Mt Sherman

January 26, 2013February 16, 2013 / JKB Adventures / 1 Comment

My first 14er of 2013 was Mt Sherman at 14,036 feet. This is not considered a difficult climb, but nonetheless, another 14er checked off the list and a good time to break in my new Scarpa Mont Blanc GTX boots. I have had them out a few times now and am impressed so far. A friend and I left early and headed out U.S. 285 towards Fairplay for the trail head. When we turned off county road 18, I saw something just in front of my headlights. I backed up from the turn, hit the spotlights and two enormous bull elk were standing there to greet us with steam coming from their nostrils. After they gave us the go ahead, we continued on up the dirt road for 10 miles and had a brief encounter with some deeper snow than was expected. After a little digging, we pressed on to the trail head.

The weather was not supposed to cooperate so we were trying to beat the incoming snowstorm. The clouds began to build with brief flurries here and there and the trail became more snow-covered as we headed up. We had to break trail up a fairly steep snowbank, which we both looked forward to glissading down on the way back. Once we made it to the top of the ridge, we continued up to a small saddle where we ate some lunch and added a few clothing layers. With about 200 vertical feet to go, the cloud deck fell and the wind let loose. We made it to the summit in just enough time to snap a few pics and head down. One of the pics was a little motivation for Mom, who just had back surgery. Hang in there Mom!!

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Silver Dollar Lake Trail

January 20, 2013February 9, 2013 / JKB Adventures / 1 Comment

We needed an escape from our domesticated morning at home, so we broke out the snowshoes and headed for the mountains to Silver Dollar Lake Trail. The trail is fairly easy and short, but is steep. It is popular with cross-country skiers and snowshoers. Easy to access, it is located just off Guanella Pass, near Georgetown and Idaho Springs.

Trail Stats:

DISTANCE: 3 MILES ROUNDTRIP

ELEVATION GAIN/LOSS: 1,000; START: 11,200 END: 12,200

AVALANCHE: N/A

J and Furry B with Naylor Lake in the background.

There are actually two lakes on the trail. The first is Naylor Lake, which is privately owned; and Silver Dollar Lake (public) awaits for you at the end of the trail. We turned around at Naylor Lake, since the sun was starting to go down, and with so much snow on the trail, the path to Silver Dollar Lake was not well defined. We definitely plan to return in the spring/summer, because we have heard the wildflowers near the lakes are amazing.

Private and oh so peaceful cabins at Naylor Lake.

Hey Joe – We found the towers!

Before heading back to the trail head, we warmed up with a hot cocoa break.

Guanella Pass – CLOSED for winter

Emerald Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park

January 5, 2013February 13, 2013 / JKB Adventures / 2 Comments

Today, a friend and I drove to Rocky Mountain National Park and went snowshoeing around Emerald Lake. It was about 12°F when we hit the trail, but it quickly warmed to the upper 20s and it ended up being a great day for snowshoeing. We passed two small lakes on our way, which were frozen solid and snow covered. The wind started to pick up when we neared Emerald Lake and it became pretty fierce as we made our way to the other side. Check out the video.

We headed back down the trail and stopped for lunch once we were out of the wind. I had one of my trail favorites: smoked salmon and cream cheese wraps. Not a long trek, but it was a good half day of snowshoeing.