Mayflower Gulch

A buddy of mine invited me snowboarding at Copper Mountain on Saturday to help celebrate his birthday. I told him I'd be happy to join him for dinner and a beer or two. But rather than spend money on equipment rentals and a lift ticket, I had a better idea of how to spend the afternoon. :)

Mayflower Gulch is just six miles from the resort, and gets high marks in summer and winter.  I probably saw about 20 other people on the trail, and I was the only one not on skis.  The trail seemed packed enough that the snowshoes I'd brought wouldn't be needed, though, so I left them in the car and headed off.

The trail is marked by the number of mining ruins along it, including this one which I suspect may have actually been an old shaft though I couldn't tell for sure.

Two miles in as you break above treeline you reach the ruins of the old Boston Mine.  Ruins, by definition, seem desolate enough under any conditions.  But the overcast skies and wind-swept snow just added to the bleakness.

Simple rule of thumb -- when your scene lacks color anyway, going with black and white serves to further emphasize texture and contrast.

A window in one of the former cabins frames Jacque Peak.  Well, at least I'm told it does on days with less cloud cover.

I can't really articulate what I like about this view from the same cabin.  There's something about the texture of the old wood in the foreground and the ridge in the distance I find interesting.

Really happy with this shot -- the cabin, the trees, the peaks partially obscured by clouds and blowing snow and the sun just barely penetrating the overcast skies.

One of the old buildings still had a roof, and it provided some welcome refuge out of the wind.  And a decent view to the northwest.

Remember how I said I left my snowshoes in the car?  That pretty much killed my hopes of going any farther.  I'd planned on pressing on for another mile to where there's supposed to be a nice view of the natural amphitheater.  But the snow was too deep up here.  And the wind was blowing pretty well, which made things generally unpleasant.

This is as far above the cabins as I made it before deciding turning around was a better idea.  You can see the wind kicking up some snow to the left.

I found myself hunting for color on the way back, which was not easy to find.  This lichen on some exposed rock was as good as it got.

I was a little surprised this tree was still standing with so much of its root system exposed.  But somehow it appeared to be perfectly stable.

The trail was actually a good distance from the drainage.  But I made a brief foray down to see what the water looked like.  Much of it was covered with snow, but having made the trek there was no point in not taking at least one shot.

Three hours, a little more than four miles round-trip and about a thousand feet of elevation gain.  A much better value than snowboarding would have been, and a place I'd definitely like to come back to next summer to see the wildflowers and give Ginny some time off leash, which she always enjoys.

Quite a different experience from my last hike three weeks ago in a tropical rain forest, but no less enjoyable in its own way!