The Secret Hideaway

Well it isn't completely secret since others have used it but we'll just say not a whole lot of people know it exists. Had a three-day weekend, well actually sat through orientation on Friday and then caught up on some much needed reading that afternoon. Saturday I planned to go for a lengthy hike, and that I did. About 4 hours for the first and then an hour on the second hike.

The day started out at Daylight Donuts, for those not familiar with Breckenridge it is the BEST breakfast spot EVER. Cheap diner food, fresh made donuts, bottomless GOOD coffee, and best of all the food isn't greasy. WOW! So I gorged myself for the tasks ahead and drove the 3 miles south of Breckenridge to the trailhead. The trail gained about 1700 feet in the 3.5 miles to the turnaround point.

More or less an uneventful up until the turnaround point, although there were some spots on interest along the way.

Lower Mohawk Lake, about 2 miles in and absolutely beautiful.

One of the more lively streams encountered on the way, flow was pretty steady but not a lot.

More of the stream, they are just so cool to sit by and listen to the babbling.

So upon arrival at the area of Upper Mohawk Lake we stumbled across some old cabins. Most were just remnants of walls and doorways, but one has been redone and made suitable for overnight use.

This plaque was posted on the wall, thank you to whoever undertook the renovation of this cabin.

The view from the doorway of the cabin.

This cabin had a loft big enough to sleep two, and the floor was probably big enough to sleep eight. The inside consisted of a fire ring, firewood, paper, various cooking utensils, a shovel, matches, stove fuel, and various spices. This was by far the best find of my life out here so far and if weather holds for the next couple months I would like to make an overnight trip to this locale.

We were planning to trudge up to Upper Mohawk Lake but a sign told us Continental Falls was closer. We opted for this and hiked halfway up the falls to a small rock shelf. The three photos that follow are of the falls.






We took a short break on the rock shelf and after about 10 minutes the wind started to howl and the snow started to fall. In about a minute you could see only 10 yards and the trees were creaking. We down climbed, quickly. In a couple minutes we were back in the shelter of the trees and had a nice hike on the way down. A few of the steep hills were easier to slide down, good thing I had on my snow pants.

On the way back to Keystone we stopped at a roadside trail that led to an overlook of Lake Dillon and some great views of the surrounding peaks.

Lake Dillon below and you can just make out the town of Silverthorne on the far right.

Sorry, don’t know the names of any of the peaks.

Upon arriving at the car we were told to get over to Old Chicago in Silverthorne to watch the Hawkeyes. Sadly, they lost.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I do not believe I will be cooking. Have the weekend off too. Snowed a little, still flurrying (is that a word?) now. Not much significant snow fall, but it is finally cold enough to make the fake stuff.