Fall River Road Reservoir Snowshoe

Distance: 6 miles RT
Elevation: 9,580-10,810 ft
Elevation Gain: 1,230 ft

On our last two snowshoes to Summit County we have been stopped at the Eisenhower tunnel. We could not tell if there was an accident, hazardous cargo, or the whim of some whacked out CDOT employee causing this new phenomenon. The eastbound tunnel was closed then reopened, then closed, and then reopened etc. in a twenty-minute cycle designed to bring maximum road rage to all the cars and trucks clinging precipitously to the steep slope before the tunnel. We swore not to get stuck again and so opted for a trip on the eastern side of the divide. Trails on this side of the mountains have the advantage of avoiding traffic but have the disadvantage of less snow and more ice. Fall River Road was no exception.

The trail head starts at a sharp turn in the road around 6.8 miles, according to our guidebook, up Fall River Road. Note that this is the second sharp switchback and the distance, at least according our odometer was more like 8 miles. There is a large house right at this turn and cars parked willy-nilly along the road. Be advised that parking here is very limited. As it was one of the residents put a note on our car asking us not to park there at all. They should contact the publishers of “Snowshoeing Colorado” if they want deter folks from using this trail. Until it is unpublished, power hounds will continue to show up.


The trail is mostly in the trees with one mountain view around half way up at a switch back in the road. Presumably, you can see views of Mt. Bancroft and Mt. Perry but on this day, everything was enshrouded in clouds. At one point the trail seems to dead end into a wall of trees. At this point go to your left and head up through the trees some more. The trail is increasingly steep here and wind swept. There were quite a few areas of bare road and rock. You can tell by the twisted trees and ice sculptors at the reservoir itself that wind is not uncommon in this area. Lower down we had stripped down to our skivvies because of the warmth. By the time we reached the reservoir, we were fully loaded with goggles and facemasks. Lounging at the reservoir was not on the menu.

There did not appear to be any water in the reservoir and I have been told that the avalanche danger increases significantly beyond it so we turned around at this point. On a nice day, the peak behind the reservoir might have added to the view. On this day it just made it seem that much more cold.

Given the scarcity of views, the militant residents, and the limited snow, I am not sure I will do this trail again. Still, it was better than sitting on the couch eating Doritos.

Francie's Cabin Snowshoe

Trail Length: 4.8 miles round trip
Elevation: 10,380 ft to 11,264 ft
Elevation gain: 896 ft
Dogs: Off leash. Not allowed near the cabin
Bathroom at Trailhead: No
Date Snowshoed: Feb 2008
Tags: #snowshoe, #breckenridge, #hut, #coloradooutdoors, #10thmountain

Francie's Cabin near Breckenridge CO

Francie’s Cabin near Breckenridge CO, is part of the 10th Mountain Division’s hut system. It was built in 1994 and sits at 11,294 ft. It sleeps twenty in both summer and winter.

To get to the trail, head up Crown Drive, which is 2.1 miles from the middle of Breckenridge (Skill Hill Road). Don’t take the new Hwy 9 bypass if you want to track this mileage. Crown Hill Road becomes Spruce Creek Road. Follow this until it dead ends at the trailhead. On the left is the Mohawk Lakes trailhead and sign. Don’t go this way. Continue up Spruce Creek Road itself. You should see track at the far end of the parking area.

Treelined route

The trail begins in the trees and then opens up at the intersection of the Wheeler Trail at 1.3 miles. From this point the trail traverses meadows and hillsides with views to the south. There are two gates to pass along the way. It is 0.8 miles beyond the Wheeler Trail junction to the junction of the Crystal Creek trail, which comes in from the right. The trail makes several sharp turns all the while heading upwards. The cabin can be seen in the distance half way up the last slope. The smell the wood smoke will lure you on long before you see the cabin itself.

Leadville Snowshoe: Lower Mosquito Pass Road to County Road 3B

Distance: 3 miles round trip
Elevation: 10,900 ft -11,200 ft
Elevation gain: 300 ft
Bathroom at Trailhead: No
Dogs: Off leash
Tags: #snowshoe, #leadville, #coloradooutdoors

Looking east towards the Mosquito Range from County Road 3B in Leadville CO 

Leadville is known for both wide open spaces and lots of snow.  That makes Leadville a great snowshoe destination.  One of the lesser known routes starts out on Mosquito Pass Road (County Road 3) and then turns south onto County Road 3B. The latter climbs sharply, which affords lovely views of the entire area.

Map of the area showing where the parking usually is and the turn onto County Road 3B

The parking area where the road is no longer plowed

County Road 3 makes a sharp right turn and crosses the Evans Gulch drainage.

Looking west down the drainage at snowy Mt. Massive 

To get to this snowshoe, take County Road 3 out of the middle of leadville and head east. This road is plowed but will most likely be snowpacked. Pass under the bridges for the Mineral Belt Trail and stop at the small parking are were the road is no longer plowed. While the berm indicating the spot may appear small don't go any further or you risk getting stuck until spring.

Snowmobile tracks

All of the mounds are mine tailings.

Cabin and tailings covered in snow

This area is frequented by snowmobiles, which can be an advantage. Their tracks will keep you on the road and not wandering off into one of the many mining ruins in the area. In winter these ruins are transformed into quaint Santa Claus villages.

Ruins, ruins, everywhere

Heading west on County Road 3B

On the map, County Road 3B turns off to the right at two locations, the first just after the road bends south. On this trip, that turn was under several feet of snow. Instead we continued on County Road 3 almost to the Diamond Mine before turning eastward.

Turning around and heading back down

Blue skies, Mt. Massive in the distance, and lots of happy snowshoers 

The reality, this area is crisscrossed by roads. Depending on the snow depth, all sorts of routes should be possible. One particularly scenic option is to just continue up County Road 3 (View Mosquito Pass Road Snowshoe). On that road, you can go all the way to the pass or turn around at any point.

Vance’s Cabin Snowshoe

Distance: 6 miles round trip
Elevation: 10, 550-11,120 ft
Elevation gain: 1,040 ft
Dogs: Not near the cabin
Date snowshoed: 19 January 2008
Bathroom at Trailhead: In the ski resort
Tags: #snowshoe, #coloradooutdoors, #skicooper, #tenneseepass, #10thmountain, #hut

Standing on the back of Vance's Cabin, near Ski Cooper (Leadville)

A trip to Vance’s cabin near Ski Cooper/Leadville is a moderate snowshoe with potentially spectacular views of nearby 14ers as well as the Continental Divide. On this trip most of the views were diluted with low hanging clouds. Since the cabin is well used in both winter and summer this is not a trail for total solitude. Vance’s cabin is the smallest hut in the 10th Mountain Division’s hut system.

From the Ski Cooper parking lot head up the side road to the obvious sign and take a left.

After making the left at the sign, the route travels up a small drainage towards are large meadow.

The trail to Vance's cabin starts at Ski Cooper, at the top of Tennessee Pass. From the parking area there is a maintenance road heading east with a prominent red sign that reads “Vance’s Cabin” in 2000 pt font.

Turning left (west) and heading up a large meadow.

The first half-mile of the trail is along a well-groomed road bordered on the left by a creek and the right by drifting banks. An equally prominent sign marks the next turn off. This one has a large arrow pointing to the left.

Approaching the far end of the meadow.

After this well-marked left turn, the trail crosses a creek and heads up a wide valley. Mid-way up the trail turns sharply upwards to the left and climbs 300 feet. At the top are two large meadows that are perfect for power hopping. I would have killed for a clear day because this spot must contains some lovely views to the east.

After the meadow, the trail spends a part of time in the trees.

After the meadows the trail continues for 1.5 miles through the trees. Modern art sculptures abounded as the copious “snow blobs” transformed both tree and stump into mythical creatures.

The final pitch to the cabin is down a broad slope.

The trees end at the highest point of the trail, which resides at 11,300 ft. From here descend down a broad slope to the cabin. The slope is dotted with the burnt out remnants of a long forgotten fire.

The interior of Vance's Cabin

Royal Arch: Boulder's Stair-Master

Distance: 3 miles round trip
Elevation: 5,680 to 6,950 ft
Elevation gain: 1,270 ft
Dogs: Off leash with Boulder Voice and Sight tag
Bathroom at the Trailhead: Yes
Other trails in the area: Gregory Canyon, Green Mountain, Bear Peak,
South Boulder Peak, Mallory Cave, Mt. Sanitas
Tags: #Boulder, #osmp, #hiking, #coloradooutdoors, #boosttraining, #gearguide
Books: Hiking Guide to Boulder

The last few rocky steps to Royal Arch in Boulder, CO 

Come spring, I head to Boulder, CO and all the trails that ascend along the flatirons. There is no better training for summer hiking than a trail with lots of elevation gain. Royal Arch may be short, but with all the "stairs" it packs a punch. I typically make it to the arch in 50 minutes or less and gratefully suck wind while admiring the expansive views of the plains and nearby rock formations.

Starting out on Chautauqua Road

The first part of the trail is light dirt and rocks in a dark Ponderosa Pine forest

The trail quickly begins to climb up a series of rock steps

The trail itself starts out at Chautauqua and ascends along a flat road to the official trailhead. The Royal Arch Trail quickly becomes narrow and rocky as it switchbacks up the hillside deep in the shade of the rocks, pines, and thick riparian foliage. Most of the trail is large stone steps that are a challenge for short-legged folks and will make you wish you had spent more time on a StairMaster. After the 2013 flood, the trail was rerouted.

The flatirons are visible through the trees

View through the trees from the false summit looking at the rocks ahead

Standing on the false summit and looking down the sharp decent

Three quarters of the way up is a false summit. There are impressive views of the plains here and a nice log to sit and rest on. The trail descends sharply for 150 ft or so before angling upwards again. After more steps, more logs, and more lactic acid build-up, one will finally see the arch. It is actually quite large, and the rocks on the other side provide raptor-like perches for the downing of trail munchies. You can't see the Royal Arch from the road, nor can you see it from NCAR although it seems very close when viewed from the rocks surrounding the arch.

At the bottom of the descent

On the south side of the arch looking back through it

The view from the rock pile on the south side of the arch. The pink building on the hill is NCAR

This trail can get crowded and parking can be in short supply.  I go after work when the days starting getting longer. Don't forget to bring hiking poles, which can provide stability on the return trip and help prevent quad burn out.

Looking north through the arch itself

Mt. Tallac, South Lake Tahoe, CA

Trail Length: 9.6 miles RT
Elevation: 6,480-9,735 ft
Elevation gain: 3,255 ft
Difficulty: Strenuous
Critters: Bears!


Tallac Peak viewed from below
After a week in Reno for the annual Supercomputing conference, a friend and I took off for Lake Tahoe. I used to go there as a kid, but have not been back in over ten years. I was amazed by how blue the lake was.

We stopped into the local visitor's center and puffed out our chests. "We're from Colorado, what is the hardest hike you have around here?". The young man behind the counter gleefully told us about Mt. Tallac and seemed suitably impressed with our hiking ambitions. He said most tourists just wanted 1/2 mile nature walks. We were feeling holier than thou and motivated for the next day. By the time we would finish however, we would gain new respect for the Tahoe area and their "tiny peaks".

The Tallac trail starts upward immediately and winds through ponderosa pines and up and down ridges. There are three lakes to see along the way. Long Leaf lake is very long indeed and the trail climbs up along a high ridge looking down on the lake. You can see views of the casinos in the distance. The other two lakes are called Floating Island and Cathedral lakes. They are more like ponds, the first being filled with Mallards and the second being surrounded by a rocks and drift wood. Above Cathedral lake is a lovely rock terrace perfect for lounging and trail bar munching. You can see Cathedral Lake below and finally a stellar view of Tahoe itself. After the shelf the trail climbs sharply up to the top of a ridge. The trail was steep and rocky, in fact infuriatingly rocky. The forest service laid down large and small gravel the entire length of the trail, so it was like walking on talus for 10 miles. My boots kept slipping and the sharp stones were irritating after a while.

Once on top of the ridge, the trail climbs behind the mountain and the view shift to glimpses of the continental divide for the Sierra Nevada Range. We could not tell which of the scree fields to our right was the summit. It turns out it was still quite a ways away and still a significant up. The views from the summit were spectacular as you can image. Tahoe is impressive in both size and color and the sweeping extent of the Sierras was beautiful to behold.

Without poles, the hike up was harder than I anticipated, particular on all the loose rock. I was also carrying two peoples worth of food, water, and clothing because my friend conveniently did not bring a pack. We had anticipated freezing temps given that this was Nov 17th and a front was due in. The weather held though and I hiked in my base layer most of the day. At the top we donned hats and soft shells to fight the wind but it was quite pleasant.


View from the summit
In November, one is always fighting the lack of daylight. We got started at 9:30 am and reached the top four hours later. It took us 3 hours to decent and we made it down just as it was getting dark, so our time on the top was miserably short. The lateness in the day did bring out the bears, however. I alas only saw a brown furry butt scurrying off into the chaparral. By then I did not care and just wanted to get down and off to our fine dinning event at Tahoe's Evan's Restaurant. A religious experience I will have to relate in a separate post.

Eccles Pass

Distance: 10.4 miles round trip
Elevation: 9,150 to 11,917 ft
Elevation gain: 2,760 ft (net), 2,920 ft (cumulative)
Bathroom at Trailhead: No
Dogs: Off leash until the Wilderness boundary
Date Hiked: 25 August 2007

Looking at Red Buffalo Pass from Eccles Pass near Frisco Colorado. 

The trail to Eccles Pass near Frisco,  Colorado is a grueling climb to one of the most spectacular passes in the Gore Range. Mostly in the Eagles Nest Wilderness, the trail is wild and rocky with little improvements. The majority of the route is through a dense forest with only the final approach to the pass being open and airy.  The destination is worth the suffering, however. The views from Eccles Pass are mythical in scope.

The Meadow Creek Trailhead

A typical rocky trail segment. This shot is close to the trailhead where Aspens dominate. 

The trail starts at the Meadow Creek Trailhead, located at the first Frisco Exit (coming from Silverthorne). This trailhead also serves Lilly Pad Lake, which splits off at 0.56 miles.  For the next 3.0 miles, the route is rather monotonous. Trees block out the sun, and rocks cover the trail. 0.6 miles further on is a the second of three meadows. This one is the first to provide any views of the surrounding peaks and is a welcome break to the relentless climbing.

Junction with the Lilly Pad Lake Trail. Meadow Creek stays left. 

The first of several meadows that provide a welcome break to the dark forest. 

The junction with the Gore Range Trail occurs at 4.45 miles (2,272 ft elevation gain) in the middle of a large meadow. It is here that the first views of the pass appear. Having already completed most of the distance and elevation gain by this point, the pass looked trivial to ascend.  Like most vistas in Colorado, however, looks can be deceiving, and last bit was steeper than expected.

Eccles Pass comes into view. 

The trails through the meadows are less rocky. That is Chief Mountain in the distance. 

The view from the pass looks down upon an idyllic bowl with Red Mountain Pass forming the western wall, Buffalo Mountain the eastern wall, and the Willow Creek drainage cutting through it. Small tarns dot the valley, which on this trip was verdant under late summer skies. With no thunderstorms in sight, we were able to lounge on the pass and wallow in the sunshine. For the uber energetic, it is only another 1.5 miles across to Red Buffalo Pass.

Final approach to the pass. This last segment was harder than it looked. 

Looking down the South Willow drainage on the eastern side of the bowl. 

While other passes are easier to get to,  Eccles Pass has the advantage of being close to civilization yet free of the teaming hordes. Not only will you experience superlative views, you will be able to eat anything you want by the time you return! Just bring along a chatty friend so you don't die of ennui on the long slog through the forest.

Aspen Gauntlet on Kenosha Pass

I grew up in California and my mother and I would take an annual pilgrimage to the Sierra Nevada Mountains in search of any color. It was rare indeed. A single tree would have us all a tingle. A small grove would elicit a near epileptic seizure. We would return from these expeditions ready to cook squash on the backyard BBQ, convinced we were awash in Fall’s mantel. My father, who grew up near Boston, viewed these events with typical East Coast noblesse oblige. He would look at us over the brim of his book with a condescending “foolish mortals” gaze. We were indeed so naïve. While it is true that the East Coast has those vibrant reds and cascading hillsides, Colorado has snow-capped peaks reflected in still lakes dripping with reflected gold. Having to burn a few calories to see it is an added value in my mind.

So, for this weekends leaf-popping expedition, a friend and I headed up highway 285 to Kenosha Pass. I have driven over this pass many times but confess have never stopped to cruise along the Colorado Trail that cuts across the road. We got an early 0730 start from the Denver Metro Area and were parked on the south side of the pass by 0915. While you can see the hillside of aspen from the road, what you cannot see is the sheer size of the Aspen trees in the nearest grove. This was Disneyland for leaf hounds. The trees towered overhead and swayed dangerously in the stiff 25mph breeze. The trail curved seductively here and there leading the walker onward. The path and air were strewn with leaves falling and fallen creating a golden ticker tape parade.

The Colorado trail continues south with sweeping views of South Park and the mountains beyond. We turned around after about two hours because it was beginning to rain. Upon return to the trailhead, we were greeted by 10,000 other peepers crowding into the parking lots and blocking the road. The take home point for this post is get and early start.