Westminster Hills Snowshoe

Distance: 3 mile loop
Elevation: 5,500 ft - 5,600 ft
Elevation Gain: 100 ft
Dogs: Off leash (Run baby run!!)
Bathroom at the trailhead: No

Two feet of snow covers the wide expanse of the Westminster Hills Dog Park.  All the pictures in this post were taken blindly (due to sun glare) with the camera on my phone.

Westminster Hills is an open space dog park near the Broomfield Airport.  I take Ginger, the hyper one, there at least 4 days a weeks because she can roam over the entire 400 + acres of prairie while I run the trails.  After the February 2012 dumper (24 inches and counting), the park was transformed into rolling hills of crystalline beauty.  I grabbed a pair of showshoes and left the normal trails to bushwhack in a fit of childish glee.  What is it about breaking the rules that feels so naughty?  As you can sense, I don't allow myself to do that often.

Route taken.  If you zoom in on the map you can see the dotted outline of some of the trails.  They have greatly expanded in the last few years.

The well tracked entrance to the park

Looking south to the southern plateau.  You can sense the snow depth.

Heading south to the top of the southern plateau.  This segment was along an official trail.

On the southern plateau looking southwest towards the hills

The open space consists of a large meadow bordered on either side by plateaus that rise around 100 feet higher than the surrounding area.  A gully travels between the two into a distant and deep field transected by power lines.  You can loop the meadow,  go "up the gut", take either of the plateau routes, head to the "back 40" or any combination of these.  When I run, I can loop around and get in 4 miles.  On this trip I ignored these established routes and tried to find the deepest snow.  The route turned out to be around 3 miles according to the GPS on my phone.

The trail across the southern plateau is around 0.75 miles long.  That is the Boulder Flatirons in the distance.

At the far end of the "Back 40"

Walking along the edge of the northern plateau where the snow was deepest

Heading back down to the trailhead.  The trail "up the gut" is slightly visible on the hillside to the right.

A giant cottonwood borders a small pond that fills with water in the spring.  Water loving dogs romp there with their owners.

North Table Mountain

Distance: 5.5 mile loop
Elevation: 6,030 ft - 6,485 ft
Elevation Gain: 455 ft
Bathroom at Trailhead: Yes
Dogs: Leash Only

Ancient lava forms a basaltic cap on top of North Table Mountain

Ever seen a Coors commercial showing majestic Mt. Wilson?  This peak is actually located in the southwest corner of the state but Coors likes to pretend its brewery is near this scenic edifice when in fact, it is sandwiched between North and South Table Mountains in Golden, CO.  These mesas are just as much a part of Colorado topography as Mt. Wilson, but the marketers obviously found their unique rock formations too mundane to sell beer.  Don't fall into the same trap.  A stroll to the top of these eroded monoliths is a pleasant excursion for the whole family.  I have already profiled the Lubahn Trail, which goes to the top of South Table Mountain.  Another unseasonably warm day in January 2012 was an opportunity to visit the area's northern cousin.

Large Parking Lot

Map of the area and our route

Rabbitbrush along the side of the initial ascent

This wide road forms part of the North Table Loop

While the Lubahn Trail, is more of a neighborhood trail (e.g. you have to know it exists), North Table Mountain is an Jefferson County Open Space park with a large parking lot and bathroom.  Getting to the top of the mesa is easy, there is a large, obvious road that heads up from the parking lot.  We passed several families with small children whose little feet could easily navigate the gravel road.  This road is part of the North Table Loop and it is 0.7 miles to the top of the mesa.  Once at the top, the route splits with the North Table Loop continuing to the right while the Tilting Mesa veers off to the left.

Trail junctions are marked with large rock signs.

The distant rock formations along the Tilting Mesa Trail with pockets of ice

The wide open expanse of the Tilting Mesa Trail.  Could you tell that you are on top of a mesa and not out on the eastern plains?

The far end of the Mesa Top Trail, just as it descends to the other side

Having never been to this area, I wanted to explore it as much as possible, so we took the Tilting Mesa Trail which heads off to the northern side of the mesa.  This area is dominated by distant rock formations (they are sequestered behind do not enter signs), flat grasslands, and an open sky that seemed to stretch all the way to Never Never Land.  We could see Mule Deer  wandering across a distant hill while runners and mountain bikers dotted the landscape.

Heading down the other side

Heading north on the North Table Loop

Heading East on the North Table Loop

At the three-way junction of Tilting Mesa, Rim Rock, and  Mesa Top Trails, we decided to head east on the Mesa Top Trail, which ended up taking us down the other side of the mesa.  At the bottom this became the North Table Loop Trail again,  which we followed all the way back around to the parking area.  This part of the route was slow going.  The trail was full of mud and ice.  I fell at least twice in spots where the slightest incline turned the trail into an commercial for high-powered laundry detergent. 

Houses appear, but we are a long way off yet

The icy and muddy trail and occasional inclines made for difficult walking.  There was no one else on the trail.

Several bridges cross drainages coming off the mesa

If I were to go again, I might choose to head out the Rim Rock Trail, which deadends on top of the mesa, and then turn around and return the way I came.  I can see in the spring when the grasses are green and the trails are dryer, this open space would a great spot for a sunset stroll.
 

At last we return to the parking lot

Buffalo Cabin Snowshoe

Distance: 3 miles round trip
Elevation: 9,760 ft - 10,619 ft
Elevation Gain: 700 ft
Date Hiked: 15 January 2012
Dogs off leash:  Until Eagles Nest Wilderness Boundary
Bathroom at trailhead: No

The view of Lake Dillon, the Continental Divide and the condos of Wildernest from 700 ft up Buffalo Mountain

Buffalo Mountain (12,777 ft) is the large as in very large as in immensely large round mountain you see after jetting down from the Eisenhower Tunnel heading west.  Climbing Buffalo Mountain (3 miles/3,017 ft elevation gain) is one of the steepest ascents around but snowshoeing 1/3 of the way to the summit to the ruins of Buffalo Cabin is something mere mortals can do.   While devoid of views unless you press on for at least another 0.2 miles, it is very popular with the locals.  This is in fact why I was on this trail.  I wanted something close by to exercise both the dog and myself on a Sunday afternoon.

Standing at the trailhead and looking at the parking lot.  The trail to Lilly Pad Lake is just around the bend.

The trailhead

The route starts at the Buffalo Cabin Trailhead, 3.5 miles up Ryan Gulch Road (one of two main roads that shoots straight up the mountain's slopes).   Note this road starts out as Wildernest Road lower down.  This trailhead shares a parking lot with Lilly Pad Lake, which you can also access from Frisco.

Playing with the shadows on the snow.

The route is easy to follow if a bit monotonous.  You pass the Wilderness Boundary at 0.36 miles and come to a 4-way junction at 0.6 miles.  Go straight to intersect the Gore Range Trail and South Willow Falls, go right to dead end at the end of the other road that goes up the mountain, and go left to continue climbing.

Typical trail segment.  Packed snow in the trees

There are actually several ruins of cabins along the way but it can be hard to tell in the snow.  The first one appears around 0.95 miles while the official (e.g. largest) one occurs shortly thereafter at 1.1 miles.  All that remains of these cabins are a few logs piled on top of each other.

Trail sign at the 4-way junction

I had snowshoed this trail before but it had been 9 years ago and my memory was very foggy.   I do remember reaching a point where I could not go any further and this trip was no exception.  On this trip, I was in microspikes and reached the point where the angle of the trail became very steep.  Snowshoes and poles would have been required to go any further.   I snapped a few photographs of the views and headed back down.  This spot is only a few tenths of a mile beyond Buffalo Cabin, but it is up and around another switchback.

The ruins of Buffalo Cabin.  With all the downed trees it is hard to tell what is a tree and what is a cabin log.

Buffalo Mountain was so named because it reminded the early settlers of the large hump of a buffalo.  There are two prominent avalanche shoots that the grace the eastern side.  These slid in 1986 and 2003.  The large cirque that is also one of the prime identifying feature was carved by glaciers.

The view at the turn around point

I would not send tourists on this trail since there are so many more scenic options in the area, but for general exercise this trail will get your heart pumping and burn off last night's fried chicken wings.  Sometimes that is all you want.