Posts Tagged With: Hiking in Colorado

Travels With Minnie: Rainbows End

Posted on June 13, 2021 by carryoncouple.com

Located just off Interstate 70 in the Colorado town of Frisco lies the Rainbow Lake Trail. The easy walk winds its way up through a forest of Aspens and past the remnants of what must have once been a stand of evergreens. Acres and acres of cut trees, all neatly stacked pyramid style, left us wondering if the bark beetles had devastated the large swath of trees.

Rainbow Lake

We should be home tomorrow, having covered about 9,000 miles over 9 weeks on the road. It’s been a fantastic trip and Minnie has taken good care of us. That doesn’t surprise me though. The real Minnie, Reg’s Mother, Minnie Spittle, had some 1950s travel trailer stories of her own to tell. A strong woman, we like to think she’s watching over us as we criss-cross the country.

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Travels With Minnie: Up High in the Rocky Mountains

Posted on June 11, 2021 by carryoncouple.com

A few miles outside of Breckenridge, Colorado, at just over 10,000 feet, lies the trailhead for three lakes; Mayflower and the Upper and Lower Mohawk Lakes. Our plan was to try to make it to Mayflower, the lowest of the trio. It was tough going at first, but we wanted to test ourselves with some high altitude hiking while here.

It’s not large, but Mayflower Lake (above) sits in a pretty spectacular setting. Given the overflowing parking area, we were surprised to find we had the place to ourselves. After a rest and a quick snack, we decided to push on towards Lower Mohawk Lake, just under a mile up the trail.

The trail markers were few and far between. A dreaded water crossing bisected the trail, a true test of balance. Graceful…we were not, but we made it across the rushing stream without incident. An old cabin appeared, a sort of hut with benches and what looked like an operable wood burning stove. From there the trail all but disappeared, and as we ate lunch (at 11,400 feet) groups scrambled their way up and down the steep rocky hillside in front of us. We decided we’d had enough.

We returned via the Spruce Creek Trail, a beautiful, shaded walk through trees and open meadows (above) with views up the mountains. All in all, a successful day up high in the Rocky Mountains.

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Travels With Minnie: Colorado – Durango to Alamosa

Posted on April 26, 2021 by carryoncouple.com
A rare photo of the two of us. Many thanks to Rich.

Three days in Durango, Colorado allowed us to experience a range of weather conditions. Cold nights, windy days, a brief bit of snow while we picnicked and finally, a beautiful spring day.
The high point (literally) of our stay was the hike we took up The Animas Mountain Trail with college friends Emily and Rich. A great day and a long overdue visit!

Sunday morning Durango faded in the distance as we drove east, aiming for the highest mountain pass of our trip…so far. Today was new territory for us and the scenery did not disappoint.

Treasure Falls cascades 105 feet into Falls Creek and is visible from Highway 160. We pulled off for a quick photo, opting not to make the short walk up to the base.

We’ve got Minnie back on level ground for the next two nights, parked in the little town of Alamosa, gateway to Great Sand Dunes National Park. More adventures to come.

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Telluride, Colorado

Posted on October 11, 2020 by carryoncouple.com
The River Walk in Telluride.

We huffed and puffed our way along the gentle Riverwalk Trail in Colorado’s upscale mountain community of Telluride. At an elevation of about 9,500 feet, we appreciated the relatively flat terrain. There was plenty of scenery and fall color to enjoy, and a beautiful little town park where we stopped for our picnic lunch.

After lunch we made the short drive to Mountain Village, a resort ski town where everything looks new and luxurious. It was here we took the free Gondola ride that connects the communities of Mountain Village and Telluride.

The cars were sprayed with some sort of sanitizer before we got on. Reg and I had the car to ourselves.

The gondola system was designed and built to promote clean air and discourage people from driving between the towns (like we did…oops). It opens early in the morning and runs until late at night, carrying skiers during the winter months and hikers, bikers and tourists during warmer weather.

The cable flung us off the platform and we were off!

So there we were, hanging high in the sky on our way to the high point of the ride – an elevation of 10,500 feet. The views were astounding. And then…we headed straight down.

A bird’s eye view of Telluride.

Carryoncouple decided this was a much easier to travel than lacing up our boots. We could get spoiled!

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Along the Perimeter in Ouray, Colorado

Posted on October 9, 2020 by carryoncouple.com
Happy to find a sturdy bridge across the stream.

What better way to learn the lay of the land than to walk the perimeter…and that’s just what we did today in Ouray (pronounced You-Ray), Colorado.

Trail guides vary, listing the circular Perimeter Trail as 5 1/2 – 6 miles with 1,600 feet of elevation gain and loss. All promise spectacular views.

If you look closely, you can see the trail alongside the mountain.

The trail took us through tunnels, across numerous bridges and through some gorgeous fall color. There was a bit of climbing, mostly at the beginning and end. We chose to walk counter clockwise, saving our glimpse of the waterfall until the end.

We got a bird’s eye view of Ouray.
Lots of color.
It wasn’t much of a waterfall in October, but there was still a trickle spilling from high above.

All in all, this was a good days hike. By the time we reached our starting point we were hot and dirty and tired…but in a good way!

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