Colorado:Looking for ideas
 

This August my husband is flying out to Denver to pick up our 19 yearold son from a camp near Walsenburg. They have a week together before they join the rest of the family in Salt Lake City. They are hoping to camp for some of the time and are especially interested in going on an overnight pack trip. Any suggestions? They don't really want to be around large cities. I just started reseaching ideas and thought they would like Colorado Springs for a day or two-going up to Pikes Peak, the Air Force Academy and the Garden of the Gods. We are also thinking a day or two camping in the Rocky Mountains should be a must. They would not be interested in too many tourist traps. What else would be of interest on the way to Salt Lake City? Thanks.

I have a few suggestions to make, but the ideas are contingent on the level of physical conditioning your husband is in. I have climbed some of the 14,000 foot peaks out there and I know that I spend considerable time preparing my self for the altitude. Even running 3 miles a day for weeks before going out there was not sufficient preparation. Even though my cardiovascular conditioning was excellent, the adjustment to oxygen shortage above 8,000 feet was considerable. <BR><BR>First, what time of year are you talking about? The summer is often the rainy season in the Rockies. June is fine, but often snow lingers on the trails well into July, particulary above 10,000 feet in secluded areas that face north. <BR>Second, I urge you to plan a trip for non weekends. <BR><BR>I think my first choice would be the Horn Fork Basis, west of Buena Vista.<BR>To get to the trailhead, you need a truck or SUV that is truly an SUV with relatively high clearance.<BR>You will have to ask locally in Buena Vista to find the road across a cow pasture. Plenty of people know about it, and the lakes up there are crowded on weekends.<BR><BR>Another area that you would like, but it involves a steep climb, is the area around East Cross Creek near Minturn.<BR>I took that route the summer I climbed the Mount of the Holy Cross. It is steep up and down, but relatively routine in terms of exposure to sharp drops. <BR><BR>A third are is known as Kroenke Lake.<BR>The trailhead is near the Collegiate Peaks Campground on the road from Buena Vista over Cottonwood Pass.<BR><BR>A fourth area, one that is not hard to reach, is in an area known as Taylor Park. It is north and east of Gunnison, or over Cottonwood Pass west of Buena Vista, and then north.<BR>There is an established National Forest area there and in previous years there was a campground with tables. I do not know if it still there.<BR>From the campground known as Dorchester or Rivers End, there are trails that explore back country. We found an old mine up there once, complete with abandoned equipment. There is also an alpine lake that is quite scenic.<BR>I could describe a few more but these 4 are ones I remember vividly, particularly the Horn Fork Basin. Even if you do not climb Mt. Harvard, you would enjoy the scenery. The basin is nestled in among Mts. Columbia, Harvard, Yale and Birthday Peak. <BR>

OOPS I missed the August. Good a month as any, but rain in the summer in the Rockies is common. Sleet, too above 8,000 feet

One of the prettiest parts of the state is in the area of Ouray, Silverton, Durango, Telluride. A really neat thing to do there is rent Jeeps and take the old mining trails up in the mountains. Seems like something two guys would like to do.<BR><BR>This would be very easy to do on the way to SLC. All this is just north of Durango. They can go west out of Durango and then northwest through Utah. This route would take them between Canyonland N.P. and Arches N.P. --something else they would probably like to explore.

With all of the Rocky Mountains (ok, the part that's in Colorado, anyway) to choose from, there are much better places to visit in Colorado than the Colorado Springs area. Pikes Peak is special, but it would be hard to find a more touristy place in Colorado (except maybe Estes Park). Ditto for Garden of the Gods.<BR><BR>I'm familiar with the areas around Breckenridge & Summit County, where there is plenty of day hiking & also places to hike, then camp overnight. I don't know much about the camping areas, however, as I only do day hikes; I've just seen tents as I've hiked by. Breckenridge the town has lots of tourists, but like most places, not so many on the hiking trails, and the longer the trail, the fewer people you'll see on them. <BR><BR>There's hiking just about anywhere, outside of Vail, Steamboat Springs, Telluride, even up in Rocky Mountain National Park, should they want to go that far north. For example, I have several books on Summit County hikes (where Vail & Breck are located) that list dozens of day & overnight hikes, in just about any kind of terrain you'd want (through flower-strewn valleys, along rivers & waterfalls, by old mines, above treeline, "14ers," etc.).<BR><BR>It does kind of hinge on your husband & son's mountaineering abilities. Are they familiar with wilderness hiking and camping? With a good topo map and directions, they should be set, but personally, I don't like hikes that begin, "ask locally for the road by a cow pasture." Also they should be familiar with high-altitude hiking - watching out for afternoon thunderstorms at high elevations, flash floods, & of course being used to the altitude.<BR><BR>Send your husband and son to a place like REI, where they should have some books on hiking in Colorado. Then they can pick general areas within the state that they might be interested in, and see descriptions of the hikes that might be the kind (altitude & length) they'd be interested in.

Bob Brown's ideas sound good to me. Here's a variation: leaving from Walsenburg, they could take Highway 160 west to the Wolf Creek Pass area. It is not heavily touristed, but is a great place for car camping and backpacking.<BR><BR>I have stayed at the Tucker Ponds National Forest Service Campground. The Big Meadows reservoir is incredible, just east of the Continental Divide. You can walk up to the divide on trails from the west side of the lake. It would be a great area to backpack in. NB: The elevations would be 10 to 12,000 feet.<BR><BR>Creede and Lake City are beautiful spots straddling the divide. A spectacular section of the Colorado Trail runs through there. Lake San Cristobal and the Rio Grande Reservoir are right there.<BR><BR>Further west from Wolf Creek Pass on 160 takes you to Durango and then Mesa Verde. Swinging through Moab on the way up to the Interstate would take you by Canyonlands NP, Arches NP, and Dead Horse Point State Park.<BR><BR>From the Interstate, it's a straight shot to SLC.

I should have said this at the beginning of my post above : While Pike's Peak and Garden of the Gods are fine for things to do from a city, there is so much beautiful scenery between Walsenburg and SLC, that I'd just skip Colorado Springs.

Only spend one day in Colo. Springs. It's plenty. From Walsenburg, drive towards La Veta Pass. Make a lunchstop in the town of La Veta. Cute little untouristy town. There's a little tiny fort-it was a way out outpost many years ago. Not much to see, but nice little stop. Head west, to the turn off for Sand Dunes National Park. Spend a couple of hours there hiking up the dunes. After Wolf Creek Pass, there is a waterfall hike to the left. The waterfall will be low in August, but the hike isn't as strenuous as some. After the hike, stop in Pagosa Springs for the hot springs. They are recently renovated, and there are about 12 small pools with different temperatures in each. Durango is a nice, touristy spot, but cute. Spend the night at the Strater Hotel with the ghosts. At least, eat breakfast there, and read the journals of visitors. Maybe take a short raft trip down the river. Go west to Mesa Verde. That will likely be the greatest highlight of the trip. Mesa Verde have great Indian ruins, I believe the oldest in US. You need a full day there. Go back to Durango, and take the road to Silverton and Ouray. Silverton is the stop for the train, and not so interesting in my opinion. But, the scenery is among the best in Colorado.Ouray, is a quintessential western Colorado town. Walk into some of the stores there, they have some Indian relics for sale. There are many hikes in the area. If you missed the Pagosa Hot Springs, you can get wet in Ouray. Drive north on 50 to Grand Junction. If you have time, you might want to see the rock formations at the Colorado National Monument. But, go in the entrance from down in the city, not from I-70. You might pick up some great peaches in August there. Then, take I-70 toward SLC

Wow!! Thanks so much everyone for your responses!! I will be picking up a decent map of CO this weekend. Your suggestions have given me a good start!