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| Time to cinch into shoes and packs for the day. |
I was fortunate to have landed a seat on the bus provided by Denver Parks and Rec. for a day of snowshoeing.
Arriving early at the City Park Rec. Center on MLK Jr. Blvd., I checked the inside of the center while waiting for the bus.
With shoes and poles in hand, I stepped on the bus to be greeted by a good friend and fellow-day hiker, Luisa, from the High Country Hikers, based in Aurora.
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| Scene outside the Blue Bird Mine complex. |
On the road, driver and trip leader Skyler Ruggles, made a pit stop at Starbucks in Golden before heading on to Caribou Ranch.
On approach to Boulder, the Flatirons provided a stunning and unique version of a Colorado winter landscape. Making our way through Boulder Canyon, all eyes focused on the snow-covered rock formations and pristine views of snow and ice covered boulder creek.
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| Crossing a snow covered meadow. |
A foot of new snow greeted us at the trailhead parking lot. As we cinched into our day packs and snowshoes, a massive blue sky floated overhead.
Caribou Ranch Open Space is managed by Boulder County Parks and Open Space. The ranch offers visitors 2,180 acres consisting of wetlands, meadows, streams, and forests at elevations of 8,300' to 10,000'. The ranch is located a few miles outside Nederland.
Conditions this day were ideal for shoeing. At least 12" of new powder had blanketed the area in the past two days. Periodic wind gusts erupted throughout the day. None of them would deter us from having a great day outside.
We started at the parking lot off CR 126, where the DeLonde Trail (named for the family that first settled here) makes a snake like path, 1.2 miles through a number of meadows and pine forests to a junction with the Blue Bird Mine Loop Trail. Both Xcountry skiers and snowshoe enthusiasts use this trail system. The landscape is relatively flat with a few short gradual climbs along the way.
Temperatures today remained in the 20's but minutes after leaving the trailhead, body temperature had built up making the trek enjoyable. A few actually stopped to remove a layer of clothing in order to maintain a more normal body temperature.
Snow from the recent storm remained on trees giving one a real image of winter.
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| View from Blue Bird Loop trail. |
History: The Blue Bird mine was a successful silver mine in the 1800's. There are a number of structures still standing from the mine complex, including a bunkhouse, chicken coop, and smoke house.
In the 1930's, Arabian horses were bred on the ranch. Caribou Ranch may be best known, however, for its' use in 1965, to film parts of the movie "Stagecoach" starring Bing Crosby, Ann Margaret, and Stephanie Powers.
A few years later, a music producer from New York acquired the property, and converted one of the barns into a state-of-the-art recording studio. It became THE GETAWAY place for artists to hang out and make music. More than 100 artists including Billy Joel, U2, Chicago, Elton John, Joe Walsh, The Beach Boys, Michael Jackson, and John Lennon recorded music at Caribou Studio. Sadly, in 1971, the studio was destroyed by fire.
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| A shoer enjoys the view from the bunkhouse porch. |
After lunch in the area of the old bunkhouse, we were back on trail to complete the 1.9 mile Blue Bird Loop.
This leg of trail had more down than up sections. As we made our way to the trailhead, gusts of wind brushed clumps of snow from trees, flinging it into the air.
Hiking these same trails in summer can be a challenge. Add a considerable amount of packed snow on those trails, plus 12" of new powder, there is an added element of physical ability to be applied. There may have been some tired legs but nobody was complaining. It was an exceptional day.
Total Miles = 4.3
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