Happy weekend folks! I’ve been craving some adventure recently and decided today would be the perfect opportunity to venture out a bit further away than usual. After scrolling through All Trails for far too long I settled on Loch Lomond, a moderate 4.6 mile hike located about 2 hours from home. I set out around 6 a.m. with my pup Willie, and we were soon cruising through Denver and into the mountains I’ve been missing like crazy. The trailhead is located near Empire according to All Trails and I recognized the drive from some trips several years back with my family when we tackled a couple 14ers.
After veering off the beaten path for a bit I came to a literal fork in the road with a wooden sign pointing to the right, indicating parking in 0.3 miles. However, the road looked insanely rough – like, mini boulders and giant ruts kind of rough. I sat at the fork for several minutes deciding if it was worth the risk and decided to push on and put all my faith in the mighty Subaru. Thankfully, she carried me through and Willie and I soon embarked on the trail, which is technically just an OHV road.
You begin by crossing through a gate which marks a seasonal road closure, and steadily gain elevation, flanked on the left by some stunning peaks. After a bit you pass through a second gate, and then the going gets pretty snowy. I passed some cross-country skiers who were heading down and felt woefully unprepared in just my hiking boots (I accidentally left my microspikes in the other car). As the snow deepened, Willie became pretty impatient with being on a leash and kept tugging for me to take it off (sorry, but no, little buddy). We got within sight of the lake when I began postholing pretty bad. At one point the snow went up to my hip, and Willie fell in a hole so deep he was practically buried.
I made the executive decision to turn back, and even though we didn’t get to see the lake itself (which is likely still frozen over anyways), the views were absolutely stunning and more than satisfied my craving for a change of scenery.
Wandering the Gap 