Our First Alpine Lake in CO
~Thursday, October 22, 2020~
Day 130
Another beautiful, sunny day. We can’t believe how long this good weather has held out. We keep hearing from the locals that this is highly unusual with these temperatures and super dry conditions. The rain/snow couldn’t come soon enough. There are now 3 wildfires burning in Colorado, about 2-3 hours north of us, with 2 being the largest in state history. So sad.
As we couldn’t get enough hoity-toityness, we planned the day to include visiting Vail, Colorado. Have always wanted to see Vail and Aspen just for the sure intrigue of their world-class ski resort status. But first, a hike to the Timberline Lake Trail. We passed a few people on the start of the trail, with one couple bailing due to the steepness in getting to the “carrot”.....the beautiful Timberline Alpine Lake.
At first the trail was very gradual, but the last mile or two was a butt kicker being quite steep, as we were warned, climbing from 10,000 feet to 10,900 feet in a short distance. The whole hike is about 5.5 miles in and out. But as I say, “you got to pay the dues to see the views.” Sadie couldn’t get enough meandering in and out of the forest, playing in the river, and once again doubling the amount of miles we did. She never slows down. Beautiful views, though a bit chilly with the windy day we had. After some snacks and some playtime for Sadie in the lake, we headed back down passing about 3 more hikers.
We then headed to Vail at about 4:30. Along the way, we spotted a HUGE stone quarry (cannot find the name). And once again, I couldn’t resist looking up the median price of homes in the ski town of Vail. Though not as expensive as Aspen, it still boasts being one of the most expensive places to live in the country where the average home price is $1.8 million. Right away, we both liked the vibe of Vail better than Aspen.
It doesn’t seem as boutique-like but had more a village feel to it. Since it’s right before the ski season, it was very quiet with many restaurants/shops closed until opening day in mid-November.
Fun day mixed with some hiking and site-seeing. Tomorrow….Leadville.