Backcountry Skiing at Butler Gulch

Butler Gulch is a popular place to backcountry ski in the front range. It is a great place to get a very solid workout and make some turns.

Driving:

To get there, take I-70 West from Denver and take the Empire exit (route 40). Drive almost 10 miles through Empire, into the bitty town of Berthoud Falls. There is a left hand turn here for Jones Pass/Henderson Road. If you go around a huge switchback, you've gone too far. Take the Henderson Mine Road for 1.8 miles until you see a small road to your right. If you miss it, don't worry- you have to immediately turn around because the Henderson mine won't let you in. The parking lot is at the end of this road (about 800 feet), and most vehicles should be OK- however it does get a bit icy.

There are actually 2 parking lots at Butler Gulch- one for skiers and the other for snowmobilers- or people towing a Scamp!

Skinning:

Once your skis and skins are on, the approach starts at the other end of the parking lot. Head up the trail/road (it's a road in the summer). After 0.25 there is a turn to go to Butler Gulch on your left. Go around the gate and continue on. The other option at that juncture is to go up Jones Pass (that would be if you go straight/right instead of towards Butler). This is where the snowmobilers go, but there is some skiing options that way, too.

The skin is a gorgeous track through a deep forest. The first 1.5 miles are relatively flat, with a few downhill sections which are always interesting on skins. Remember those spots for your ski back to gain enough momentum! The first real climb starts around 1.5 miles.

After climbing this not too steep section for a bit, you finally come to a section where you can see the lines you will be skiing down (around 2 miles). When we ski, we typically stop at this point and head back up for another lap. The trail continues to your left up a few switch backs, until you reach the top (ish). There are still mountains above you, but this top basin area is where most of the ski lines are. You can continue skinning across this section until you pick your line. Enjoy the views!

The more or less top of the skin track

Skiing:

Getting ready to ski down!

Cody requests that you please take this ridiculous snow suit off

There are 3 different faces to ski down from the top of the skin track. None are terribly long, but they are fun! If you stop at the switch back section of the skin track, it's easy to do multiple laps on these runs. There is also a fun little gully on skiers left- just watch out for rocks!

Top of the gully

Wheee!

There is another section that climbs a bit more in elevation, with a nice face that is far skiers right- but we haven't skied this yet. I think there may also be runs in the trees, since I've seen people in them, but we haven't quite figured out the best line.

After doing as many laps as possible, take the fast skin track all the way back down to the car!

Butler Gulch is a great place to get in a solid workout while finding fresh stashes of powder. It is very popular though, and like most places, can be susceptible to wind crust.

And here is a Garmin file for map references:

Lost Creek Wilderness: Wigwam, Goose Creek, Hankins Pass, McCurdy Loop

My first solo backpacking trip

After our first backpacking adventure, I was hooked, and immediately bought a lighter weight backpack (and a few other things). Eager to test my newest gear, I wanted to head out to Lost Creek for a new adventure, but since Ryan has to work every other Saturday, I knew this meant I'd have to go alone. Rather than making me nervous, I actually looked forward to the challenge, but I would probably feel differently if I didn't have Cody the AdventureDog as my sidekick.

On Friday after work, I grabbed my pre-packed Exos Osprey (weighing only 17lbs, fully packed with a 3 person tent) and hit the road, driving the 1:50mins to the Wigwam trailhead. I found what looked like a perfect loop for a 2 night hike in the Lost Creek area: Park at Wigwam trailhead, hike in via Wigwam to Goose Creek, then do a loop via Goose Creek - Hankins Pass - Lake Park - McCurdy and back to Goose Creek. I was unsure of the exact distance, but I knew Cody and I would make it back to the car eventually (I packed an extra meal, just in case!). The drive from Golden to the trailhead was beautiful- I had never been in the area, and enjoyed the lovely meadows, as well as the interesting beauty of the recovering damage from the forest fires. 

Day 1: Wigwam Trailhead to Goose Creek. Total distance: 4.8 miles

At 6:30pm Cody and I were off. The trail followed a gorgeous creek in a canyon, with a lot of tree cover. The light was fading relatively quickly but we were moving as fast as possible to make it a decent ways before dark. After a few miles I was getting a little nervous that we hadn't hit the Goose Creek trail yet, but at 3.7 miles we finally saw the trailhead sign. Phew! 

Once on the Goose Creek trail, it started getting even darker, so after another mile I was pretty eager to find a camp site. As soon as I got out of the woods I found a wonderful meadow that had a nice spot under some trees, by some really awesome rocks. I set up camp with ease, while Cody guarded me from any animal that may have been lurking. Our total mileage for the night was 4.8 miles. I comfortably fell asleep in my VERY roomy tent, only to be awakened a few times by Cody trying to share my REI flash pad with me. There was an entire tent, but she just had to be on MY bed. So much for being a tough dog!

Campsite

Day 2: Goose Creek Trail -- Hankins Pass -- Lake Park -- McCurdy. Total distance: 19 miles

Cody decided to wake up at sunrise. That would be 5:30am. Lovely. We had a relaxing morning making breakfast and someone played fetch in the river by our tent (not me). And then we were off! After a brief climb that gave us some amazing views, there was a nice, long descent.

Cody loves sunrise- she thinks it makes for better pictures :)

One of the views from the highest point on the Goose Creek trail

At 2.12 miles we met up with the McCurdy trail, which is where my loop would end before heading back to the car the next day. We stayed on Goose Creek. In case you're curious, that means it's 5.9 miles from the Wigwam trailhead to where Goose Creek meets the McCurdy trail (I couldn't find this information anywhere else on the internet).

Descending down the trail was a ton of fun, and my pack felt so light that I was able to run for parts- when I wasn't taking pictures.

The rock formations are amazing in the Lost Creek Wilderness

As Cody and I continued on the Goose Creek trail in the early morning, we passed many amazing campsites and saw people enjoying their breakfasts and starting to head out for the day. There are so many cool areas to explore around this trail- it made me wish I was a rock climber! I also realized that my campsite, though cool, wasn't nearly as amazing as some of the other spots along the trail. 

We passed through green aspen forests and many rocky vistas. It was a perfect day.

So green

A rare lone aspen

She loves posing on rocks! 

Rocks rocks rocks

At around the 7 mile mark for the day, we came up on this beautiful river. I stopped to refill my water with my amazing Sawyer Water filter, while Cody enjoyed swimming after sticks. The temperature was climbing and I was very tempted to join her.

I was on the Goose Creek trail for 8.4 miles for the day, which is exactly what I expected. At the trailhead, the Hankins Pass trail intersects in an area where the forest is recovering from a wildfire. The contrast of bright green grass and budding flowers against the blackened trees was beautiful, in it's own way.

The second I started on the Hankins Pass trail, I stopped seeing anyone. This trail was still very well maintained, but clearly not as popular as Goose Creek. For the next 8 miles we only saw one other person. He was kind enough to tell me that I needed to fill up with water before taking the Lake Park trail, since there would be no more water for 5ish miles. Thanks stranger!

After a nice creekside lunch of tuna and mac and cheese, we began a climb that ended up being 8 miles long. Except for a few points right at the end it never felt steep- I just felt like I was kind of slow (which I was, I just didn't realize how much altitude I was gaining!).

The Hankins Pass Trail was 4.26 miles with 1,856 feet of gain (no loss). I decided to take the Lake Park trail next. This was the only tough part of the day. It was 1pm, the sun was blazing and the temperature was probably 80 degrees. This area also had a lot more exposure than anywhere else, so Cody was feeling the heat without any streams to cool off in. At a few points she actually would run ahead of me to find a shady spot, sit down and wait for me to catch up, then do that over again. Smart dog! Luckily I took enough water to share with her, but we had to take a few more breaks in order for her to cool off. I was happy to not be the one with a black fur coat!

Hiding in the shade

View from the top of Lake Park trail

We finally reached 11,548 feet and began to descend. Cody found a small patch of snow and was able to roll around in it and eat almost an entire snowbank. Rejuvenated, she ran on ahead of me, full of energy again. The climbing was not over, though- there were a few more ups and downs before we truly climbed down to meet the Brookside-McCurdy trail.  The Lake Park trail was 4.57 miles long with 1700 feet of gain and 900 feet of loss. 

After chatting with a few other hikers, Cody and I found this awesome aspen grove to set up camp. As I set up the tent, Cody stood guard. She is very good at her job :) When Ryan and I are together she is not nearly as vigilant. Because of our early start I was able to get 19 miles in and have my tent set up by 3pm. That made going to bed at 6:30pm perfectly reasonable, right?!

Vigilant Cody guards me as I read my kindle

Another awesome campsite view

Despite having hiked nearly 19 miles for the day, Cody still needed me to throw sticks for her. For a 7 year old dog she has a lot of energy!

Entertain me!

Pet me!

Day 3: McCurdy Trail -- Goose Creek Trail -- Wigwam Trail -- Car. Total distance: ~14 miles (garmin died)

Wake up was at sunrise once again, but since I went to sleep before 7pm I was very well rested. I also wear ear plugs- best thing ever! I wasn't quite as well rested as I could've been since I found myself trying to share both my sleeping pad AND sleeping bag with Cody. Those flash pads were not designed for 2 bodies, no matter how small they are!

The morning started off a lot colder than the previous day. Cody still managed to swim in as many creeks as she could find!

The views in the morning were simply spectacular

Since I had spent almost the entire previous day climbing, this day was a lot of descending. There were a few small climbs, but it was nearly 7 miles of all downhill. Also- did I mention this place is gorgeous??

I passed by so many more amazing campsites that I can't wait to come back just to find the most perfectly awesome campsite and stay there all weekend. 

My legs and back felt great the entire second day, even after 7.5 hours of hiking the previous day. Yeah for an awesome backpack and amazing gear!! 

From the campsite on the McCurdy trail I hiked another 7.54 miles to the McCurdy/Goose Creek junction. That means the McCurdy trail is about 8.8-9.3 miles long, with a little bit of that potentially part of the Brookside-McCurdy trail. After so much descending on the McCurdy trail, there was one more 1,100 foot climb back up Goose Creek

As the hike was nearing it's end, we enjoyed this meadow at the Goose Creek/Wigwam junction. I was once again tempted to join Cody in swimming, but snow melt is just SO cold!

After 3 more miles of downhill, Cody and I made it back to the car, tired and content. Daily mileage was around 14 miles (garmin died so I don't have the exact number). The total trip was around 38 miles total, which was a perfect amount for the weekend! 

I highly recommend the Lost Creek Wilderness. It is a perfect backpacking spot, especially for a beginner like me. 

Here is the garmin data, if interested:

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

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