A Weekend in Steamboat Springs

Lisa and I had tentatively planned on hiking Mt. Sneffels in the southwest corner of the state during this weekend, but since so much snow had fallen in the mountains (and our Yale and Princeton hikes two weeks before were quite a struggle because of it) we decided that we'd go with Plan B instead.

I'd never been to Steamboat, and since it was the mud season (i.e. the season between hiking and skiing), we figured it'd be a nice time to go. The weather was a little less than cooperative, staying cold, foggy, and snowy most of the weekend, but we still had a great time. We relaxed in the condo, explored the region, and went hiking in the Mount Zirkel Wilderness.

Changing aspens among snow covered pines

We stopped at the Starbucks on I-70 (Downieville) on the way up to the mountains and saw these bold colored aspens hiding in the snow covered forest.

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Lisa, with the ski mountain in the background

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A fisherman in the Yampa river

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Lisa and Brian

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Sunset view from our condo

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Flat Tops Wilderness, visible from our condo

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Multi-colored snow covered peaks

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Brian before setting off into the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness

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Brian, hiking along the trail towards Gilpin Lake

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Mt. Zirkel

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Gilpin Lake

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Lisa, taking a break at the lake

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We had expected some amount of snow along the trail, but by the time we had reached the lake, the snow was well over a foot deep. Had a small group not broken the trail for us, we would have had no way of finding it!

9-24-2006 2:34 pm