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.

Hike to Mount Ida

Yesterday brought us back to RMNP for an early start on a hike that Peter wanted to do to Mount Ida. Road construction in the park slowed us down a bit on the way up, but he eventually started at 7:30AM on the trail to Mt. Ida (12,880) and returned to the car by 2PM.
I stayed and waited for him during his hike. Construction workers and trucks all around me.
Quite nosy and smelly at times. But gave me a chance to finish my book and do a bit of knitting.

Peter says that it was cold and very windy on top and I believe him because I was experiencing the same at my elevation.
The trail that he took was along the Continental Divide.

Peter was also able to see the smoke from the recent fires in Boulder and Loveland early on during the hike. These became less noticeable as the day progressed.

After Peter finished his hike, we waited in line with all of the other cars for the road paving equipment to let us proceed down Trail Ridge Road. As I had been waiting all day, I felt I need to have some kind of easy walk/hike. We first stopped at the Colorado River Trail but decided to go on to the Holzwarth Historic Site. This is in the Never Summer Mountain Range. Buildings on the site date back to the early 1900's. It was known as the Never Summer Ranch where tourists from the Denver area spent time relaxing.