​​In The Shadow of Longs Peak

Brainard Lake

13 December 2004

I haven’t skied at Brainard Lake in a few years.  We did today though and what a delight!  No wonder it is at the top of the list of my favorite places to ski.  Why don’t I go there more often you might ask?  One reason alone:  the parking situation.  On the weekend you need to get a pretty early start to get a parking spot – I would say 8 AM at the latest.  But during the week, you’ll have the place to yourself.  So, today, we found ourselves a choice spot despite arriving at 10:30 AM.

To our surprise and delight, there was no wind, despite what appeared to be a large bank of clouds hugging the divide. 

We donned our gear and headed up the trail.  Today, our route of choice was the Little Raven Trail, so we headed up the road that leads to Left Hand Reservoir.  A digression here:  Back at the trailhead, there are multiple choices.  If you have your dog along, your only choice is up the road.  Note that the road is open to all recreationists:  snow-shoers, skies, walkers, kids with sleds.  On the south side of the road, there is a trailhead for skiers and a trailhead for snow-shoers.  The trails do eventually merge, but please honor the separation at the start.

The road to Left Hand Reservoir is open to both skiers and snow-shoers – and is wide enough to easily accommodate both.  It’s a steep uphill climb, so be prepared for a great work-out.  And every now and then, the trees open up giving an enticing view of the peaks along the divide. 

Before long, there is a trail off to the right.  This will take you back to the CMC South Trail.  We chose to continue along the road, uphill.  The next trail junction is off to the left, named the Little Raven Extension, Road 802.  It extends downward and will eventually end at the Sourdough Trail, whose Trailhead is on the Experimental Station Road.  If your destination is Brainard Lake, avoid this cutoff.

We continue on, ever upward.  Before long, there is another right hand junction, this one for the Little Raven Trail.  But wait a minute, let’s check out the reservoir.  Each of us, despite our years of skiing and hiking here, had never actually been to the reservoir, so we continue up the road.  Now there are bare patches to circumvent and soon we take off our skis.  At the reservoir, the views of the divide are unobstructed.  We check out our digital cameras, experimenting with new features.  I find out mine has a movie option (maybe I should read the manualJ).  After a quick bite to eat, we retrace our steps and pick up the Little Raven Trail. 

What a delight!  We continue uphill just a bit then start the long descent back down to the CMC south trail.  Remember, it does take awhile to get there.  You will encounter lovely, downhill trending terrain, a cross-country skier’s delight, full of curves, hills, traverses…only to be repeated over and over again.  The level of difficulty is moderate – definitely not easy and definitely not hard.  Metal edges and wax will open worlds to you.

After 30 minutes or so, we arrive at the junction of the CMC South Trail.  A dilemma here:  One of us has a deadline.  Our original plan was to continue westward along the road to the Mitchell Lake Trail and pick up the South St. Vrain Trail then join the Waldrop / CMC North Trail.  Oh well, we’ll be back! 

We turn eastward.  The CMC South Trail has pretty good snow coverage so is in good shape.  It’s mostly downhill but has lots of flat sections and some uphill – good terrain for kick ’n’ glide skis.  There are a couple of junctions:  One takes you to the road and further down is the skier/snowshoe split.  We take the skier’s exit choice, ending up on the road we started which gave us a fast return to the parking area.

As always, I’m glad I moved here and glad I learned how to ski.