I hope y’all had a great weekend. I have to admit: weekends are at least 20 times more enjoyable when you don’t have school looming over your head! I went to a good friend’s wedding on Saturday night and then headed to the hills on Sunday. Will, a guy I met on my June Columbia trip to Havasu Falls, is in town for a few days, so we decided to head up to the mountains and catch some of the late-changing aspens. Brandy came along too, so we geared up yesterday morning and headed out!
Since we had a late start, I didn’t want to go anywhere too far or difficult. Besides, Will is still acclimating to the altitude and Brandy is trying to get back into the swing of things, so I didn’t see any need to kill either of them! I pulled this book from my bookshelf (for the first time ever!) and picked the Lost Lake trail outside of Nederland.
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Nederland is a semi-bizarre, small mountain town just west of Boulder. It has Eldora Ski Resort but more importantly, there are quite a few secret trails for hiking and mountain biking. Unfortunately, the trail we chose isn’t so secret and I had to quickly accept the fact that I would be hiking with groups of people all day! I swear, I am nice and I do like people…but I prefer solitude in the mountains. I guess I can’t really expect much else when I pull a trail out of guidebook!
(Lesson learned: going back to my tried-and-true technique of just driving down random dirt roads until I find a new trail, waiting to be explored!)
Again, because of our late start, we only did the shorter hike to Lost Lake and back. It was just over 4 miles round trip and the grade and elevation gain was minimal. However, my legs were pretty spent from some tough workouts, so it was a great active recovery day. Even better? Tals got to try out some new gear!
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| Aww, look at my lil’ model dog! |
Ruffwear sent her some awesome toys a few months ago, and we have been trying them out ever since. A review of the Palisades Pack will be coming soon!
I did discover a few minimal backcountry campsites which would be great for a beginner backpacker. The sites were all situated around Lost Lake which is a small but beautiful body of water. I grabbed Tals and we all hiked to the top of the nearest hill to take in the beautiful view.
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| Brandy and me |
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| Will and me |
Not too shabby, huh?
In short, it was a beautiful and relaxing way to spend my Sunday. I think I am liking this whole “no more school” thing!
16 Comments
I’ve been really wanting to visit Nederland, so I think I may do this hike and see the town next weekend. Thanks for the info!
Definitely! And go to Backcountry Pizza in the shopping center that has a grocery store– the pizza is yummy!!!
I’m glad you got some Ruffwear stuff to review! I loved their hydration pack for Peanut! I think it might actually be nicer than the one I have for myself 🙂
This dog pack is awesome! She also got a sweet backpacking bed that she has already adopted as her own 🙂
Oh my gosh, such a fun day. I live in PA, but I’m in the city right now. So I’m not getting a lot of fall colors. When I go home in a few weeks though, hopefully I’ll get a good glimpse!
Beautiful area to hike, but I agree the less people you see on a hike the better! I love fall, colors are changing here too but I don’t think it is as dramatic as there or back east
What a great location for a hike and amazing scenery! Cute pup btw…think i said it before but cant have that too many times!
Agreed– you can never tell me that Tals is too cute 🙂 I love my baby girl and am always open to more compliments!
Love all of the colors in the photos. Definitely something I’m going to miss from fall.
Love the pics of Lost Lake. Looks like a peaceful place! Is there any better time of year than when the foliage comes alive???
Oh how I love Ned! All of the hippies make me happy! I actually tried to talk my husband into moving there. He/we would not have fit in, but it’s fun to pretend! We went to Cripple Creek this weekend. The changing leaves are gorgeous!
So pretty! We never spent too much time in Nederland when we lived in Longmont, but I wished we would have spent more time because I know it’s just such a weird but cool place 🙂 This hike looks gorgeous and the fall color is beautiful! xoxo
I walk Rex with a backpack when I’m with Logan (because we walk so slow) so it burns more of his energy……one day this guy asked me If I had just picked rex up from school 😛 lol
Ah look at that handsome man! I’m way envious that you got to go hiking with Will. Great shots from your hike, Tals looks pretty dapper with that sweet pack!
So beautiful there! Looks like a great hike.
Beautiful pictures. I can’t wait for the leaves to change here!