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.
Wild Wanderer 