The rising sun in the rear-view mirror promised a mild winter day for Denver. Unfortunately for us, we knew that the mountains in front of us promised the opposite. Despite unseasonably warm weather in the lowlands, the peaks remained snowbound, and we were bundled up accordingly. It didn’t help as much as we had hoped.

The air began to bite into us immediately as we exited the car at the edge of Brainard Lake Recreation Area. The parking lot would typically be a zoo in the summer months, but now in early January we were but one of a handful of cars. The time of year also meant there was no entrance fee. Go figure. We shuffled into some extra layers and began looking around for the trailhead. Our minimum goal for the day was to reach Long Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, and perhaps even to push on to Lake Isabelle.

Right out from the trailhead we were pleased to find that our snowshoes would be unneeded, as even in the dead of winter it seemed that this had remained a popular trail. We crunched along the line of packed snow into a dense pine forest. The cold air was utterly silent beyond the sound of our footsteps.

The trail remained fairly flat for the first few miles, with only some brief dips as we crossed South Saint Vrain Creek once (via bridge) and then twice (via ice). This hike was unremarkable but pleasant. While wind drove snow from the nearby mountain peaks to whiten the sky overhead, the air among the trees was mostly still.

At about 3 miles we crested a small incline and were greeted by the frozen waters of Brainard Lake. The lake was surrounded by the trappings of a busy recreation area: roads, picnic tables, and restrooms. All of the infrastructure was utterly abandoned though in the cold. Shivering, we took respite next to a snow drift on the road for a water break. A quick survey of the area made us realize that the easiest way forward would be to simply follow the road we were sitting on around the north side of the lake.

Circling Brainard Lake, we quickly found signs for the Indian Peaks Wilderness. It was unfortunate then that the directions which the signs indicated were towards flat, undisturbed snow pack. We wandered down the road a bit further before finding another well-compacted inroad to the trees.

It was here on the transit to Long Lake, after several times stepping through the trail, that our snowshoes finally became worthwhile. At least one of us even went to the trouble of putting them on. Shortly thereafter we reconnected with the now curiously unfrozen Saint Vrain Creek. The next lake could only be just around the bend.

We reached the shores of Long Lake, where spots of open water belayed the fact that the windchill was now easily placing us in the negatives of both Fahrenheit and Celsius. These are challenging conditions for a person. It turned out that these were far worse conditions for a camera though, as Skyler’s camera began to freeze up along the lens and his backup batteries died as soon as they were used.

We decided to turn back here. Lake Isabelle would have to wait for another day. We walked back first to Brainard Lake, where some other hikers and cross-country skiers were beginning to show up. To switch things up, and with the assumption that it might be faster, we decided to hike back to the parking area along Brainard Lake Road. We wouldn’t even have to compete with cars. And so, stumbling along tarmac laced with snow and ice, we returned to our ride.

The hike closed out at just shy of 8 miles, with a total of 1,174 ft in elevation gain. We departed the now-overflowing parking area, relieved that we had gotten an early start.

Thanks for reading, and see you next time!

~Sky & Ty