Lilly Pad Lake Snowshoe (via the Ryan Gulch Trailhead)

Distance: 3.4 miles round trip
Elevation: 9,619 ft - 9,915 ft (high pt is 10,003 ft)
Elevation gain: 314 ft (net), 900 ft (cumulative)
Dogs: Technically on leash (wilderness), but nobody does

Lilly Pad Lake

The winter trail to Lilly Pad Lake in Silverthorne is a short and serene winter outing. It is great for an afternoon dog walk or a post-death march must-I-really-get-off-couch excursion. The trail winds through an open Lodgepole forest, that is admittedly mostly beetle kill. Covered in snow, however, the stark brown trees lose their funereal aspect. There are at least two pleasant meadows en route and the lake, while surrounded by trees, is a pleasant if uninspiring destination.

The trailhead

The storage tank (covered in snow)

There are several routes to Lilly Pad Lake. This post profiles the route from the Ryan Gulch Road Trailhead, which also serves Buffalo Cabin. The Lilly Pad Lake trailhead is at the far end of the parking area and is marked by a large trail kiosk. The trail heads sharply upwards for a 300 ft elevation gain in only 0.17 miles. At the top of this lung buster is a small storage tank and metal tower. The best views on the trail occur in this short stint. Grays and Torreys, Lake Dillon, Square Top Mountain, and the booming Starbucks up highway 6 are all visible on a clear day.

Intersection with the Salt Lick Trail

One of the more scenic meadows

Other milestones along the trail include a nice meadow at 0.82 miles (9,846 ft), the junction with the Salt Lick Trail at 1.2 miles (10,003 ft), a very large meadow at 1.64 miles (9,927 ft), and finally the lake at 1.7 miles (9,915 ft). You may be able to tell by the list elevations, that this trail goes up and down quite a bit. If one is fresh, the hilly terrain features will provid a welcome cardio vascular boost. If one is recovering from a 14er, the small hills will cause unwelcome quad burn and impolite cursing in a foreign language.

Snow splattered Lodgepole Pines. This tree gets its name from Indians who used the narrow trunks as the center pole of their homes.

On this trip, Silverthorne had just woken up from a nice winter storm. Each narrow Lodgepole tree trunk was splattered with snow reminiscent of a girls-gone-wild whipped cream frat house initiation. Only the north sides of the trees were so decorated. Considering that I did this trail on Valentines Day, I was feeling very left out of Mother Nature's coed frivolity. The large heart that someone had stomped in an adjacent pond, made up for it however.

The lake was covered with 6 inches of snow. I was not brave enough to walk all the way out, but others had.

A Lilly Pad Lake snowshoe is not a stunner, but it is short, easy, and accessible. These are three things that should not be discounted. Sooner or later you'll be looking for a trail just like this.

Peak 1 (12,933 ft) of the Tenmile Range is just visible above the trees. On this snowy day we hardly saw it.

Egg Yolk Lichen

Egg Yolk Lichen (Candelariella rosulans)

The only color you see this time of year are the bright colors of lichens clinging doggedly to the rocks. They stand out like face paint at the Superbowl.

You've heard the torrid story of lichens haven't you? It is the naughty tale of Freddy Fungus and Alice Algae and how they took a lichen to each other and now live in SIN-biosis. I giggled girlishly when my mother first told me that story on a summer camping trip. Ah, the things that entertained us before iPods. Alice is not quite the perfect kept woman. While Freddy provides the home she provides the food. Because of this, lichens only need air and water to grow.

Egg Yolk Lichens (Candelariella rosulans) are common throughout Colorado. They are crustose in form and can cover huge rock faces. I like lichens because they remind me that Nature can colonize any habitat no matter how harsh. A little chartreuse on a dreary winter day is not bad either.

Jones Pass Snowshoe

Distance: 4 miles round trip
Elevation: 10,478 ft-11,800 ft
Elevation Gain: 1,322 ft
Dogs: Off leash

Jones Pass

You won't find Jones Pass in any snowshoe books, but don't lets its absence deter you. This location near the Winter Park Ski Resort is a keeper. The bowls surrounding the pass are some of the most stunning winter scenery I have ever seen. It certainly rivals Saints John near the Breckenridge Ski Resort and Mayflower Gulch near the slopes of Copper Mountain. The downside of the area is the snowmobiles, which periodically zoom around the bowl and a snow cat service that takes backcountry skiers to the upper reaches of Jones Pass Road.

Starting up the trail from the parking lot. Note the well traversed snow.

The junction between the Jones Pass (to the right) and Bulter Gulch (to the left) trails

The turn off to leave the road. The Forest Service marker is barely visible in the shade.

The noise and exhaust of the machines can be avoided, however, by leaving Jones Pass Road and following a tree shrouded, blue blazed winter trail up a creek drainage. This route also has the advantage of cutting a mile off the journey.

A typical segment in the trees

This is the spot where we avoided the more well traveled trail that went back to the road and instead started breaking trail up the narrow shelf.

The snow cat passed us just as we were exiting the trees and regaining the road.

This route to the Jones Pass area begins at the Butler Gulch trailhead near the Henderson Mine and the Big Bend in Highway 40. 0.26 miles up the road is the split to Jones Pass. This is well marked with a large brown sign. Jones Pass is to the right and Butler Gulch is to the left. 0.66 miles up Jones Pass Road is a small forest service trail marker between two boulders. This is your sign to head off trail and into the woods.

Our first view upon exiting the trees and climbing up the switchbacks

We decided to head towards the pass in the distance. This location is on the north side of the Jones Pass Bowl.

A little farther along. We walked in the tracks of snowmobiles to make the going a little easier. This area is steeper than it looks. Our destination is the clump of trees on the left.

On this trip it was easy to follow the trail that others had made, but after a fresh snow, it would be relatively easy to get lost in the drainage. If you are uncomfortable route finding, stick to the road. It is longer but it will get you to your destination.

Two of us have reached the trees and got to watch the others arrive.

Shortly after the turn off into the woods, we ran into a fork in the trail. We took the right fork, which headed up hill. This happened once again in the trees. Staying right and heading upwards is your best guide to staying on route.

A close up of the mountains beyond

If you examine a National Geographic topographic map of the area, this route through the trees is following a creek drainage that cuts off a large switchback on Jones Pass Road. The route exits the drainage and regains the road just at the midline of two tight switchbacks. This is marked clearly on the map and is the spot where the words "Jones Pass" are written.

Wind sculpted snow and dwarf trees reveal much about the usual conditions of the area.

If you ever get tired of being in the trees and breaking trail, there are numerous places where people have regained the road, which is always up and to the right of the route. At one point this confused us because the tracks headed back to the road while the shelf we were walking on headed upwards still. This zone was quaint and narrow and we could glimpse mountains through the trees. We decided to take this route even though it meant breaking trail. This turned out to be a great choice.

Ginger is dwarfed by the scale of the scenery.

This part of the route followed a narrow shelf that switchbacked very steeply (at times up to a 30% grade) to our final exit point at 11,320 ft. Periodically, we saw blue blazes on the trees, so our choice happened to be the correct one. We exited the trees at 1.6 miles and regained the road. 0.15 miles beyond this point are "oh shit" views that had us once again acclaiming how much we love Colorado.

There is no way my camera can capture the scale of the area.

After climbing straight up the midline of the switchbacks I mentioned earlier, we had to choose between following the road towards Jones Pass or heading off into the right hand side of the bowl. We could see that the Pass itself was another 1.5 miles or so to the left. It was covered by a thick cornice. There was no way to reach it without significant risk.

Another shot looking back down the bowl.

The bowl to the right is bordered by a rocky 12,000 ft ridge that dips down into a small pass. Our initial thought was to head for this pass. We ended up stopping 0nly 0.3 miles beyond the road however. After a sharp 480 ft of elevation gain, we realized we would not make the far pass in the time we had left. Instead, we settled next to a clump of wind blown trees (at 12,800 ft) and ate lunch.

The shadows, sun spots, and glistening snow were irresistible.

The wind sculpted snow, the shadows playing off of the cornices, and the dramatic cirrus clouds created a picture perfect winter tableau for our peanut butter sandwiches. Who cares about a few snowmobiles with such a panorama? All was picture perfect until several snowmobiles decided to race up the side of the wall behind us, all the way to the top.

The clouds on this trip were as interesting as the scenery they complimented.

We all started chattering like hens, wondering where the avalanche we were sure would follow would hit. Would it stay in the middle of the bowl or come roaring up and over the berm we were resting on like a wave crashing over a rock. Earlier in the day we had heard them using explosives on Loveland Pass, and in my research today I found that skiers had set off slides near Berthoud Pass to our North and Loveland Pass to our south. It seems exceptionally foolhardy to highmark a snowmobile on such a steep ridge (800 ft) when the danger is so high.

As we headed back down, the rock formation we could see in the distance from the bowl is much closer now and just starting to get bathed in the evening light. This formation sits right above the Henderson Mine.

Alas, we lived to tell the tale and gleefully strode back down the mountain away from the setting sun. Jones Pass is now a favorite that I will return to again and again. I want to thank Suzanne who invited me on this trip and showed me this stunning area.

Lohr-McIntosh Farm

I used to drive by the Lohr-McIntosh farm all the time when I lived out east of I-25. It is located on Hwy 66 on the way from Longmont to Lyons and Rocky Mountain National Park.

One day I stopped to take some evening pictures. The sun was glaring right into my lens so none of the photos came out. I watercolorized this one though. To me it evokes the steaminess of that summer evening. You can barely make out the mountains on the horizon.

My timing has never been very good, and I have never been to the farm when it was open. There are numerious buildings and old farm implements that would be interesting to photograph.

Great Sand Dunes

Distance: 3 miles round trip
Elevation: 8,050 ft to 8,690 ft
Elevation Gain: 640 ft
Bathroom at Trailhead: Yes
Dogs: Not allowed
Date Hiked: 2 July 2004 and 22 July 2007 (photos from both)

The Great Sand Dunes. The scale is lost in this picture even with the tiny people.

A detail of the sand grains

The Great Sand Dunes in the San Luis Valley are one of Colorado's geologic wonders. They cover 30 square miles and rise to over 700 feet from the valley floor. I have never made it all the way to the "High Dune" which this post depicts, because I have always visited the dunes on my way to someplace else. Playing in the sand is hard to resist, however as the many hordes on the dunes attest.

The Medano Creek is a favorite spot for young children to plan in.

The dunes ever shifting shades of color draw people time and again.

There is no trail up the dunes, but it easy to follow the route of others. The "High Dune" is merely the highest point visible from the parking lot. It is not the highest point in the dunes. That edifice is another 1.5 miles beyond the high point.

Looking east from part ways up the dunes. That line in the middle of the picture is a string of people walking down.

Climbing along a ridge

While elevation gain is the goal of most Colorado hikers, I find that the dunes themselves and not the vistas are the best part about a visit to the park. The varying shades of brown, the clouds, and the welcome warmth (even in summer) of the sun baked crystals are a unique experience.

Looking east farther up the dunes

Sand and blue skies. What is not to love?

I have yet to visit the dunes without at least rolling down, leaping down, or pushing someone else down the hills. I have done yoga poses and crawled about in desert death-like throws. Such wanton behavior barely makes a dent in the shifting surface and is totally ignored by the numerous other adult-children absorbed by their own frolics. What is it about sand that makes people want to play? Perhaps we need a few more sand boxes in corporate America.

Following everyone else's trail

There are 7 species of insects in the dunes that live no where else, but the only large creature that can survive the harsh conditions is the Kangaroo Rat. Most of the other visitors are of the 2-legged kind.

Climbing the dunes is harder than it looks. You slip and slide and struggle upwards.

Small grasses hold the dunes in place here and there.

There are other great places to go within the Great Sand Dunes National Park, but they have their downside. To get there, one must let some of the air out of ones tires and drive along roads that are covered in sand most of the time. There is no ideal place to refill ones tires once done.
There is a small visitor's center and a large picnic ground, which was completely full the last time I visited.

The winds create abstract designs in the sand.

Coming back down and looking out into the San Luis Valley

The Great Sand Dunes were formed when a giant lake, that filled the entire San Luis Valley finally dried up, leaving large deposits of sand. Winds from the west blow the sand up against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east while at the same time periodic   winds have sent the sand back eastward. The juxtaposition of these two forces has piled the dunes to record breaking heights.

Everyone in Colorado needs to visits the dunes at least once in their life. Their uniqueness, their beach vibe, and their scenic beauty are worth even a short stop over.

Independence: Ghost Town

Ghost towns and mining ruins are everywhere in Colorado. You see them from the highways, you trip over them on the trails, and you read about them in the newspapers.

Independence is one of the better known ghost towns. It is located 15.5 miles from Aspen and 44 miles from Leadville atop Independence Pass (12,095 ft) and so is visited by many of the travelers on Highway 82.

Independence was founded in 1879 when Leadville miner Billy Belden struck gold in the summer of that year. Called by many names during its short lifetime (Belden, Chipeta, Sidney, Farewell, Mammoth City, Sparkhill, Mount Hope, and Farwell) most modern types know the town by its current name of Independence.

There is a small guided trail through the ruins today and the cabins are being slowly restored by the Aspen Historical Society. Even in spring, the pass can be cold and snowy as the pictures in this post attest (they were taken in May 2005). The peaks surrounding the ruins have been eroded by the winds into smooth edifices that stand witness to the transitory nature of human endeavors.

Before the railroad reached Aspen, Independence Pass was the primary route between Leadville and Aspen. Independence became a transportation hub as well as a mining camp. The gold did not last long, however and by 1912 the town was dead.

A restored cabin

If you are every driving on Highway 82, don't blow by Independence. Take a half and hour and walk around. Try to imagine living in a cabin at 12,000 ft in the middle of winter. Your SUV's heated seats and ipod connector will be appreciated that much more!