Butler Gulch Trail….SNOW!

Cindy, Peter and Craig at the beginning of the hike

You see, ever since we have started receiving snow, I have been dying to head up to the mountains to play in the fluffy whiteness. We’ve had a few storms in the city, but because it’s Colorado and we get a zillion days of sunshine, the sun always comes out and melts the snow away. Sigh. However, I knew if we got up high enough, there would be plenty of the good stuff!

Craig, Cindy, Peter, and I headed up to the Butler Gulch Trail by Henderson Mine on Berthoud Pass. On a good day, you can cap off this 5 mile/2000 feet gain (RT) hike by locating the mine at the very tip top. There’s also this bizarre grave next to the mine, but we didn’t make it that far. We all brought our snowshoes with us but we realized at the trailhead that the trail was packed down and they were more than likely unnecessary. And, for the majority of the hike, that was true…until we got above tree line!

Cindy and me on the trail

The trail largely follows an old logging road that is semi-boring in the summer. Typically, I dislike logging road trails because I think they’re too well-traveled and kinda mundane. However, in the winter when they’re snow-covered, my opinion changes. The trail was virtually empty (we saw only 4 other people the entire day) and the addition of snow always makes a simple hike a bit more tricky. Because we had chosen to leave our snowshoes in the car, we really had to dig our toes into the snow in order to ensure we didn’t fall flat on our faces. And no, none of us were smart enough to bring Yak-Trax. You’d think this was my first time ’round this block!

Stunning view!

 Once we hit tree line, the weather completely changed and I am excited to say that we found legit snow! The wind started gusting, the temps dropped (I’m guessing it was roughly 20-22 degrees), and all tracks to follow had disappeared. Craig and Peter went ahead to post hole the route for us, but it truly didn’t help Cindy and me out too much! Their legs are so much longer that neither of us could reach their footsteps in the snow. As a result, the gals had to track out our own path. Sigh. Super smart decision to leave the snowshoes at the car, no?! 😉

Modeling my Ribz pack. More on that later!

The best part? The view was stunning! We were at roughly 12,000 feet so we were above all the trees, and the surrounding peaks were capped with untouched snow. Although the wind was howling, there could not have been a better view. Tals even sat down to soak it up, too!

My lil’ furball in her happy place

In short? Absolute best way to spend a Sunday!