What a difference a year makes. I say this because at this time last year we were experiencing a serious lack of snowfall. With that said, Sunday morning a friend and I made our way to Kenosha Pass to snowshoe the western portion of the Colorado Trail. As we were driving through Bailey and Grant along the South Platte River towards the pass, I was slightly nervous as I would have thought the snow would have been more abundant. Maybe I was having flashbacks to last year.
We arrived at the pass and geared up. This was a first for my friend and it had been awhile since he had snowshoed and he was stoked to hit the trail. The Pass itself is just over 10,000 feet in elevation and we began our journey into a thicket of aspen. About a 1/3 of a mile in we chose to venture of the beaten path before we rejoined the main trail 3/4 of a mile later. From here the trail begins a slight ascent into a pine laden forest before popping out into breath taking views of South Park Valley below. A basin located between the Mosquito Range and the Kenosha Mountains.
We continued further down the trail where it eventually opens to a large meadow and onward to Jefferson Hill. We chose to end our adventure here, turning about we trekked back to the trailhead. Technically, this is a very easy adventure with great views. On a clear day you are able to see Mount Bierstadt and Mount Evans towering at over 14,000 feet. Today we traversed a touch over 4 miles with an elevation gain of 690 feet. Another great day in the mountains.
