Exploring Twin Lakes Below and Climbing Elbert Above

Mt. Elbert from the shores of Twin Lakes.

By Nate Van Noord (RO Staff)

In the Fall of 2022, two buddies - Daniel and Joel (who I wrote about hiking the Great Sand Dunes with here) - and myself ventured to Twin Lakes for the weekend. Daniel wanted to see the Fall colors, Joel to hike Mt. Elbert nearby, and me to explore anywhere new in CO.  

Joel and Daniel

We left the The Springs on a Friday morning, and after the 2.5 hour drive west, saw our first glimpse of Twin Lakes nestled directly below Elbert - Colorado’s highest peak at 14,440 ft. We had to pull over for a picture!

When we arrived in the town of Twin Lakes - population like 36 in the summer - we stopped at the General Store. The gentleman behind the counter notified us our ‘first come, first serve’ campsite was closed for the season. But, he informed us of his favorite ‘dispersed’ campsite. He explained that dispersed camping requires no reservation or money, but has no bathrooms or running water either. It sounded like my kind of camping! He showed us on the map where to go and made us swear not to tell anyone else where it was. 

After exploring the abandoned resort, Joel found a fishing spot and caught two Greenback Trout.

After setting up our camp, we drove 20 minutes to The Interlaken Trailhead. Our guy at the General Store also told us about a centuries old, abandoned resort two miles from the trailhead. Our hike hugged the lakeshore and Daniel soaked in all the golden leafed aspens. We explored some of the resort’s open buildings and walked along the beach.

The next morning, we woke up at 4 am and drove 45 minutes to the North Mt. Elbert Trailhead. With a dozen cars already in the parking lot, we embarked on the 10.4 mile round trip with our headlamps. After walking through the forest for a half hour, we were surprised to spot the first traces of snow. The steady rain at our campsite the night before was snow at the higher elevation of Elbert. After crossing the treeline, the snow deepened to 4-6 inches. 

The ascent

Eventually, we came to the bottom of a false summit, where the trail narrowed and fell off steeply to one side. A couple hikers decided it looked too risky and turned back. Joel, Daniel, and myself stood there for ten minutes debating whether it was worth it. We had no yaktrax for our boots, no hiking poles - didn’t even have gloves. This was Daniel’s first 14er and said he really wanted to summit. Joel has done many 14ers, said he didn’t have anything to prove, and voted to turn around. They both looked at me. I glanced up at the dark clouds and swirling snow looming above. I looked back down at the trail thinking it could get icy by the time we returned.

Mt. Massive across the way.

A few hikers caught up to us, excused themselves as they scooted past, and slowly made their way up this sketchy section. One of the dudes was rocking basketball high tops. I thought, alright, if this dude is going to do it… 

So we pressed on. 

After the false summit, we had another mile to go. The winds whipped, the snow swirled, and visibility was low. After we reached the summit, we stayed for about 90 seconds. 

The descent

We descended quickly and I felt anxious about our sketchy section down below. I started to have flashbacks to the time my foot slipped and I fell off a cliff in Mexico. I wasn’t found by search and rescue until the next day (told at the NPR StorySlam here). But, with careful foot placements and hand grips, we made it through. We cruised back down to the treeline - where it started snowing, then hailing, and then raining. Once back to our car, we were soaked from top to bottom. 

We drove 20 minutes to Leadville and had lunch. Neither Daniel nor I brought a change of clothes for the weekend. So after lunch, we decided to foregore our second night at our ‘secret’ campsite. We drove back, packed up all our stuff, and headed back to the Springs. Daniel was exhausted but happy for bagging his first 14er, Joel glad to have crossed another one of his list, and me still wondering if we made the right decision.

From Snow to Sand to Ice

By Nate Van Noord (RO Staff)

Since moving to The Springs from Detroit last summer, I have been so enamored with all the trails around town to ride, run, and hike, that I have barely ventured out to the rest of CO. However, a few buddies recently invited me to go skiing, my first time since 9th grade. Back then, I did a few bunny hills at Mount Holly in Michigan - a former trash dump. 

So, a few weeks ago, we ventured to Keystone. On my first ride ever on a ski lift (the bunny hills at Mt. Holly had tow ropes) I fell down getting off and couldn’t get up. The lift operator rushed over to stand me back up.

After dusting off the snow, I made it down the bunny hill without falling. My buddies said I was ready for a green.

On the green, all these little 7 year olds whizzed by me without poles. Some were even tethered to their parents.

When it was time for lunch, I got down to the bottom of the run and my buddies were nowhere in sight. Left hanging, I had to ask a group of strangers to help me out of my skis.

All those 7 year olds and strangers on the mountain had me hyped though. Their enthusiasm for being outside and enjoying the mountain and snow was contagious. On my last couple runs, I took in the views and felt super grateful to be out there. 

I decided it was time to start exploring the rest of Colorado. 

…

On the drive back from Keystone, one of my skiing buddies, Joel, told me about The Great Sand Dunes National Park and said it was super beautiful. My other two skiing buddies in the car agreed - even though they had never been.

Wait, you fellas grew up in Colorado Springs, I thought. 800-foot sand dunes sandwiched between prairie and 13,000 peeks, only 3 hours away, and y’all never been!

Right before I was about to say something, though, I remembered there are big sand dunes on Lake Michigan, 3 hours from Detroit. I had never been either.

Joel agreed to go with me the next weekend. On the way to the dunes, we drove past the snowcapped Spanish peaks and through little towns like Walsenburg and Ft. Garland.

When we arrived, we picked up a map at the visitor center, and parked in the half full lot. 

We followed a small stream of folks heading up to Star Dune, the highest dune in North America. The recent snow, now only in sporadic patches, compacted the sand. We walked barefoot and the sand was cool, not blazing like in the summer. We passed a few kids trying to sandboard or sandsled. After an hour of hiking, we summited Star Dune and had our lunch. We debated if there were any other places like this in the world. Maybe in the Himalayas, the Andes, or in the Southern California desert. Or maybe just in Star Wars. 

We kept walking, away from the crowd, trudging up steeper inclines and running down the declines. The dunes stretched for miles in every direction. After spending a few hours on the dunes, Joel and I agreed we needed to camp in the Park someday to do some star gazing. 

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On the way back home we stopped at Zapata Falls, just a few miles outside the park. We hiked the half mile to see and touch the falls. They were frozen, but with a steady stream of water still rushing behind the ice. 

As we drove home, past the Spanish peaks, a deep sense of gratitude settled in. Gazing out the window and thinking about the dunes and falls, I thanked God for hooking His creation up and making it so phenomenal. As Joel told me about other spots around Colorado, I started daydreaming of all the new landscapes to explore next.

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