RMNP: Colorado River Trail

Following an enjoyable if chilly sunrise photo shoot -- and a less chilly but even more enjoyable breakfast at the Fat Cat Cafe -- I headed deeper into Rocky Mountain National Park to snowshoe the Colorado River Trail. Zak had also come along with two of his friends, and they outnumbered me in voting to go only as far as Shipler's Cabins rather than trying to reach Lulu City.

The clear skies of the morning were rapidly giving way to clouds.  The textures apparent on the snow-covered ground were fated to fade far too soon.

As we progressed up the trail, we caught glimpses of the river peeking through the modest early-season accumulation of now.

Dead wood and me go back a long way.  It still captures my attention.

The tracks we'd been following in the snow abruptly ended and we'd seen no sign of the cabins.  Discouraged, we considered turning around.

But after some scouting by the boys the trail was rediscovered, and soon we found ourselves at the site of Shipler's Cabins.

The cabins themselves weren't much of a sight at all.  In fact, we only saw one.  And just part of the frame at that.

Engravings in the cabin logs likely came with stories as interesting as the cabin itself.

While the clouds on our return to the trailhead and grown thick enough to blanket the entire sky, they at least had some texture instead of being a uniform gray.  That helped provide some picture opportunities.

We pulled the car over once for a shot west from the Bowen/Baker Trailhead -- a place I'd like to return to and hike some summer or fall -- then bid our farewell to the park.

Five miles of snowshoeing, and despite the overcast skies the temperatures were fairly warm and the winds were inhibited by the thick trees.  Too brief a visit to be sure, but definitely a pleasing one!