Most of my hikes are a combination of journey & destination - I enjoy both immensely. But sometimes, I'm in the mood to just wander. To breathe the mountain air; to be enveloped in a blanket of tall trees; to hear nothing but snow; to inhale the smell of fresh evergreen with every breath. To not have a goal or a destination in mind. Dexter Creek Trail was a perfect wandering adventure.
There was only one other truck at the trailhead, but its occupants must have taken a different trail because the human footprints ended about 1/2 mile in. The rest of the way, we had a mixture of dry trail, packed snow, and virgin snow.
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| Great view of the Bridge of Heaven. On my "to do" list. |
The trail was absolutely silent, except the occasional chirping of a bird, or the sound of an animal crashing through breaking tree limbs. I was hoping for some wildlife sightings, especially since Sunday kept putting her nose in the air. All we saw were tracks, though.
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| We kept an eye out for this big guy. This print was about the size of my whole hand! |
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| Testing out the portrait setting on my new phone. Sunday obliged. |
Like so many trails in Colorado, this one took us past the remnants of two abandoned mines. First was the Alamadi Mine, where a near-perfectly preserved boiler of some kind just sits there waiting to be fired up again.
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| I guess when your mine dries up, you just leave all your stuff behind. |
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| Kind of like going to a museum, but with fresh air and no crowds. |
Then there was the Old Maid Mine, marked by the walls of what looked like an old housing structure, and some kind of pulley thingy.
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| This looked like a cannon to me, but I'm sure it wasn't anything that exciting. |
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| Virgin snow, up to my knees. Fluffbutt had no problem hopping like a bunny right through it! |
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| Obligatory selfie. I'm working on my selfie-smile. The timer on my new phone helps. |
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| Every hike ends with a treat. This time she didn't have to share with Finn. |
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| Stuffed ducks make great post-hike pillows. |
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| In bed and passed out by 1900. |
Google Earth view (works best in Chrome):
https://earth.app.goo.gl/mr27CM
