Trail Information
- Area: Lost Creek Wilderness
- Trailhead: Goose Creek Trailhead
- Dates: 1/22/2021 – 1/24/2021
- Length: ~4 miles in/out
- Difficulty: Super Easy
I don’t understand why it took me so long to get out and camp in the midst of winter in Colorado. Possibly due to the fact that it’s winter in Colorado. But generally, other factors are involved such as skiing, going out with wife and friends, or just the simple fact that being cold can kind of suck. Fortunately, there was this little virus floating around called CORONA that hindered most if not all my typical winter activities. We were apprehensive to get a ski pass, our friend group was quite limited and many local restaurants were actually observing local laws. I needed to get out. Weather the following weekend looked pretty decent: partial snowy, mostly clear skies with a high of 45, low of 15. It also hasn’t snowed in Colorado for most of December and up to this point in January. Fuck it. I excitedly tell my wife that I’m leaving her and the new puppy for some winter adventuring. And yes, I would have invited them should she had any inclination to sleep in that kind of weather. She in fact did not. And as much as our new short haired Vizsla pup loves the outdoors, she has become accustomed to sleeping inches away from a space heater.
I pick the weekend of January 22nd to go to Lost Creek Wilderness. I’m familiar with the area as I’ve hiked in from a couple different trail heads several times, and it’s one of the few lower elevation hikes near the front range. I even attempted to search on areas I was less familiar with to see what other people have done for winter backpacking on Colorado. Suffice to say it was nil. I should also mention that the only over night trip recommendation in winter I could find was also Lost Creek Wilderness via a Reddit thread. Maybe this scarcity of information was what motivated me to start writing something on my favorite topic. Or maybe Coloradoans just don’t want to give up their favorite spots! Nevertheless, I was exclaiming my excitement to get out and be alone in the wilderness to my dear friend and neighbor Stephen, and must have sold it too well, as he was quick to invite himself. I do hopes he reads this one day because he was actually afraid he was intruding! A first snowy backpacking trip should probably have company regardless. Anybody knows how quick the Colorado weather can turn on you!
I’ll skip the boring preparation and get right to our first day out. I did want to note that we decided on bringing in two sleeping bags and two pads each. I’m not chancing a horrible night. We left Denver area bit later than I originally wanted due to the sun setting at only 4:30 pm. After a quick stop for a few extra snacks and much needed whiskey, we were on the road. An hour and a half later, we were driving down near Cheeseman Lake with another 30 minutes a head of us. Roads were pretty decent. Little snow. Little slippage. I wasn’t too worried until we hit more north facing slopes where the snow was starting to pile up. I had no idea what to expect on trail, or if we were even going to be able to see a trail. We made it to Goose Creek Trailhead at 2:30 pm. Plenty of daylight left. Need to change and pack up, hike a few miles in the snow, pitch our tents and build a fire all within a few hours of it getting well below freezing. Challenge accepted
First thing we notice as we pulled in was that there was not another vehicle in sight. Yes! Only ones out here. This is what backpacking is all about! Wait, is that a good thing? Are we the only ones crazy enough to stay the night out here? Generally, this parking lot is overflowing in the summer time. Open the car door and instantly feel the blistering cold wind on our faces. Well, already pasted the point of no return. We’re only hiking in a few miles anyway, if it gets too miserable, we’ll just hike back out. I quickly ready as I don’t want to miss sunlight, and I desperately need to start walking to warm myself up. Packs are packed and weighed (as I always do prior to a backpacking trip). 55 pounds. Not bad for all the superfluous stuff I’m bringing. Rather to have and not need isn’t characteristically a motto of mine when backpacking, but this is winter baby.
First several hundred are completely snow packed, and we were post holing about 10 inches or so. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find some dryness on the trail ahead. We in fact did not. Hiking wasn’t too bad however. Slow going, hard work. The juxtaposition of beating the sunlight yet trying not to sweat was a little taxing. And hiking in more weight than the comfort level of our backpacks allowed made for some awkward hiking. I was a little worried as we passed by several known campsites that were completely swallowed in snow. No big deal, we’ll stomp down some tent sites and make this work. Luckily, right pass the creek meanders was a campsite that receives a ton of sun and several dry spots for our tents with ample, dry firewood. We were home.
Early to bed and early to rise…is not applicable when you’re waking up to 15 degrees showing on your thermometer. But after ten hours of sleep and the sun finally shining on my tent, I was ready to start my day and explore the winter wonder land scenery. Our post breakfast hike composed of a hike up the frozen creek and through boulder caves that we normally wouldn’t be able to explore without getting wet. I was impressed with the little amount of running water we saw, and just how thick the ice was on top. Very cool adventure to get the opportunity to see a part of the world I’ve seen a half a dozen times from a different perspective.
After our day adventures we were quick to repeat what we did the night before: fire at 4 o’clock, stay warm for 3-4 hours before snuggling up in bed with a quart of boiling water in my Nalgene. To anyone that sleeps cold, that bottle can stay warm through most of the night and is a great alternative to a warm sleeping partner! I probably bundled more in clothing than I ever have, as it got down to 5 degrees our second night. And unfortunately, Stephen made me wake up early as he had a prior engagement in the morning. This was one of the few times I just took all my cooking supplies to tent with me, and at 7 am, I was boiling water for coffee and oatmeal while still in my sleeping bag. As cold as it was, and considering we only had a mile and a half to car, I made haste to pack my bag, disregarding any rationality. After rolling up a frozen tent and footprint, stuffing anything I could wherever I could, I was then forced to donate a few stakes to the frozen ground. We took a sunnier trail back and made it back to the car within an hour.
Overall, our first winter backpacking trip was an absolute blast. When the worst thing to come out of a January camping trip is Stephen sitting on and breaking the screen to his phone, I’d say that falls into the successful category. I still have more gear to buy before my next winter trip and will slowly hone in my cold weather trips. It is however a little unfortunate how negatively uneventful this trip was because I now have a hubris for winter camping and am definitely excited push those limits.