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This Thanksgiving weekend I've decided to break away from the traditional family stuff for the 2nd time in my life. Instead, I want to do something truly amazing and memorable. That something being the Lost Creek Wilderness Loop near Colorado Springs Colorado! It's a 3 day 24 mile backpacking trip between numerous beautiful river valleys with some of the most breathtaking natural scenery you can find. With the trail varying between 8,000 to 11,600 feet in elevation as you walk along the valley ridges. In fact, this is the scenery that Katharine Lee Bates was looking down upon from Pike's Peak when she wrote "America The Beautiful."
Now, in my original trip announcement I mentioned climbing Pike's Peak. Unfortunately Pike's Peak started snow capping over a month ago. So unless you're truly hardcore, we're not going to be climbing that. Instead I figure we might spend some time in the Garden of the Gods. And on a side note, this will be a Cold trip! Unless we get really lucky.
Now as a warning, I'd give this trip a 50% chance of going to the intended location due to Colorado getting hit with and earlier winter and snows than usual. If it's going to be 3 foot snow drifts, I'm going to take the trip to an alternative location if people are up for that. I was thinking the Ozarks, or Arkansas, or even visiting the South or East Coasts which I've never seen before; and camping along the beach in the 70 degree heat while we explore the wilderness and maybe even visit Disney World if people are up for it.
So as for some more details on the trip. This will be a leave-no-trace trip. There are no prepared campsites, or facilities. We'll be making our own fire pits if we do make a fire for the night. More often than not we'll most likely just be cooking on ultra-light portable stoves. The trip is spaced out well at about 8 miles a day. Every night we will be sleeping in a river valley with tree coverage and access to streams. There are no permits for this trail, so the trip fees are basically just gas and food.
What you need:
-20F sleeping bag, preferably a 0F sleeping bag.
-A sleeping pad, you do NOT want to be sleeping on frozen ground without a sleeping pad.
-Warm clothes!!!!! Insulated socks, and warm hiking boots!!!
-Buy long underwear. Fleet & Farm and Farm & Fleet for example has 3 different ratings in the men's long underwear department. 1 is for "oh gosh it's below 60!" 2 is for "it's getting kinda cold, but I could wear these to wander out and get the mail in November" and 3 is "sipping chocolate raspberry decadence martinis on the side of a mountain in the middle of a blizzard wearing nothing but your long johns and talking like a pirate as you curse the winds!" You probably want to get 3! And if you can't find the rated good ones in the women's department, wander over to the men's and just buy the size that fits you. These clothes are all unisex anyhow.
-A good 45L to 90L backpack to carry everything in.
-Fork, knife, spoon, cup, and plate. Seriously though, you probably want a thermos that you can strap/snap to your backpack to carry around and sip hot cocoa out of all day long on this trip!
-$20 trip deposit due on the 10th of November at the meeting. I estimate this trip will cost around $20 to $40 a person total.
What I need to know if you're interested:
1. Are you serious about coming on this trip? Yes / Maybe (don't bother me if it's a no)
2. Are you available from the evening of November 24th to the 29th?
3. Do you have a dependable car that you'd trust driving to Colorado and back that gets good MPG and you'd be willing to drive if we get more than 5 people interested?
4. What is your phone number?
5. If I sing "Big Green Tractor" "Should'a Been a Cowboy" and "Life is a Highway" on this trip more than 10 times each, are you going to sing along with me or kill me in my sleep?
6. Are you an experienced backpacker?
7. Are you sure you're ready for high elevations and cold like this?
8. What would you like to see as an alternative trip location if we get snowed out of Colorado?
I just got my vacation approved for the 25th. So the trip would be leaving the evening of the 24th. And hopefully you don't have any professors that are going to give you homework on the day before thanksgiving. Apply for your vacation NOW if you need to. And talk to and make sure your professors aren't going to give any mid-terms that Wednesday.
If you have more questions feel free to email me, call me, or talk to me at the meeting on Tuesday!
-Morgan
tyrantsilkey@gmail.com
tyrantsilkey@gmail.com
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