This weekend’s adventure took us up by Breckenridge, CO. I had never realized there are alpine lakes by Breck and I was amazed at how manageable the hike was described to be online.
We got a late start on Saturday because Megan teaches a 9:00 yoga class. We got on the road by about 1:30. The drive up to Breckenridge was beautiful! There were a few large thunderstorms that we encountered, however, there was a bright spot shining right where we were looking to backpack. We got to the Spruce Creek Trailhead around 4:30. This trail is about 7 miles round trip and is dog, mountain bike, fishing, and camping friendly!
We donned our 30lb backpacks full of camping supplies and food and hit the trail with Astro. The weather was humid, and the air was musty from the rain that had come down earlier in the afternoon. We heard some rolling thunder but the skies cleared well enough to calm the nerves. Huge lodgepole pines cover the trail making the light dim and adding a silencing effect. The trail has a few gradual hill climbs and some wooden bridges crossing Spruce Creek.
The first major clearing we came to which was about 1.5mi up the trail gave way to spectacular mountain views, a waterfall, and a marshy area with a beaver swimming in a pond! We knew this was going to be a great experience.
The first glimpse of Continental Waterfall
The lupine, Indian Paintbrush, and Columbines were bursting out of the hillsides around every turn. There were so many flowers in bloom we couldn’t stop pointing them out! The trail continued from the clearing over some more creek crossings and gradually increased in altitude. We came across an old miner’s cabin that was falling apart, crossed the stream again and came to a granite rock that we had to climb. Up the trail about 300 feet was a well preserved cabin.
Wildflowers coming out of the granite wall
This cabin was preserved in the name of peace; people are asked to respect and take care of the cabin for others to enjoy! We thought it would be a nice place to stay for the evening especially since we had just walked through a mini thunderstorm and were watching the clouds roll in.
The peaceful cabin
Megan and Astro taking shelter and enjoying the beauty
We took our packs off and put our sleeping pads down fantasizing about living this lifestyle all the time. Megan, and Astro would be ok with it as long as we had food! The thunderstorm blew out in about 15 minutes and we decided to try our luck fishing the lake which was only .5miles up the mountain from the cabin. We decided to leave our backpacks and make the trip up.
Columbines on the trail
We began the steady climb up to the Lower Mowhawk lake. There were signs warning not to go check out the mine tailings that were down in a narrow drainage canyon, and there were TONS of wildflowers! We decided to go check out the Continental Waterfall which was what we could see from the first clearing on the trail that I described earlier.
Continental Waterfall
The water flowing downward was so impressive! The massive granite rocks were fighting the battle of erosion in this drainage and at one time this creek/ waterfall was mined by some badass dudes with no fear. People died doing this. There were crosses that served as a reminder of what hard work really is and was. This canyon must have stories more spectacular than any city.
After climbing to the top of this waterfall canyon rock face, there is an old gear driven cable winch that had fallen apart years ago. The view from this aspect looking into the Blue River valley is simply majestic. I could only be envious of the hard working miners that discovered this area when Breckenridge was a booming mining town.
Gear driven winch looking into the Blue River basin
Another 1/8th mile from the mining ruins sits Lower Mowhawk. This alpine lake is only about 3feet deep and is so clear you can see rocks and fish with ease. There are a few old mining structures left on the western flank of the lake which affords another view of a beautiful waterfall which I do not know the name of.
Walking up to Lower Mowhawk Lake
Unknown name waterfall
Ruins
We were so captivated by the beauty of this lake that we soon decided we needed to run back to the cabin and get our backpacks and set up camp here! Quickly, we went back down, gathered our camping equipment and headed back up to the lake.
We set up camp in a grassy clearing which had plenty of dead wood for a fire. The rain had completely cleared as did the skies and the temp started to drop. We were sitting just above 12,000 feet but surprisingly the temperature was not unbearably cold. We cooked some soup and quesadillas over the fire and watched the sun set over Mt. Silverheels?
Not a bad campsite
The night was cool but not too cold. We had lots of dew on our tent in the morning and Megan went for a walk with Astro around the lake. I woke up around 7a.m.groggy, the alpine air has a way of relaxing me to the point of meditation. We decided to trek up to Upper Mowhawk Lake where we heard the fishing was better.This 1/4mile trail climbed up over another massive granite face with its own waterfall from snow melt and the overflow of the upper lake. Once we reached Upper Mowhawk, we were amazed! The lake meets with the base of the southwestern flank of Pacific Peak’s ridgeline.
The approach to Upper Mowhawk
Columbines growing on the banks of Upper Mowhawk Lake
There are two more alpine lakes above Mowhawk that are closer to Pacific Peak itself.
Pacific Peak covered by clouds and an alpine lake above Upper Mowhawk
I tried casting into the lake many times and only got one strike. The views were so spectacular that I could have cared less about fishing to be honest.
Majestic Upper Mowhawk
After about an hour of hiking around and fishing, Megan and I hiked back to our campsite. We are some breakfast and cleaned up the site a little bit. Megan went to go look at the rock scree field by our site and noticed a marmot hanging out in the rocks.
The ground was incredibly soft, Megan and I began discovering the area barefoot since the marmot found us to be a nuisance. The wildflowers were abundant around this area! The pines were growing purple, blue, and dark red cones. I tasted two different cones to see if they tasted different between color but they did not. The taste was a bitter fruity taste that was actually quite pleasant coming from something I’ve never tried to eat before. We continued walking on the rocks and grass and came upon two small ponds from snowmelt and what rain has fallen this summer. There also looked to be some spring water coming up into these pools which was amazing!
Frosty flowers
Astro splashing in a runoff pond
We collected as many single wildflowers as we could carry and headed back up to the campsite. We packed up everything since the Mosquitos were now in full force and the clouds were beginning to build.
Wild wooly sunflower with Astro and Megan in the background
On our journey down, we took every available side trail to view the Continental Waterfall once again. We also stopped back at the community cabin and took some pictures for other hikers. The trail had become a highway with families looking for the alpine treat we had just enjoyed. We hiked down about .4miles and realized we left our fishing poles at the cabin, so, I went back up and grabbed them…something about this cabin made us go back to it multiple times…interesting energy!
The rest of the hike was full of people making the journey up. No sighting of the beaver in his pond, and the clouds were growing intensely. We made it back to the car with ease and were glad to sit down(in a padded seat). Our packs were heavier than we had anticipated but it was totally worth the extra effort.
We decided to head into Breckenridge and grab some pizza from Flatbread Pizza Co. They offered some pricy pizza, but Megan and I ordered one pie for each of us along with a glass of beer and wine. We finished every bite of the pizza and drove back home happy.
Get Out And GazE 