Icon - Arrow LeftAn icon we use to indicate a rightwards action. Icon - Arrow RightAn icon we use to indicate a leftwards action. Icon - External LinkAn icon we use to indicate a button link is external. Icon - MessageThe icon we use to represent an email action. Icon - Down ChevronUsed to indicate a dropdown. Icon - CloseUsed to indicate a close action. Icon - Dropdown ArrowUsed to indicate a dropdown. Icon - Location PinUsed to showcase a location on a map. Icon - Zoom OutUsed to indicate a zoom out action on a map. Icon - Zoom InUsed to indicate a zoom in action on a map. Icon - SearchUsed to indicate a search action. Icon - EmailUsed to indicate an emai action. Icon - FacebookFacebooks brand mark for use in social sharing icons. flipboard Icon - InstagramInstagrams brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - PinterestPinterests brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - TwitterTwitters brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - Check MarkA check mark for checkbox buttons.
You are reading

Hike of the Week: A Snowy Day in Colorado Gold Rush Country

Search

Hike of the Week: A Snowy Day in Colorado Gold Rush Country

February 8, 2013

I am not the outdoorsy type. That’s why my friend Callie used phrases like “fur-lined” and “rustic-chic” when, a few weeks ago, she pitched a three-day getaway to her family’s remote cabin in Breckenridge, Colorado. She said I could borrow snow boots. I was told there would be wine. She did not mention the snowmobile.

“You did not mention the snowmobile,” I muttered into the back of Callie’s puffer coat, to which I clung for dear life as we barreled down a narrow path lined on either side with tall, snow-laced trees. The largest gold nugget ever found in Colorado–called Tom’s Baby– was discovered nearby. The two and a half miles between the spot where we had left the car and her cabin’s front door are unplowed, accessible only by foot or snowmobile.

But after thawing by the fireplace in Callie’s beautiful wooden cabin–which was, as advertised, totally rustic-chic and–for a full 24 hours, I was ready to give nature a second shot.

Photographs by Ella Quittner.

Hike of the Week A Snowy Day in Colorado Gold Rush Country  portrait 3

I was joined by my friend Allegra. Our other friends had left much earlier that morning to hit the ski slopes. After checking the outside thermometer–it was 22 degrees–we put on brave faces and lots of layers. (N.B.: I learned my first valuable wilderness lesson of the day: more layers equals more places to store hiking snacks.)

700 classic stanley flask green

I had a flask of diet ginger ale and some Goldfish, which I figured out be enough to keep me alive until the rescue team found me. You can get a Stanley Classic Steel Flask for $22 from REI. Photograph via Werd.

700 hike of the week colorado

We set out from the back porch. There are a few paths leading away from the cabin, located on old placer mining claims from the Gold Rush in the 1880s. Allegra and I chose a winding one that seemed to head toward the trailhead where we’d left the car.

(N.B.: This is the third in a weekly series about readers’ hikes. Do you have a favorite walking route? If so, send photos to edit(at)remodelista.com and we may feature it in an upcoming post.)

700 hike of the week colorado 4

It hadn’t snowed the night before, so there were a few places close to the cabin where we could see the types of reedy grasses, now frozen, that grew in the area during the other three seasons. We also spotted the paw prints of a dog that lives in a nearby cabin and likes to roam around with its owner.

700 hike of the week colorado 5

As we made our way down the trail, we noticed a huge variety of types and sizes of trees including these blue spruce. There were large expanses between the trees filled with reddish-colored shrubbery that seemed to be bare but for its twiggy carcass. Upon further investigation (wait–does that make me outdoorsy?!), I tentatively identified it as Cornus sericea, or red twig dogwood, which is native to Colorado and loses its flowers in the dormant season.

hike of the week colorado 10

About halfway through our hike, we saw tracks leading into the woods. After assuring me that they definitely weren’t from “a super scary mutant Grizzly bear-wolf-Bigfoot hybrid,” Allegra persuaded me to stop and check them out. They were about five inches long and could have come from a deer or moose, according to a pocket guide I found online.

Are you a serious hiker (or camper)? See “Required Reading: Wilderness Route Finder.”

700 hike of the week colorado 12

Callie’s cabin is in a remote area, with only a small handful of others nearby. We stopped to check this one out from the trail, mostly as an excuse to catch our breath. The terrain wasn’t too steep, but thanks to the altitude, we were both wheezing like Old Dan in Where the Red Fern Grows pretty much the entire time.

700 hike of the week colorado 13

We stumbled upon a body of water at one point that seemed out of place in the otherwise woodsy landscape. I thought it looked exactly like the frozen pond from which Harry Potter valiantly retrieves Godric Gryffindor’s sword in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but unfortunately Allegra declined to reenact the scene with me, citing her survival instinct and non-waterproof leather gloves.

Hike of the Week A Snowy Day in Colorado Gold Rush Country  portrait 11

Above: If you’re ambitious, here’s a longer nearby route via Map My Run; it’s a 9.78-mile round trip starting from the Sally Barber Mine Trail.

700 hike of the week 14

By the time we turned around to head home, the sun was beginning to set in the White River National Forest. I commented that the landscape looked like a Keystone box; Allegra chose a more elegant description. We hadn’t noticed it before, but the way there was mostly downhill, so it took us a bit longer to hike back to the cabin.

Stripping off our layers after we’d finally made it back, we agreed that it had been worth it. We poured ourselves glasses of the promised wine and sat by the fire–we felt that we had earned it.

(N.B.: For more, see “Hike of the Week: 7 Miles to Stinson Beach” and “Hike of the Week: A Glimpse of Bob Hope’s House in Palm Springs.”)

(Visited 190 times, 1 visits today)
You need to login or register to view and manage your bookmarks.

Product summary  

Have a Question or Comment About This Post?

Join the conversation

v5.0