day. Unfortunately, my alarm didn’t go off and I ended up missing my start time. I was super bummed, but I didn’t let it get me down: I still had enough time to get a hike in. I figured I’d just do Quandary Peak instead. This is the 4^th time I’ve hiked Quandary, and I’ve written several trip reports on the peak, so I’ll just post some pictures with highlights:

The road and trail was well packed down

This time I decided not to stop at all, and guess what? I had my fastest summit of Quandary Peak! There were tons of dogs on the trail today, and I even saw a group of skiers with guides. Here’s the summit

It was very, very cold today. It didn’t get above 18 degrees (that’s what the temperature was when I got back to my truck). There was a slight layer of frost on everything

Looking west

Heading back down I came across some BASE jumpers who were intending to jump from the summit. I didn’t think it was windy enough today. In fact, it was a perfect, bluebird day to go hiking!

I saw Mountain Goats on the way down, but they were kind of far away

Here’s a topo map of the route. I made it back to my truck at 11:45am, making this a 4 hour hike: 7.22 miles with 3444’ of elevation gain

The Quandary Peak Summit Sticker can be found here

2020 Stats of Goals

Here are my stats for my 2020 Hiking Related Goals:

Hike on 60 days this calendar year: I hiked 110+ days
Hike/walk/run/treadmill 2020 miles: Done: 2630 miles
Summit a combined total of 10 winter 13/14ers: I summited 12
Finish all the Bicentennials outside of the San Juans: Done
Hike in the San Juans at least 4 times: Done
Complete one new class 5 Bicentennial: Done (Coxcomb)
Summit 2 highpoints outside of Colorado: I summited 9
Summit 3 new El Paso County Highpoints: Done
Hike one section of the Colorado Trail: Sections 1-3, done
Complete Grand Canyon R2R: Done
Keep my average above 10+ miles and 4000’+ of elevation gain per hike: Almost. I averaged 12+ miles per hike with 3745’ of elevation gain

I was able to get in 164 peaks, 110 hikes, 1,315,869’ of elevation gain, and 2630 miles this year, so I’m considering my 2020 hiking adventures a success. On to 2021!

Rocky Mountain – 9250’ via Manitou Incline

RT Length: 5.14 miles

Elevation Gain: 3002’

I’ve done this hike several times, so today I’m just going to post some pictures. I started at 6am, and while the sun hadn’t yet risen the moon was full and bright. The moon was so full I didn’t need to use a flashlight as I hiked up the steps. I was able to make it to the top f the incline in 36 minutes, 19 seconds. That’s my second fastest time, and I’m proud to say I did it with full gear, snowshoes and all attached to my pack.

I tried out my photography sphere again, but it was really, really cold (12 degrees when I made it back to my truck) so I couldn’t position the camera right. I’ll keep practicing!

When I got to the top I wasn’t tired yet, so I decided to continue on to Rocky Mountain. The last bit is class 3, especially with snow.

There I made it just in time for the sunrise. And I got some pictures of Pikes Peak with the moon.

I got to hike down heading directly into the sun, which felt good on my face

Here’s a topo of the route

Humboldt Peak in Winter

RT Length: 14.02 miles

Elevation Gain: 5562’

This was my third time hiking Humboldt, but my first time in calendar winter. The last time I was here there was a terrible wind that was causing the snow to become clouds, and I couldn’t see the summit when I arrived (or my own 2 feet). This time I was here for better pictures of the route, and to count it as an official snowflake. I arrived at the South Colony Lakes lower trailhead and was the only one in the lot when I parked my truck. I put on my gear, using only microspikes as my footwear, and was on the trail at 4:30am. As usual in winter, the snow started just past the 2WD parking area. I always find it amusing to see how far the tire tracks try to go up the road. This time, they didn’t go far.

The snow on the road started right away, but there was a good trench. I followed the road for 2.3 miles to the junction with Rainbow Trail. It was still dark out, and as I rounded the last corner of the trail where I could still ‘see’ the trailhead I noticed there was another car parked there. It seems there would be hikers about a mile behind me today. Also, my flashlight started flickering. Time to change the batteries!

At Rainbow Trail the trench spiked, one side going towards Marble Mountain, the other towards Humboldt Peak’s East Ridge. There weren’t any tracks headed further down the road to South Colony Lakes. I turned right and followed Rainbow Trail for .5 miles.

I quickly came to a bridge, then took the trail to the top of a slope

At the top of the slope I was thrilled to see there was a trench in place leading up the ridge. Last time I did this hike I’d had to trench it myself, and it had taken quite a bit of work. Today, I was going to poach someone else’s trench! Woot!

And what a trench it was! I followed it as it for 2 miles as it ascended the east side of the ridge, all the way to treeline. Here’s an overview of the route up to Humboldt Peak

If you keep heading west and stick to the rib/ridge, it will take you to treeline. I could hear the wind above the trees, and got a bit anxious for the above treeline part of the hike.

As I hit treeline the sun started to rise. I took a few minutes to enjoy the view. (side note: there were a lot of rabbit tracks here)

The trench ended near treeline. I could see where it was supposed to go, so I kind of re-trenched it as best I could wearing just spikes.

Here’s the general overview of my route up the ridge

The wind had been intense all morning, but once I was above treeline it became difficult at times to even stay upright. So much for the forecased 11-17mph winds! I’d started early to avoid the most intense winds that were supposed to start around 11am, but it seems they started a little early. I had to hunker down at times and turn away from the wind, which turned the snowflakes into glass, and was side-stepping as I hiked just to stay in a straight line. I tried to take pictures, but unfortunately, wind is invisible. I kept my gloves on and was glad I’d put on my balaclava at the trailhead. Here are some pictures of the ridge.

Here I noticed some bighorn sheep in the distance. They also noticed me and trotted off.

At the top of the ridge was another ridge, so this had been a false summit. Here’s the actual summit of Humboldt Peak. It’s a straightforward ridge hike to the summit, nothing above class 2.

Here are some pictures of the ridge. There was some snow, but it was all firm enough not to need traction

On this part of the ridge the wind really picked up. I had to hide behind rock structures to get out of the brunt of it, and the noise it made as it came up and over the rocks was creepy. The balls of my feet were frozen at this point (due to Raynaud’s) and it felt like I was walking with large rocks in my shoes (I wasn’t, it was just the ball of my foot that had frozen). Several times I hunkered down to maintain my balance, but it was still a straightforward ridge hike.

I knew I’d made it to the summit when I found the wind breaks. I never saw a summit marker, but I don’t think there’s one here?

I’ve summited Humboldt Peak twice before, so I knew I was at the summit at the first wind break, but I walked further west for better pictures.

I summited Humboldt Peak at 9:45am

Humboldt Peak:

The views of the Crestones/Sange de Cristo range were beautiful!

Time to head back down the ridge

The wind was still fierce, and I was worried I was getting a nasty windburn in all the areas my balaclava didn’t cover. The wind speeds weren’t supposed to be this high, so I’d left my goggles at my truck. Note to self: next time, bring the goggles. On my way back down the ridge I saw the Bighorn Sheep again. They quickly turned when they saw me and headed over the mountainside. There was a big drop on the other side, and I was surprised I couldn’t see them again when I passed.

This was a simple ridge stroll, or, it would have been, without the wind

Here’s looking at my route back down the ridge to treeline

Here I met some hikers heading up. The wind had died down considerably by this point, so I figured they had the better weather of the day (I found out later it picked back up again, and they said their summit was just as windy as mine). My feet started to de-thaw, and I had a minor Raynaud’s attack: think insane pins and needles as the blood started flowing again. It lasted about 30 minutes, and to combat it I just kept hiking. On a positive note, I could feel my toes! Finding my tracks back to the trail was a bit of a challenge, but I came across them eventually.

Then I followed the trench back to Rainbow Trail. I should have put on snowshoes here, as I postholed ever 30 feet or so, but I really didn’t want to stop. I was just glad I’d started early enough in the day not to need snowshoes (spikes worked just fine). Anyone heading back down later than me would need snowshoes.

Once back at the trail I followed it a half mile to South Colony Lakes Road

Once on the road I hiked the 2.3 miles back to the trailhead, noticing a lot of dog tracks along the way. As I neared the trailhead I saw a couple walking with two beautiful dogs. It seems they were out on a day hike, and I thought this was a great idea, as it was a beautiful day below treeline.

Here’s a look at the trailhead on my way back. Easily 2WD accessible.

I made it back to my truck at 1pm, making this a 14.02 mile hike with 5563’ of elevation gain in 8.5 hours.

Unfortunately, when I made it back to my truck I could hear the conversation the couple with the dogs were having. The man kept cussing at his female companion, and the dogs, over simple things like an overturned water bowl. To me there’s no need for vulgar words, and he was using multiple ones in each sentence he uttered. I felt the urge to say something, but no one else in his party seemed to mind his behavior, so I kept it to myself. I’m not sure why women allow themselves to be treated that way?

The Humboldt Peak Summit Sticker can be bought here

Boss Lake

RT Length: 4.64 miles

Elevation Gain: 1260’

This year we rented a cabin up near Salida for a few days before Christmas. There wasn’t ny internet/cell service, so we spend time cooking, baking, watching movies, and putting together a puzzle.

We were supposed to leave early Christmas morning, so we pretended Christmas Eve was Christmas day. After opening presents we went sledding on a nearby hill, which was actually a street. It didn’t matter though: the girls had fun!

We were done sledding around 10am and the girls wanted a nap, so I decided to go hiking. It was too late to climb a peak, so I decided to hike to Boss Lake instead, a lake at the base of two prominent 13ers in the area.

I’ve hiked past the Boss Lake Trailhead a couple of times, and was told the lake was only about .3 miles from the trailhead. Spoiler alert: It’s actually closer to a mile. On my way up 4WD road 230 I saw some skiers heading down. They told me they’d just come from the hut. I didn’t know there was a hut in the area? Next time I’m going to have to try and find it.

The trail was nicely packed down along the road, but as soon as I came to the trailhead that ended and it was time to put on my snowshoes. It was 1.5 miles from the parking area to the trailhead (Boss Lake Trail 1420). I trenched all the way to the lake in snow at least 2 feet deep.

It was nice to be on another section of the Colorado Trail. It seems there’s also a new hostel in the area that caters to thru-hikers

I crossed the bridge and trenched a mile to the lake, where the snow suddenly stopped

I was hoping to find a nice, frozen lake, but instead I found a large pond covered in snow. There was a cool building next to the lake. It was locked.

I took a selfie to prove I was there and headed back

The trek out was easier than the trek in, as I just followed my trench

I met some nice people along the way, who were snowshoeing for the first time with their Sheba. They were thankful for the trench, and I told them to try hiking for a bit off trench, just to get a real feel for snowshoes.

I made it back to my truck and felt the day had been too easy, but at least I’d burned some calories, and this was vacation after all.