Trifter

We headed out, after my wife left work for the day, to go camping in Leadville for the Memorial weekend. From where we are in Westminster Colorado it’s usually about an hour and a half drive, but because of the traffic it took us just over three hours to reach our destination. We didn’t arrive at Sugar Loafin’ campground until nine that night. Even though it was dark and cold, the people working at the camp office got the paperwork out of the way quickly and showed us to our camping spots. They didn’t seem to mind the lateness of the hour and were actually very pleasant to deal with.

Before we were even done setting up we started a fire in one of the large fire rings that the sites have. I have been to some campgrounds that have such small fire rings that it is almost impossible to get a fire started, and others don’t have fire rings at all and won’t allow fires. The fire rings here have always been cleaned out and ready for us when we arrived and this time was no different.

Once we were finished setting up we had to run over to the camp store to pick up a couple of things that we had forgotten in our rush to get out of town. This is another great thing about Sugar Loafin’. The store is open until 10:00 pm and has most of the necessary items needed when camping, and again, the employees were very pleasant to deal with.

When we woke up the following morning around seven, the temperature had dipped down to about 31 degrees and everything was covered in a thin sheen of ice. I mention this because if you are going to go camping at this elevation (10,430 FT) in Colorado you need to be prepared for the cold nights. Once the sun rose a little higher however, the ice began to melt and it got fairly warm. By about ten am it was already too warm to wear even light jackets.

There is plenty to see and do in the area around Sugar Loafin’ campground and Leadville. There are majestic mountains, sparkling blue lakes, waterfalls, rivers, wildlife and so much more. On our first full day there, the wives headed into the town of Leadville where there are many, many shops. There are a number of quaint little antique shops around town that are very interesting to look through. Because Leadville was a silver and gold rush town, there was a lot of action around in the late 1800’s, in fact it was the second most populated area in Colorado. There were many trinkets left behind when most of the miners left town, and you can see a lot of these little treasures in the antique stores and gift shops. Leadville also has a couple of museums that basically pay homage to the way of life that used to be lived there, and I highly recommend visiting them.

Turquoise lake is maybe 5 minutes away from the camp site and is really a nice drive. Turquoise is a beautiful lake that has a winding road going up and all the way around it. If you are going to take the drive around the lake make sure you take a camera as some of the scenery is breath taking. You will also want to pull over to the shoulder at the waterfall about half way up the road. There is a trail that goes along side the stream that feeds the waterfall and you can follow it up a ways.  With the light filtering through trees above your head, blocking out much of the sun, the soft gurgle of the stream and not much noise other than the occasional chatter of animals, you can imagine a time before our world was even sparsley populated. If you are not accustomed to the thin air in Leadville and are not an experienced outdoors person, I wouldn’t recommend going to far up the trail. It could be fairly easy to get winded and there are after bears and mountain lions in them there woods.

 (Above) Turqouise Lake in the upper right hand corner.

 One of the other must see’s in the area is the “Route of the Silver Kings”. This is a dirt road that climbs above town and has many of the old mining structures still standing. This is a must for “ghost towners” or anyone remotely interested in how life was in the late 1800’s. There is so much left standing at some of the mines or “towns” that you can almost picture the hustle and bustle of daily mining life. You can hike the trail, ride a bike, or drive the dirt roads, with a family I would suggest driving. The main road around the route is fairly smooth and you do not need a 4×4 to get around, but stay to the main road because once you take a detour you may find yourself in a pretty rocky predicament, literally. There are many places to park your vehicle along the route to walk around and get a closer look at the structures, take photos or poke around. There is some fantastic scenery from this elevation and if you just drive the route you will not really be able to appreciate the beauty, so I recommend getting out and walking around, but be cautious, the ground around some of the mines may not be very stable. Staying at least a little ways back from the mouth of the mines and staying off of the top of them will be your best bet at playing it safe.

After all the climbing, exploring and shopping you can take a detour through the historic graveyard on the way back to the campground. This very old, tree lined graveyard can be oddly relaxing after a busy day in the hills. I will not describe what you will find in the graveyard, that is for you to see and experience in your own way as I’m sure everyone that drives this particular graveyard has had their own experience. I will tell you though, to pay close attention to the inscriptions on some of the gravestones, you may be very surprised.

Once your back at the campsite, start yourself a fire, cook up some grub and relax. When the sun starts going down make sure you look up, as I’m sure not many places in the U.S. are going to have a view of the stars like you will here. Like most campsites10:30 pm is quiet time and most if not all campers respect this rule. You may hear quite chatter, and maybe a little laughter from a circle of friends a couple of sites over but mostly you will hear wilderness. These are the times that most adults remember. Not saying a word, staring at and staying warm by the fire when you know that 2 feet behind you it is freezing. Complete relaxation, not caring about work, bills, traffic or much of anything else, just the moment. Be warned however, if you are too rambunctious after the 10:30 quiet time and you get more than 2 complaints, you may have to pay the camping fees for a couple of your fellow campers.

The following morning you may want a shower, or just to get cleaned up a little. For those of you that are tent camping, the facilities at Sugar Loafin’ are excellent. There is plenty of hot water and the showers are usually very clean. The bathrooms are heated as well and may feel like a warm escape on a very cold night, but I wouldn’t recommend sleeping in them, you may get some funny looks from the other campers.

All in all, I truly love visiting Sugar Loafin’ as much as I possibly can. They may be a little higher in rates than some other sites, but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Remember to say “I Love Camping” when making your reservations for a little discount.

Happy camping to all!