West White Pine Mountains

9.20.2014

It is the time of the year when the leaves change the colors. Our original plan was to go to a trail in west white pine mountains posted by a photographer.  However, when we got there, the road was closed and we could see the trail now leads to the burned areas from the wild fires two year ago. We decided to keep driving to west then we saw these amazing views! 

Deer Creek Trail & Copper Lake Trail - Crested Butte Colorado

7.24.2014 

I had been wanted to go to Crested Butte after seeing somebody’s pictures. To me, it has all the elements I like, wildflowers, high country scenes, historic buildings, active atmosphere etc. The only thing I was not sure is the crowd. Well, it is such a charming town and is attracted to many people. I guess it makes sense. 

We started the trip on Thursday at around 6:30pm from Denver. The route we took is I70 W->US-285 S ->US-50 W then CO-135 N. The traffic was ok over all except the big trucks driving slowly on the one lane highway extended our travel time.  In addition, the drive on US-50 was a challenge during the night, especially the Monarch Pass. People without the mountain driving experience need to be very carefully on the sharp turns. It took us 4.5 hours to get to the hotel in Mt. Crested Butte. 

If you are crazy about wildflowers as I am and not sure about hiking at the high altitude, I would highly recommend Deer Creek Trail. We actually didn't hike that trail because I was too busy taking pictures of flowers for about 1/4 miles before the trail head. That is a dirt road with a foot tall flowers both sides.

Deers were actually seen at Deer Creek Trail

The real hike we did was at Copper Lake trail. At the trail head, it marks the length of the trail as 4 miles one way. The parking lot to the trail head is about half mile, I think. You can park closer if your car can handle the narrow, uneven dirt road. This trail will take you to the Judd falls at about 1/2 mile mark. Then you will find yourself walking in the forest. After passing a flower-covered meadow, you reach a point that requires you to cross the stream. A stick and a pair of water shoes are very helpful and you will need them again to cross another deeper stream.

I would rate this trail as moderate. The last 1/2 mile to get to the lake was pretty steep. We did total 9 miles with about 2,000 feet elevation gain.


There is another popular trail - West Maroon Trail in the area. This trail is considered as a classic and takes you to Aspen. It is about 12 miles but I have heard it is extremely beautiful and not too difficult. This will be the trail for me next time!

 Crested Butte is also a heaven of mountain biking. Of course you can also ride around the town with these fancy bikes.

Pine Forest - French Pass Trail

9.7.2013

Directions:

From Denver go south US Highway 285 over Kenosha Pass, take County Road 35 north from Jefferson to County Road 54 (Michigan Creek Road) and continue toward Georgia Pass.  Drive just over two miles past Michigan Creek Campground then you will see a flat area for you to park here. The trail head is somehow hidden but there is a small sing - Trail 651 on the left. No facilities available here. If you need to go to restroom, stop by at Jefferson before you turn to County Road 54. There are two mobile toilets behind the shops.

Start Elevation: 10,600

End Elevation: 12,046

Distance: ~7 miles round trip

Parking area

Nobody really knows the exact length of the trail. You may find varying numbers between 6 – 8miles round trip from different websites. I will take the median and give it 7.  The first half of trail is shady and easy. There were many mushrooms along the trail. If you are a mushroom expert, you can easily find enough mushrooms for your dinner. The second half can be considered as a cardio hike but still not too bad. The summit provides marvelous views of Boreas Mountain, Volz Mountain, French Gulch and Mount Guyot.    

Tons of Mushrooms along the trail

The trailhead sign - only visible after you stepped into the forest - take the one on the right

This is the only stream I saw along the trail

The climb begins after passing the meadow 

Almost vertical climb 

the flat area before reaching the summit

The small snow area before the summit

The end of the trail

the view from the summit

The view from the hill on the left of the summit

Mount Evans Wilderness - Abyss Trail

9.29.2013 Fall Color Hike
The main purpose of this hike was to see the fall color changes. If you want to have a fair easy hike with a gorgeous colors and not too far away from the city, this is a good choice.

I will have to come back to add more details when I have more time. There were still many green leaves so I figured the color would reach the peak this week, hopefully before the snow/rain arrives. So hurry up, go out there for the amazing view!

Staunton State Park - Staunton Ranch Trail

8.4.2013
Staunton State Park is the newest state park in Colorado. It became the state park and opened to the public on May 18th 2013. The direction I got from the Park's website. 

From Denver

Take US Highway 285 south to Shaffers Crossing, about 6 miles west of Conifer.
Turn north on Elk Creek Road and follow the signs 1.5 miles to the park entrance. 

Mariposa  Lily

It is very easy to follow the sign to get to the park from 285. There are two parking lots after you pass the park entrance. The day pass costs $7.00 per car. We used the upper parking, where is closer to Staunton Ranch Trail we were going to hike. Restrooms are available at the parking lot. See the trail map below for more details.  Trail Map from the Park's website

Wild Mushrooms

The trail we did is Staunton Ranch Trail, 3.3 miles round trip. The trail was a bit crowded with hikers and bikers. We got on the Climbing Access for some climbing, which added another 0.9 mile to our hike. The climb access is for hikers only so it is more quiet with less traffic. There were many wild raspberries right after we passed the rocks. Wildflowers were also blooming along the trail. Overall it was a nice and easy hike to me, although it is rated as 'Moderate' officially. 

Wild Raspberries

Climbing Access

Picking the Raspberries

Narrow rocky path on Climbing Access

Herman Lake - Wildflower Hike

7.20.2013
I would like to report that the wildflowers along Herman Gulch Trail are in their peak. If you don't want to miss the gorgeous view, plan to get there as soon as possible. It is a well known trail with a fair easy access.
Direction: take I70 west from Denver and Exit 218. The trailhead is on the right after the exit. There is map and restroom at the trailhead and the parking is roadside parking with limited space.

Elevation Change: 10,400 feet - 12,000 feet

In and out trail and the one way distance is 2.5 miles