We hiked up the old access road to the mines above Eldora to visit Lost Lake. The first half mile of the hike goes along a still-active roadway that once connected ot the mining claims in the mountains.
This was a bit too rutted for my lowered Subaru. We hiked it rather than try driving the half mile to the trailhead.
The old Hessie townsite.
This land is in the Indian Peaks Wilderness which was established in 1978. The open road ends at the wilderness boundary. I would guess that is when the road past that point was closed to motorized vehicles. Today it is still obvious that this route once had trucks bouncing up the grade.
Looking up toward some of the lower peaks south and west of the old road.
An old cabin along the way that is getting ready to melt into the earth as soon as the roof fails.
Looking east toward the low country.
Crossing over a large creek. Lots of ice in the waterway.
An icy cataract.
Up at Lost Lake looking nearly due west toward the continental divide.
The lake had some ice around the edges from the last several nights of freezing weather.
Big mountains.
Heading up the old track to what I think is the Lost Lake Lode Mine. It is a bit difficult to determine the mine’s name from the BLM databases but I believe that this area was all part of the Lost Lake Lode Mine. Perhaps someone can comment on this post and tell me exactly what the name of this mining complex really is.
A big tailing pile on the side of the mountain.
Looking out to the west and north from the tailing pile.
Big mountains on the horizon.
Another small tailing pile down the hill.
Heather at the edge of the tailing pile.
Holding up Lost Lake.
There are a couple of fire rings and some good places for tents here.
An old cabin site.
Possibly an old adit access tunnel to the mines.
Heather looking out on the continental divide.
Old collapsed mining buildings. There were many mining sites around Lost Lake. According to the BLM, there was gold and silver mining in this area.
Back down on the lake.
Ice on the lake surface.
We ate an apple and then headed back down to the car. This was a good little hike and perhaps one of the last in the high country this year before the snow finally comes.