A gorgeous day gets us surprisingly close to Buckhorn Mountain.
- November 30, 2014
- Team: John and Tamara
- Area: Boulder Reservoir and Buckhorn Mountain
- RT: Class 1 and 2, 7.9 miles, 1600' gain, 5:40 elapsed
Note: click images to see a larger version in a new window
John was looking at my web site and noticed I hadn't posted in over three weeks. Feeling sorry for me, he offered to come up and get me out on an adventure. So, bright and early (especially bright after all the rain, etc. we've had recently), he and Tamara showed up. After a few minutes discussing possible targets, we decided to try to drive to the TH at Boulder Reservoir. The snow was getting deeper and deeper when we decided to park about half a mile short of the trailhead. After walking in tire track to the trailhead, we had a brief discussion with a couple young guys who had spent the night at the upper reservoir... and walked the entire way. |
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So still carrying our snowshoes, we were off, doing the catwalk in their tracks. Which were in the tracks of previous folks as well. In addition to the tracks of bunnies and foxes, we also noted those of a wild snowboard. Julie and I covered some of this same terrain on a hike in September. |
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As the camper guys had suggested, after the dam we needed our snowshoes. Actually, about 50 feet short of the dam. |
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| This is the view of Buckhorn from the dam. Actually, this is what we refer to as "False Buckhorn," because the true summit is behind this and a couple hundred feet taller. See the map below. |  |
| None of us had the courage to walk on the frozen lake. So instead, and in preference to the trail through the woods, we cruised the shoreline. VERY cold. |  |
Although the snow was not a lot deeper, it was blissful to finally get out into the 'warmth' of the sun. Warmth is relative- it was probably about 20°. This meadow is not steep enough to make for good turns (I've skied back in here before), but would be fantastic ski touring country if it was more accessible. As it stands now, in mid-winter it's about 5 miles from the normal parking spot to where we left the truck. |
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We climbed up through the meadows for a while until the clock struck done. Here we are getting set for a lounge. It only looks like John and Tamara are taking a bow. In the background, that's Jughandle on the left and Twin Peaks to Jug's right. If the wide open spaces look sweet, they absolutely were. Cold, sparkly powder, hardly a breath of wind, and the loudest noise was our snowshoes. Bliss. |
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We sat in the sun sampling smoked salmon until our toes got cold. Time to head home. It only took four or six (or eight?) tries to get the truck unstuck out of it's parking spot. John was very complimentary of my snow driving, although Tamara commented that she knew how to push on the gas pedal. |
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Map. |
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