On Wed, Peter and I headed north on Red Sandstone Road. We drove up the FS Road 700 to the start of the trailhead. The road had recently been graded and was much less bumpy than when we took it last week. Big improvement.
The full trail was 3.73 miles between trailheads. The plan was for Peter to go the whole distance to the lake and then turn around and head back to the car. My plan was to walk about a mile and then head back to the car.
The trail followed a ridge dividing the Piney and Red Sandstone drainages while traveling through lodgepole pine and aspen groves. I'm sure the color was more vibrant a couple of weeks ago, but it was still a great place for a hike. To begin with we were the only 2 on the trail. It was so peacefully quiet. Gave us a chance to really experience nature. Along the way I noted a couple of Pileated Woodpeckers pecking away on the trees. Just me and the woodpeckers. No camera along.
The trail gradually climbed about 600 feet to the high point and then dropped down to Lost Lake. Peter said that he was able to see Vail ski slope from the top of the ridge. He stopped for about an hour to munch on his lunch and take some pictures. And then headed back to the car. As he was coming down the trail, he called me and I started out up the trail to meet him.
It was a beautiful day. Weather was perfect. Definitely a place we could return to when we get back to the Vail area.
Showing posts with label Lost Lake Trail #1893. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lost Lake Trail #1893. Show all posts
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Eagle's Nest Wilderness
On Monday, Peter and I decided to explore the area near Vail.
We first went to the Holy Cross Ranger District in Minturn, Colorado to pick up information on various hikes in the area. We chose hikes that were listed as "easy to very difficult" picking the Lost Lake Trail #1893 as our first choice. We drove back to Vail and headed North on Red Sandstone Road #700.
As we expected, most of the color on the Aspens was already past, but what remained was bright and beautiful and worth stopping along the way for pictures. The road that we took was a FS road and not in the best condition. Very bumpy ride for about 5 miles. We arrived at the trail head and decided that it might be best to go on to the next stop which was the Upper Piney River Trail #1885. This would give me a shorter walk than what Peter was able to take.
We passed several camping areas and commented that it would be a quiet and peaceful place to camp some day when we return. We crossed over the Piney River along the way until we reached the Piney River Ranch where we began our hike.
We separated after about an hour and Peter went on further to the cascading waterfall. The trail after the falls leads to Mount Powell which is another destination for Peter on another day. The trail winds its way through aspen groves and spruce and fir stands. The whole area is in the Eagles Nest Wilderness.
Peter and Renee on the trail
Peter on the right returning from his hike with storm clouds building overhead.
We first went to the Holy Cross Ranger District in Minturn, Colorado to pick up information on various hikes in the area. We chose hikes that were listed as "easy to very difficult" picking the Lost Lake Trail #1893 as our first choice. We drove back to Vail and headed North on Red Sandstone Road #700.
As we expected, most of the color on the Aspens was already past, but what remained was bright and beautiful and worth stopping along the way for pictures. The road that we took was a FS road and not in the best condition. Very bumpy ride for about 5 miles. We arrived at the trail head and decided that it might be best to go on to the next stop which was the Upper Piney River Trail #1885. This would give me a shorter walk than what Peter was able to take.
We passed several camping areas and commented that it would be a quiet and peaceful place to camp some day when we return. We crossed over the Piney River along the way until we reached the Piney River Ranch where we began our hike.
We separated after about an hour and Peter went on further to the cascading waterfall. The trail after the falls leads to Mount Powell which is another destination for Peter on another day. The trail winds its way through aspen groves and spruce and fir stands. The whole area is in the Eagles Nest Wilderness.
Peter and Renee on the trail
Peter on the right returning from his hike with storm clouds building overhead.
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