* Please forgive the spot in some pics, mother's camera has met the ground hundreds of times and that damage is internal stuff.Android Stats:Total Mileage: 6.46
Elevation Gain: 1,474 feet
Minimum Elevation: 10,057 feet
Maximum Elevation: 11,475 feet
Total Time: 4hr 36min
Present: harrise, Regina, Jenn, Ken, Brett, Danielle, Ridik, Sioux, Coco, Jack, Sierra and Gunny
This all started on a whim around Thanksgiving. The 17th looked like a good day as far as schedules and we decided a hike was in order. I had read several trip reports throughout late fall and knew this would likely be a snow trek. At first a rental setup was my plan, then I thought better of it and knew I would be hooked. Plus, I had already accumulated a lot of the winter gear by that time. So as an early Christmas present, my mom hooked up the MSRs and a second pole. Ready to roll.
Being an angry person in traffic, I knew our adventure would likely end up in the Indian Peaks Wilderness and NOT on I-70. Went to the CMC Boulder site and grabbed the pdf for the winter trail system at Brainard Lake. It's one of those areas that instantly springs to mind for snow stuff. Like the Fraser Valley due west over the divide, and the endless amount of things to do at Vail Pass. Brainard Lake is a VERY popular area year round. Dogs aren't allowed on every trail so the map is handy for determining what peaks are served by dog friendly trails. The Left Hand Park Reservoir 4x4 road is a very easy hike to a lake with killer views of the Continental Divide. Most folks turn around after the 2.something miles and head back down. Remembering the area from our Audubon camping trip, the gentle ridge to the south of the lake was my first thought.
Checking the topo I found the eastern high point to be labeled 'Niwot Mountain'. Perfect. We hadn't been out in a while so a simple 11er with a solid route was right up my alley.
Then there was the time. Limbaugh had his neuter on the 14th and I needed to be there watching him until Lindsay got home on Saturday. Much to the pleasure of all parties involved, a time of 11:30-12:00 was set for meeting at the parking lot. Even with traffic and chaos with Ridik in the van we managed to park at 12:10pm. Then I learned how different gearing up in winter is.
Not having a clue what to expect with 50's down below, I had about a dozen different articles of clothing to choose from at the trailhead. The sun looked like 4pm in summer so I went with the softshells over just a poly shirt (expecting a descent near total darkness). No base layers. This turned out to be a perfect combo for the day.
Damn near 30 minutes after parking I was finally strapped into my shoes (which aren't really needed on the super packed road). The dogs were driving me
******* crazy and I couldn't wait to get going. Lastly, I fired up the camera for a start shot and got the most dreaded of messages; No memory card. Bloody hell I thought to myself. Using the tablet for this function is inherently risky...
The trip up to the lake took us a bit longer than even our slow pace. Mainly due to getting used to all of the gear. Lots of stopping for switching coats and letting the descending folks with dogs go by...
Looking at the time stamps from my pics, it took us about 1hr 45min to reach the lake. But fun was being had...
We stood there for a few minutes judging our next move. Everyone looked to be doing fine and the dogs' feet had no issues. After snapping a few shots there, we located the old overgrown road bed that leads to treeline. It's in the far southeast corner of the clearing by the dam. Can't miss it...
After breaking trail through knee deep sugar with crust and scraping along rocky bare spots, we hit treeline. The sun was going down quick, it was 2:30ish and we had about 600 vertical to knockout right in front of us. Being the peak bagging fools that we are, the entire group just kinda began the final hike to the summit without talking about it...
This shot cracks me up every time...
At roughly 3:15 we crested the false summit to find the true peak to be just a few level yards away. Got another one! The GPS in the tablet was spot on for the summit elevation, 11,471. Then I climbed up on the "wind shelter" for a summit pic and got the high number of 11,475. Nice piece of kit is that...
Downtown Denver was visible to the southeast...
It was cold and the sun was a constant reminder that we still had to go down without headlamps. Even still, we were up there for 10-15 minutes before giving in to the wind and heading down...
Getting to the lake took a bit longer due to Ken's knee thing, but once there the track back to the lot was a no brainer...
With the group somewhat assembled again we took off trying to beat the dark. We made it back about 10 minutes before lamp time. It was an interesting time of day to be in the hills...
That was definitely my cup of tea. Although I am a bit nervous about trying this with all four big dogs hitched up. On skis the three sleds could've pulled me the entire road length to the lake. However, I don't think any amount of pizza-ing would slow them down to a stop. They were completely focused on going, unlike the summer stop-and-smell-the-trees festival. The Malamutes came away with a good limp. A couple of exuberant runs across some snow ending in a posthole screwed them up bad. Screaming bad. I just needed them to stay behind while I made the trench, but every time the trail went bare they would go around and get stuck at the next drift. Sioux figured it out after a bit. Hopefully the others do too next time. Hmmmm... Next time...
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i don't do pink! 
