Steps in the Right Direction: Crystal Lakes, Breckenridge, CO

We had considered going up one of the 14'ers today, but the lady who lives in the condo below us, Donna, strongly suggested we avoid all 14'ers during the weekend. Donna said everyone heads to the 14'ers on Saturday or Sunday. We heed her suggestion and picked this little hike as an interesting place to go.

We park at Spruce Creek trailhead which has an improved gravel road leading up to it. The first part of this trail is a stiff climb up a 4 x4 road which we are using as a trail and it is a real doozy! We have a vehicle that is technically able to drive up this road, but after walking it, I'll walk it again rather than sit in a truck and drive up it! We watched a few vehicles drive past us, the people inside the truck were getting thrown around pretty good. The truck was scraping its bottom on the large boulders as it drove through the major ruts. We pass a sign for Francies hut on the way up and do some wondering about what that is all about. After the hut we have some more climbing to do, but are passed by a truck with a young man driving and an older gentleman, the passenger, looking like he was getting thrown around quite a bit. On top of this vehicle was a long paddle board strapped down.

We arrive at lower Crystal lake take a few pictures of the lake and old cabin ruins. You can see several groups of people ahead of us walking along the long 2 miles worth of switchbacks up to the Upper Crystal Lake. Funny thing is these switchbacks were by far the most reasonable grade we walked on all day! Better get moving as the skies are already filling up with nasty clouds. As we are going up, we cross paths with the older passenger from the well shaken truck walking down the switchbacks. The older gentleman's son is hiking way to the top of Mt. Crystal, going to ski down, then hike over to the next snow field and ski down into the bowl by the lower Crystal Lake, at which point he was planning on long board paddling the lower Cqrystal lake. The Dad's job was to shoot the video.

We make it up to the Upper Crystal Lakes just in time to see the son ski down the first snow patch. Ok, he managed to cut a nice S curve down. We head on over and do some exploring around an old miners cabin ruin at the foot of Upper Crystal. Clouds are getting pretty dark and we have a long way to go to get to tree line...we get moving down towards the lower lake.

As we are coming down the long 2 miles worth of switchbacks we see the son heading over to the lake for part two of his adventure. He manages to get up on the long board and paddle twice around the lake before getting off and walking the board back to strap onto his vehicle. I'm thinking his whole adventure is for bragging rights... After the board is on the car the son and dad drive away. Ok, whatever!

This trail had one of the most bouncy foot logs ever for a creek crossing. There were three lodge pole pine tree tops laying across the creek. As you walk across they would bend down into the rushing creek when you put your weight on it, and as you stepped down with your other foot it would flex up. All of this bending and bouncing into the creek water made for rather slippery tree logs. So we just sort of bounced and slip slided our way across.

On the way down we took a side trip to see the Francies Hut. Shhhh it was posted closed but we did not touch anything. Only looked, I promise! so this must be a hut people ski up to in the winter. Looks pretty nice. It has its own detached sauna.

Here I am going to add some historical information that I found interesting loosely adapted from an article which ran in the Dillian Ranger District Recreation Guide.

The history of Summit county can be described as gold in the colors of : Brown, yellow, white and green. First brown gold of the Ute Indians who sought buffalo, elk, deer and other game. Most of the Ute trails of the past are either roads or trails of today.

Early 1800s also saw the quest for brown gold as trappers seeking beaver, otter, and muskrat pelts for the wealthy patrons of London, New York and Paris.

Spring of 1859 witnessed the first signs of yellow gold fever. Called the 59'ers as they converged on Pikes Peak for a gold rush of placer gold. Nuggets and flakes were found in stream sediments. Then the second rush of 1880 this time for silver, lead, zinc, and gold mined using under ground processes. During this time ranches soared up in the flat land to help support the needs of the mining industry. The railroad came in 1882 to help connect the mining towns with the outside world. Then back to gold dredging in the rivers.

White gold was found as the area looked to cash in on the growing popularity of skiing. White gold brought with it the need for second homes, restaurants, shops and other developments.

Lastly the green gold: hiking, biking, fishing, hunting, and the quest to save the environment for future generations. Many forms and shades of gold exist in these mountains, some say even liquid gold as the thirst for water is a constant battle between those who have it and those who want it.

9.7 miles today in 6 hours and 20 minutes
total miles hiked 108.7