Colorado Trip: Buchanan Pass

 From June 2021

 

Julia's knees were aching after the hike down from Two Sisters, so the next day we chose a more moderate hike.  We drove south from Olive Ridge campground to Camp Dick via Hwy 7 and Hwy 72.  One end of the Buchanan Pass Trailhead is in Camp Dick's parking lot.  Camp Dick is another forest service campground with limited first come, first serve.  We warmed up with a walk around the campground loop.  We did not see any vacant sites.

Buchanan Pass is a 7.9 mile in and out trail with only 941 feet of elevation gain.  The trail follows Middle St. Vrain Creek and is dog-friendly.

Sunny Sunday

People who live in the Upper Midwest are often criticized for how much we talk about the weather.  Rapidly changing weather always give us something to talk about.  Most of our weather is bad, so we always have something to complain about.  When our weather is good, we have reason to celebrate.  Even naturally taciturn people can talk about the weather.

 

Yesterday morning was a wet winter wonderland on the Fern Dell segment of the Ice Age Trail on Highway J northwest of Lodi.  

The flakes were big.  The kind that you can catch in your mouth as they melt.  In the afternoon, the big snowflakes changed to a steady rain.   By late afternoon, the precipitation ended enough that I was able to split firewood.  The small pile to the lower right is what I split.  It would have been a bigger pile, but...um, I had to shower to attend a social function.

 

 

That night we met with friends for dinner to celebrate their youngest son's upcoming wedding this summer.  As we left the original location of Vintage Brewing on Whitney Way in Madison, the skies cleared to blue.  

We had an after dinner drink at Delta Beer Labs on Badger Road in Madison. The photo is a little blurry, and I got cut out of it, but it was the only evidence of our  get-together.  I've known Dave since sixth grade.  I knew bearded Chris in diapers.  His lovely fiance Kylie is a special education teacher and is from "way up north."  Ruth and Dave first met when Dave and I biked across Wisconsin from La Crosse to Milwaukee in 1988. The wedding will be at Kylie's parents' place near Lake Superior.

 

 This morning, we were greeted with sun and blue skies.  

 

 

That's Davey's farm.  He's one of the hardest working farmers that I know. In the dead of winter, he is outside with a shovel, breaking off frozen chunks of silage to feed his small herd of steers.  It's a small farm (40 acres) that he inherited from his mother, and it helps to support his retirement.  He worked many years as a gravel truck driver. 

 

If taciturn had a picture of someone next to its definition, it would be Davey.  We have very short conversations--mostly about the weather. 

Colorado Trip: Twin Sisters Peak

 From June 2021

We woke at sunrise on June 12th to get an early hiking start.  Callie stayed behind in her crate inside the Scamp since dogs aren't permitted on the trails inside the national park.

Twin Sisters Peak trailhead was only seven miles from Olive Ridge campground.  This was a 7.5 mile hike with 2,516 feet of elevation gain.  

The trail started out fairly flat but then gradually climbed through the forest.  

There's was still some snow in the trees.

On the second half of the hike, we emerged from the trees and started seeing some spectacular views.

11, 418 feet

We celebrated at the campsite with a good bottle of wine and dinner.

Colorado Trip: Lily Mountain Trail

 From June 2021

On June 10th, we hiked up the popular Lily Mountain Trail, which is just down the road from the very popular Lily Lake Trail.  The former is dog friendly and outside Rocky Mountain National Park; the latter is not.

The parking area is very limited.  Essentially, it's just a small turnout near the six mile marker.  The Lily Mountain Trail is a steep 3.7 mile in and out.  Elevation gain is 1246 feet.

Callie let me lead the way until we got close to the summit.

 

 

The top was a bit of a scramble.  No problem for Julia.

After the hike, we went to Rockcut Brewery in Estes Park for a well-deserved beer.  We ran into a traffic jam just before arriving.  

The outdoor patio was a place that invited lingering on a nice day.  

 

Callie closely watching other dogs

Colorado Trip: Crosier Mountain Trail

 From June 2021

Hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park is not dog-friendly, so we stopped at the Visitors Center in Estes Park to get hiking recommendations to include Callie.  One of the recommendations was the Crosier Mountain Trail near Glen Haven, Colorado.  There are a couple of different trailheads for this peak.  We started at the Devil's Gulch Road trailhead:  8 miles in and out and 2116' in elevation gain.

 

It was moderate hiking until the last section when the trail turned very steep.  We passed an older guy from Loveland during the final ascent and later chatted with him at the peak.  He had all kinds of wisdom to share.  One of the things that he told us is that rattlesnakes are not normally found at the elevations present on this trail, but that he almost stepped on a big one near the trailhead the week before.  In his best Clint Eastwood voice, he let us know that he carries a sidearm for varmints and such.  He was kind enough to take our photo.

 

Colorado Trip: Scamping at Olive Ridge

The weather outside is frightful, so we will turn on the time machine for awhile and document last June's trip to Colorado.

After a great time with friends in Fort Collins, we hitched up the Scamp at Boyd Lake State Park and took Hwy 34 to Estes Park before turning south on Hwy 7 to Olive Ridge Campground, located between Allenspark and Meeker Park at highway marker 14.  Elevation is 8350.

This national forest campground did not have electric hookups, water, dump station or Verizon service. There were pit toilets, firewood for sale, a camp host, garbage service, and bear lockers.  Coming in on the dirt road, the reservation loop was to the left, and the first come, first serve sites were to the right.  We arrived mid-morning on Tuesday, June 8th, and had several first come, first serve sites to choose from. The reservation loop was fully booked during our entire stay. By Thursday night, both loops were full for the rest of the weekend.  

Our campsite turned out to be a good choice, and we ended up staying for six days at $17.25/night.  There was enough solar for parts of the day to top off our battery

I would return again because it was an excellent base to explore Rocky Mountain National Park, the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, and Estes Park.  Also, we had a moose visitor just beyond the fire ring.