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Backpacking in the James Peak Wilderness

Summers in Colorado are amazing, and sometimes it’s hard to find the time to sit down and actually write about them. My most recent adventure was backpacking in the James Peak Wilderness.

A relatively quick drive up to the Moffat tunnel and then a 5 mile hike gets you to Crater Lake (one of many in the area – a good thing to know if coordinating a trip with others) and Mirror Lake. While this area can get crowded, there were only a few other overnight campers during this trip. 

There’s still plenty of snow and wet ground, so it took a little while to find a nice dry campsite, but after a short walk around the lake we found one with nice high ground and beautiful views of the lake. I was a little surprised by the amount of snow, and definitely spent some time eying the chutes surrounding the lake – definitely some shreddable lines, and I hope to bring a board back sometime.

All in all, an awesome weekend with good friends, gorgeous weather, and yet another place to look forward to returning too.

Whenever backpacking, make sure to follow the Leave No Trace guidelines and in areas like these use bear canisters or elevate your food!

For more info about the James Peak Wilderness area you can visit the Forest Service site: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/arp/specialplaces?cid=fsm91_058239

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