View from the Colorado Trail of the mountains towards Georgia Pass and Breckenridge.

We’ll try to do a better job of organizing trip reports in the future, but since we’ve already done two trips we figured we’d just puke up our notes and hike on.

Details
12 miles (out and back)
Fairly easy trail, could be hot in summer as there is a lot of exposure
No snow on the trail (crazy for April in Colorado)

Trail Description by Day
4/14/2012
Drove from Denver and parked on west side of Kenosha Pass (~60 miles from Denver)
Started hiking about 1:25pm
Hiked past Kenosha campground, there were a few dry places to camp not too far in on the trail
Saw a Ptarmigan, Grouse, or Turkey – Frisco wanted an early dinner
1st creek seemed like more of a drainage ditch with lots of cow manure
Deadman creek had good water
Reached Jefferson Creek, crossed the bridge and found several spots to the right, we camped along the river
Had dinner at the Beaver Brook picnic area (cooked on grill, sat at table, enjoyed shelter from snow at the bathroom), Lydia’s potato chowder was awesome (recipe below)!
Figured out we could zip our sleep bags together (Nathan’s bag on top) which we never realized before.

4/15/2012
Windy overnight, worried about creaking tree falling on the tent overnight
Woke up with about 4 inches of snow (forecast was 1-3 each day).
Skipped a proper breakfast for us to get moving (blowing snow), fed dogs at the Beaver Brook bathroom and we just ate bars and nuts
Saw large hoof prints on the trail (probably elk)
Started teaching Charger “Behind” command to get behind Lydia while hiking

Recipe/Food Notes
Saturday
snacks (trail mix, split bar)
dinner (corn chowder)
dessert (split snicker and mini bar)

Sunday
breakfast (finished trail mix, split bar)
snacks (fritos, nuts, 2 bars)

Corn Chowder
1 cup Potato flakes
½ cup dry milk
½ cup of freeze dried “Just Veggies” mix- corn, peas, peppers, sun dried tomatoes
1 tbsp butter
1 ½ pieces of thick cut bacon, cooked ahead & cut into pieces
½ tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp dried onions
sprinkle of salt & pepper

Mix above ahead of time into ziploc bag
Boil 2 ½ cups water, mixed ingredients with water in old freeze dried meal bag.
sprinkle with:
Tortilla chips
cheddar cheese

In future, would add at least 1 to 2 cups of water to make it more soupy.  This ended up being more of a mashed potato meal.  Could add salsa to make it more spicy.  Could use saltine crackers instead of chips to top the meal.  Could also bring some diced green onion to put on top.  Could use potato toppers instead of bacon, and bring ham to add more protein.  Thought that it was filling, but not enough for 2 people.  Increase volume by ½ in future.

Notes (or things to change)
Nathan forgot his head lamp, houdini, and OR Omni gloves at Nicks so subbed items (this was due to a sub par decision to head to BlackHawk at about midnight the night before)
Nathan’s feet were cold overnight, maybe because of wearing warm socks over ankle socks.
Flex-Air pillows moved too much, need to find a solution
Ran out of AquaMira B (check supply)
Anti-Gravity Gear rock sack tore on first bear bag attempt (need to use duct tape or seam tape to repair)
Next time let’s consider giving the dogs only dense items (food, water, etc no tent or blankets)

Gear

Nathan (14 pounds)
Tent + Rain Fly
Wore (tilley hat, boxers, ankle socks, convertible pants, capilene 2 zip neck, REI taku jacket, rain pants, nano-puff, ski gloves with fleece liners, dirty girls, snow gaiters, trail shoes)
G4 pack
Burton base layer pants
REI running pants
R1 Fleece
Balaclava
Beanie
Sleeping bag + liner
Sleeping pads (thermarest and night light)
Flex-Air pillow
2 1 liter platypus bottles
pancho (didn’t use)
Misc in hip pockets (map, compass, 2 mini lighters, sunscreen, chapstick, bronners, hydropel, towels (3), aqua mira, plastic bags for feet)

Lydia (15 pounds)
Tent poles
Alcohol
Dog boots
Wore (cap 3 l/s, R1 fleece, convertible pants, patagonia underwear, sports bra, ski socks, snow gaiters, trail shoes, glove liners, north face ballcap, glasses – afraid contact solution would freeze)
Gregory pack
Packed (burton base layer pants, VS pajama pants, REI hiking socks, nano puff, marmot precip jacket, xtra underwear, head lamp, phone, pack towell, chapstick, beanie, fleece gloves, sleeping bag + liner, 2 liter platypus with hose, flex-air pillow (sucked), pack cover, plastic bags for feet)
Dog leashes

Frisco (6.75 pounds)
Tent stakes
Dogfood
Human food bag + toothbrush/paste
Stove
Mushers wax

Charger (4.5 pounds)
Lydia’s thermarest pad
Fleece blanket for dog
Footprint

Pictures from the Trip

Dogs enjoying the cool weather hike

Lydia looks like she's not carrying too much in her pack despite expecting snow.

Nathan all geared up after leaving several items at Nick's. Getting a chance to test his new Gossamer Gear G4 pack

Dogs enjoyed the snow the next morning, made us a little nervous about following the trail, but it wasn't too bad.