Sunday, September 30, 2012

Ptarmigan Lake

Distance: 6.8 miles round trip
Elevation: 10,678 ft -12,154 ft
Elevation Gain: 1,820 ft (cumulative)
Date Hiked: 2 September, 2012
Dogs: Off leash
Bathroom at Trailhead: Yes
Tags: #hiking, #coloradooutdoors, #mountainlake, #buenavista, #gearguide
Nearby Hikes: Lake Ann



Ptarmigan Lake near Buena Vista is a great fall hike. The tundra turns golden.
Ptarmigan Lake near Buena Vista. That is Jones Mountain (12,995 ft) behind the lake.
Ptarmigan Lake near Buena Vista is an incredible journey to a high mountain lake surrounded by towering peaks. I expected to have this trail to myself but found the parking lot overflowing and the trail packed with people. I know they support the economy and all but I have to ask: who let these people in!?

The amazingly nice bathroom at the trailhead. Note the trail starts off to the left not behind or near this structure. 
Crossing the first talus (e.g. rocks larger than a human head) slope
Walking through the mossy, dank Spruce/Fir Forest...yeah!
At least the hordes have taste. Ptarmigan Lake Trail gorgeous from start to finish.  It first travels through a moist Spruce/Fir forest, an absolute blessing after the blazing heat of Colorado's 2012 summer, then wanders past ponds, and willows, and finally climbs to a broad shelf with incredible views and fishing options. We did this during the first blush of fall and the willows and tundra were a rusty brown and the air had a hint of crispness. I was almost giddy with the realization that the earth was in fact still traveling around the sun and our summer from hell would eventually end.

Crossing the Forest Service Road.  This nice arrow points the way across.
Coming out of the trees and into the meadow
Looking down on the lower lake
The trailhead to Ptarmigan Lake is located 14.5 miles up CR 306 (Cottonwood Pass) out of Buena Vista. There is a short 0.1 mile drive to the parking lot from the main road. This lot can hold around 13 cars with overflow occurring on the wide shoulder of CR 306 itself.  A 4-star Forest Service Pit Toilet is available at the trailhead so feel free gals to down those Starbucks on the way up...you won't have to bare you nether parts to the cold morning breeze on this trail!

Heading up past the lower lake
Further up now...looking down on the lower lake with Mt. Yale  (14,196 ft) in the distance
Approaching the shelf
Spoiler Alert:  The actual trail starts on the left side of the parking lot (while gazing at the 4-star accommodations)...BEHIND the cars.  You won't see it unless you wander in that direction.  There is no kiosk, just a dirt track that heads down towards the creek.  Miss this and you will be wander around the parking lot until the end of days.  Once on the trail though you are golden!

Looking back down on the small pond at the base of the shelf
Ptarmigan Lake
I found this elongated shelf lake prettier than the main lake.
Here are some milestones on the route:
  • 0.23 miles to the first talus slope
  • 0.7 miles to the second talus slope
  • 1.45 miles to the Forest Service Road crossing
  • 2.7 miles to the meadow
  • 2.8 miles to the lower lake (the big one)
  • 3.1 miles to the pond below the shelf
  • 3.4 miles to Ptarmigan Lake
So now you are at the lake and are in a total quandary about what to do next right?  Here are some of the options we saw others do (note we did 6 and 7):
  1. Lounge on the shore like a bunch of drunken Marmots (the most popular option)
  2. Stroll around the lake
  3. Fish on the far side of the lake
  4. Hike up to high saddle on the far side of the lake
  5. Continue from the pass to Jones Mountain (12,995 ft) (the second most popular option)
  6. Wander off to the left to discover another shelf lake scenically placed with views of Mt. Yale far below. 
  7. Sit on the broad tundra shelf looking down on Mt. Yale while eating gourmet cheese smothered in fig compote, crusty french bread, salami, and peaches from the Western Slope so juicy they exploded when you looked at them.
View from our lunch spot...how awful
Heading down now, some spindly Sub-alpine Firs against the blue sky
A storm was building as we reached the small pond near the lower lake.  It did rain on us most of the way down. I dug out my rain coat while my hiking companions enjoyed the cooling drench. 
So would a hike to Ptarmigan Lake be worth a drive from Denver to Buena Vista?  Totally!  Go on an off day and you can lounge in Mt. Princeton Hot Springs after the fact.  Note this hike is very similar to Lake Ann north of Buena Vista but much easier to get to. 

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Iowa Hill Mining District

Distance: 1.2 mile loop, not counting spurs to visit buildings
Elevation: 9,600 ft - 9,910 ft
Elevation Gain: 310 ft
Bathroom at Trailhead: No
Dogs: On leash
Date Hiked: 17 June 2012

The restored boarding house is the highlight of the Iowa Hill Trail
Iowa Hill is a historical mining exhibit just north of the ski resort of Breckenridge.  Its short trail winds up and around a Ponderosa covered hill filled with interpretive signs, old buildings, and mining relics.  While Colorado has no castles it certainly has mining ruins!

The fancy sign at the entrance to Iowa Hill. The verbiage says trailhead, but that is actually 100 yards further up a dirt frontage road that starts near this sign. 
The official trailhead
Early trail segment through young Aspens
Obvious signs lead the way through the exhibits
Sluice box for capturing gold
Gentle trail segment
Blacksmith shop with interesting tools wired to the wall
It took me a bit to find Iowa Hill because it is much further north of town than than I realized. It is actually past the Highway 9 bypass and roundabout. To get there from downtown Breckenridge, take either Main Street or the Highway 9 bypass and head towards Frisco. If you are on the bypass, turn left at Airport Road and continue north. If on Main, go into the roundabout and take the bypass for a quarter mile or so and then turn right on Airport Road. The entrance is on the left of Airport Road near the public works facility. Take the short frontage road near the fancy copper and wood sign to a small parking lot with a typical trailhead sign. A small arrow on the fancy sign points the way.

Old mine shaft now filled in
Crane with Bald Mountain in the distance
Hydraulic pipes use gravity to enhance the  water pressure 
Example of the cannon head
You can actually see where the water cut into the hillside in large swaths.
Mining car outside a closed tunnel
Iowa Hill is all about hydraulic mining.  This technique involved shooting water canons at the hillsides to erode and dissolve the dirt and run it through a series of sluice boxes where heavy metals like gold fall out.  It is engineering intensive and does not exactly leave a pretty picture behind.

Canon perched on a hillside in the distance
Bench overlooking the lower part of the trail
Backside of the boarding house
Weeds along the house highlighting the mud insulation between the logs
Close-up of the log construction
Iowa Hill educational and pleasant, although I did it on a day when it was way to hot, so plan accordingly if you are in Breck during another Colorado heat wave. If you like this sort of thing you can also check out the smaller Lomax Mine on the way to Peak 8 in Breckenridge.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Bull Moose...Oh MY!

As fall approaches, so does the Fireweed and the occasional Bull Moose.  This hunk of burning love (tis that time of year) was over 6 feet tall, and drew a crowd of onlookers.  In the fading light I captured a few grainy shots.  I should have run back for my tripod but like most of the other female groupies I was enraptured by his 4-foot "wing span", towering manliness, and and two-foot "bell" (the flap of skin that hangs down below the chin). While there was a younger male Moose nearby, this mature specimen was all we had eyes for.

Don't let this pastoral scene fool you.  This Bull Moose was very large indeed. While he was primarily interested in chomping down on the Fireweed covering this open meadow, it would not take much to provoke him into a charge. I was hunkered down behind some shrubs, trying to blend in with the scenery as I watched him. 
You can tell the rut is approaching, because this Moose has been scrapping the velvet off his antlers. Only used to impress the ladies, they will fall off as soon the "season" is over.  
After last summer's oddessy of stalking my first Moose, having this immensely huge animal walk right up to me (I kept having to back away) was almost too easy. Seems like the number of Moose sightings have increased this year and if this boy has anything to say about it, the population will continue to increase.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Sloan Lake and the American Basin Trail

Distance: 3.2 miles round trip
Elevation: 11,600 ft - 12,941 ft
Elevation Gain: 1,341 ft
Date Hiked: 16 July, 2012
Dogs: Off leash
Bathroom at the trailhead: No
Tags: #hiking, #mountainlake, #coloradooutdoors, #gearguide



Sloan Lake in American Basin is nestled in one of the prettiest places in Colorado.
Sloan Lake out of American Basin in the San Juan Mountains is not the most spectacular lake in Colorado, but the journey will rock your world and twirl your planets!

Early morning at the trailhead
Columbine along the trail
The sun finally touches the rock formations at the back of the basin
American Basin, twenty miles from Lake City, is a glacial carved valley with jagged rock formations at the far end.  At the right time of year the basin is filled with wildflowers and peak baggers on their way to Handies Peak.  At the far end of the basin is a rock glacier.  Rock glaciers are different from ice glaciers in that the water is not a solid mass, but exists between the rocks so all you see is flowing (in geologic time) rock. To me it looked like a giant multi-"toed" amoeba ready to gobble us whole. 

American Basin is known for its wildflowers.  While the other hikers we met said this was  a poor year, I was hardly disappointed. 
Heading up the trail now
Larkspur 
The route travels up the left side of American Basin, gradually gaining altitude before veering to the left an onto a shelf for an adjoining basin. Another rock glacier lies in the distance and Handies Peak is off to the left.  Turn around at this point for spectacular views back down American Basin.  The rugged rocks and green tundra grasses are quintessential apline terrain.

The tongue of the rock glacier is just ahead
Looking back down on American Basin from the perpendicular shelf
The lake is on the shelf to the right.  The route will go up and over the small berm in the foreground than and then switchback up to the shelf on the berm in the middle of the image. 
Once on the shelf, the route heads straight back before suddenly switching backing up the right side of the basin. At the top is a large cairn. This monument marks the junction between Sloan Lake, which is only a 30 yards or so away and the route up Handies, which crosses the rock glacier and over to the other side of the basin.

Heading across the shelf
Almost to the top
The large cairn marks the junction of the trail to Sloan Lake,  which is just ahead, and the trail to Handies Peak
The volcanic nature of the San Juans is evident all around the lake, which is bordered by coarse igneous rock.  While we were visiting the lake on our return trip from Handies, we ran into a couple who hike to the lake every year.  We ran into quite a bit of wildlife on the way including Ptarmigan and baby Marmots.
 
View of the lake
Looking back down on the lake as we continued up towards Handies Peak
While I can't gush enough about this area, I must warn you that getting to the trailhead is a chore.  While maps and guidebooks say the road to American Basin is passable by a passenger car, we had trouble in our 4x4 truck.  If you really want to do this trail, I would suggest renting an ATV in Lake City.  An ATV will get you up and over the rocks but will be much thinner and shorter the better to pass other like minded individuals on the narrow shelf road.

North Rock Creek Snowshoe

Distance: 4 miles round trip Elevation: 9,180 ft to 9,780 ft Elevation Gain: 600 ft Dogs: Off leash until the wilderness boundary North...