Despite the parking lot setting and close neighbors, we decided to spend our 14 day limit here at Pine Cove Campground on Dillon Reservoir, given the beautiful lake view and all there is to do in the area. There are some nice hiking trails that start near the campground, going around a peninsula or switchbacking up a hill overlooking the lake.
We’ve yet to see a moose.
Yes, we got rained on hiking the Peninsula trail.
But stayed dry on the switchback trail. It’s hard to avoid the thunderstorms, which don’t always wait until afternoon.
Pine beetles killed many of the trees around here.
The paved bike trail is about a mile up the road from the campground, which goes left to Breckenridge, or right to Frisco, Dillon, and Silverthorne. We’ve done both and it’s a harder ride with more hills from here to Breckenridge but they are both very scenic.
We’ve also done a couple more high elevation hikes, the first one being at 11,540’ Hoosier Pass, about 10 miles south of Breckenridge on the Continental Divide. There is an old jeep road that quickly gets above tree line for views of Montgomery Reservoir and the surrounding mountains.
Despite gaining almost 600’ in 1.5 miles, we both felt a little better than on our previous hikes at 12,000’. Either a fluke or we’re starting to acclimate to the elevation.
Jim had gotten what he thought were several bug bites many weeks ago, although he doesn’t remember where we were or when, but they left big red welts. Last week the one on his chest was still red and painful to touch, and he thought something was in it, so he picked at it and squeezed it, which made it bleed. After a few days of antibiotic ointment and a bandage, it was looking worse and there was actually a hole in the skin. He called the local Frisco hospital which is just a mile and a half from here, and they only have an ER but suggested he call the family practice department. You have to love small towns, as they told him to come in that same morning at 11:45. The doctor was very nice, and she thought it probably was an insect bite of some kind that was causing skin necrosis. She said it was not infected, and to use the wet-dry method, placing a wet gauze pad on the wound with a bandage over it, and replacing it twice a day. Amazingly within a few days the hole was almost gone and the skin has healed up. Jim was skeptical, but it worked, and we were glad he didn’t have some flesh eating bacteria.
The next day we took a day trip to Boulder for Jim to test ride a recumbent bicycle that a woman had for sale. It turned out not to be what he wanted, but was a good excuse to have a great lunch at Native Foods and pick up a few things at Trader Joe’s. And the bike seller was a very interesting young woman working on her PhD who lives in a co-op house with 8 other people. She said it’s the only way students can afford to live there since the home prices are so high.
The following day we drove up to Boreas Pass, 10 miles east of Breckenridge, for a hike to Black Powder Pass.
There are some relics from the old railroad and mining days.
This area was the site of the highest narrow gauge railroad in the United States.
“The Section House was built in 1882 to house the railroad men and their families who took care of a section of the Denver South Park & Pacific narrow gauge railway that ran from Denver to Leadville. Next to the Section House sits Ken's Cabin, also known as the historic Wagon Cabin.”
Both the Section House on the left and Ken’s Cabin on the right, are available to rent during the winter backcountry ski season.
The trail started off nice and level for a change. It was good to be able to walk, talk and breathe!
But after a half mile or so the trail started going up. Jim was having a particularly good day and there was no way I could keep up. He forgot his camera so he had no reason to stop, and just kept going.
I stopped frequently to take photos, so I just went at my own pace while watching his back.
He did stop to point out some clumps of wool left by mountain goats. It was stuck in the bushes everywhere, but no goats to be seen.
The last part of the trail climbs up a steep hill. The trail is only 1.5 miles but it gains most of the 750’ of elevation in the last 3/4 mile, so it’s a good climb.
Our lunch views from the top.
While we were being pestered by bold little ground squirrels who wanted our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we could hear the squeaking sound of pikas in the rocks behind us. I tried to get a picture of them but didn’t have much luck.
A butt shot.
And one in motion.
Needless to say, going back down was much easier.
This is a beautiful hike, one we would recommend if you’re in the Breckenridge area.
We’ll be here a few more days, then off to somewhere as of yet undetermined.
Thanks for the photos of my old neighborhood. I lived outside of Breckenridge only for a ski season in the early 1990's. I got out before the "month of mud" but a great area to live. You took some beautiful photos of the area.
ReplyDeleteThanks. This would be a great area to live, at least in the summer for us non-skiers.
DeleteCool that your next destination is "undetermined!"
ReplyDeleteYou are in some fine mountains...not quite as steep as over here :).
Keep it up!
Box Canyon Mark
Oh, there are steep mountains around here, we are just avoiding hiking on them!
DeleteJealous - pika and wool from a mtn goat ... awesome. I can see why you're staying the max at Dillon Res. We love that area. Grand Lake (another fave) is sure to bring about moose sightings. They are known to walk the streets early in the morning. My son went to CU Boulder and my bank account is well aware of the cost of living there 😩
ReplyDeleteBoulder would be a great place to live with all the bike trails. We saw they are offering co-op living for seniors there now :-)
DeleteBoulder is a really great place to hang out if you can stand the ever-increasing traffic, especially with Google bringing 1500 new employees there, all of whom will want to eat lunch at the flagship Whole Foods on Pearl St. If you can get co-op prices for senior living, then you could afford to live there. Otherwise it's like San Francisco prices.
DeleteChris
I don't blame you for staying the full 14 days!! Beautiful place!! I love the lake, especially before a storm.
ReplyDeleteWool from a mountain goat...cool!!
Those mountains are beautiful, thank you for sharing your stunning photos. Glad Jim's bite was just that. Good to know about the wet-dry method! How fun it would be to stay in Ken's cabin!
ReplyDeletePika butt! What a chunk of wool! Love all the flowers.
ReplyDeleteBoulder is a neat town, but boy it is expensive.
Wow, beautiful photos! I miss Colorado. Lived in Fort Collins in the mid seventies and have rarely gotten back since moving. Senior living in Boulder sounds enticing!
ReplyDeleteWhat awesome hikes! We are missing hiking with our present locations. So we'll enjoy going along with you two...it's a lot easier:) Isn't it interesting how we feel differently on different days at times. Some days I'm tripping over John to move along and other days I can hardly catch my breath. I haven't figured out why because it isn't the elevations. Oh, well, glad Jim was having a trail burning day:) Gorgeous views and lunch spots!! Stay somewhere cool!! We were suppose to be in Eugene for a week, but not at 109!! We are heading back to the coast as soon as our MH is finished today.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good area to stay for a while. Plenty to do, and if you tire of the hiking and biking you can get to the city life easily. Have you checked out the Gore Range nearby? Glad to hear that Jim didn't contract a flesh eating bacteria!
ReplyDeleteI try to keep quiet but I have to say thanks again for your swell photos
ReplyDeleteAnd information on where you folks travel.
Upriverdavid
Good to hear from you again. I can definitely see why you’d want to stay there. The hiking looks wonderful from your fantastic pictures. Sorry no moose though. Wow 12000 feet. Makes our “mountains” in Maine look like ant hills. Sheep wool on the trail is a first for me. Interesting treatment for the bite. Glad it turned out not to be anything serious. I really am envious of your “off to somewhere yet to be determined”. That’s what I wanted Full Timing to be all about but if you can’t come west, I don’t think it’s possible.
ReplyDeleteHaven't ever read of your interest in being IN or On the water but as often as you're near lakes you might want to consider paddle-boarding. I recently enjoyed two weeks in northern California (see blog). Happy Travels!!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely gorgeous photos. Those afternoon thunderstorms make for some beautiful cloud formations. Sounds like you guys are burning up the trails, even at 12,000 feet. I'd say you're definitely acclimated! Nice that Jim wears bright colors -- makes for good photo ops on the trails. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt is so good to have a day to catch up on some of my favorite bloggers. Looks like you two are having a great summer, surrounding yourselves in some beautiful country. Love those shots with all the puffy clouds. We love Boulder as well but couldn't afford to live there. Lu BTW, for some reason I am having problems again trying to post under my WordPress name. I keep getting the message "your OpenID credentials could not be verified". So Terry is getting credit for being a particularly wordy guy today. :)
ReplyDelete