BRAINARD
LAKE
Our
flight home from Denver was scheduled for 4pm.
That didn’t leave us much time, but with an early start we thought we
could squeeze a little something in.
Originally, I planned to drive down to Colorado Springs and visit Garden
of the Gods. However, that would mean 3+
hours of driving, and we were already short on time. The weather forecast looked great, so we
decided to drive up to Brainard Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness instead. That would mean less time driving and more
time hiking.
We
got up at 6. Christy heated up her
leftover breakfast from the previous day and we drove over to Starbucks. I got a breakfast sandwich there, and we both
got coffee. Then we drove back through
Boulder and up into the mountains.
Temperatures were in the 20’s, and there were some icy spots on the
road, but nothing too hazardous. We
drove up through the community of Ward and on up to the parking lot at the
winter closure for Brainard Lake. Even
though it was early, there were quite a few cars there. The Brainard Lake area is a popular winter
destination since it is easily accessible.
The road was mostly clear all of the way there, except for a few icy
spots.
We
saw lots of hikers and cross country skiers in the
parking area. We had returned our
snowshoes to REI the previous evening.
The guy there told us that the road to Brainard Lake was packed snow,
and that we should be able to walk there without snowshoes. This proved to be mostly correct. The final stretch down to the lakeshore, off
of the road, was awkward. Most of the
way there was fine, but at one point I hit a soft spot and plunged crotch-deep.
We
hiked from the parking area to the main road and passed the gate and the toll
both. In the summer a fee is charged, but
it is free in the winter. We walked down
the road almost to Red Rock Lake. Just
before the lake, we ran into a group of boy scouts. They had dug snow caves into the snowpack covering
the road, and had slept in them the previous evening!
From
there we tromped down the snow-covered road through a tunnel of evergreen
trees. The wind was howling, and the sun
was hidden behind an unexpected screen of clouds. What happened to the wonderful weather forecast? I had worn my warmest clothes the two
previous days, and I was making do with what was left. That was a mistake, as it was much colder
than it had been the previous day. The
wind was so strong, my eyes were watering most of the way to Brainard Lake.
The
conditions were harsh, but it was worth it.
The view of the snowy Indian Peaks was beautiful from the frozen shore
of Brainard Lake. Of course, the wind
was even stronger there. Our visit was
brief due to the brutal conditions. We
had brought two Fat Randy’s IPA’s to drink at the lake, but we couldn’t do
it. It was just too cold.
The
walk back was more pleasant since the wind was behind us. I did make a couple of quick side trips on
the return. I post-holed through deep snow
into a meadow for a bonus views of the mountains to the west. A bit farther on I walked down to Red Rock
Lake for one last view.
We
returned to the car and drove back through Boulder to the hotel. We showered, packed, and headed back to the
airport. The flight home was smooth, and
we still had all day Sunday to unpack and recover. It was a great little (mostly) free
trip. Christy got to see the Rockies in
the winter, and got to try out snowshoeing.
She really like it, so we may be doing more of this in the future.
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