Art of Mountain Hiking - Snowy Range

Fly into Denver, CO by 2PM today. You will be met in baggage claim by your AGC guides, and shuttled to our hotel in Laramie, WY. Laramie, (or “Laradise” as the locals call it) is a charming western college town, full of cowboy relics and outdoor adventure. At 7,200 feet above sea level, you may find the mountainous views breath-taking in a literal way! At 5:30 PM we’ll meet in the hotel lobby for introductions and orientation before hitting the town for our first group dinner together. (D)

Overnight: Hotel in Laramie

This morning we’ll follow the rising sun to the east to a local geological legend. The Native Americans named this area Vedauwoo (pronounced Vee-Duh-Voo), which means "Land of the Earthborn Spirits." You'll see why when you behold tons of rock that seem to balance on inches of space. This spectacular area is full of fascinating boulder formations, dating back 1.43 billion years with behemoth Sherman granite rocks made of pink feldspar, white quartz, black specs of hornblende and other minerals such as mica. We'll hone our plant ID skills, and learn about local fauna. Particularly lucky hikers may even spy a moose!

Here we’ll stretch our legs on our first hike, Turtle Rock Loop, and enjoy a picnic lunch. Along the way, we’ll review hiking basics such as Leave No Trace ethics, trekking pole use and more altitude illness prevention. Since altitude affects everyone differently, we are purposefully easing in with a shorter hike. (B, L, D)

Hiking Distance: 3 miles Elevation Gain/Loss: 318 feet
Overnight: Hotel in Laramie

After breakfast, we take a beautiful one hour drive west over the Snowy Mountain Scenic Byway. We'll drive through sagebrush prairie at the lower elevations to lodgepole pine and spruce-fir forests at higher elevations. The Snowy Range, at 9,000 feet to 12,000 feet above sea level, is aptly named for the heavy annual snowfall and striking white granite peaks. Today’s hike is on the North Fork of the Little Laramie Trail. We may do this as a loop, or an end to end from the West Trailhead to the East Trailhead, and we will cover topics including wildflowers, beetle kill, fire ecology, and Leave no Trace. This afternoon we’ll check into our lodging for the next few nights, the charming and historic Mountain View Hotel in Centennial, Wyoming.

Hiking Distance: approximately 5 miles Elevation Gain: 669 feet
Overnight: Mountain View Hotel

Now that we’ve had a few days of acclimatization, we’ll hike out and back on the Shelf Lakes Trail. We begin today’s hike at the crystalline waters of Libby Lake (elevation 10,750) and trek northeast, skirting the base of Browns Peak. Glaciers gouged Medicine Bow National Forest thousands of years ago, creating lake after pristine lake. Today many snowfields remain all summer, gripping the mountain slopes and hanging over many of the lakes, white snow contrasting with blue water; we’ll pass both the South and North Gap Lakes. Hiking around South Gap Lake we’ll have our first taste of a talus field of boulders that requires careful footing and sound balance. We’ll use that practice on North Gap Lake where there will also be some boulders to scramble across. There will be plenty of time to marvel at trees twisted by the harsh alpine environment, known as "Krummholz" or "bent trees" and a beautiful array of wildflowers - true highlights of the alpine scenery! A variety of birds frequent the high country, such as the Brown headed Rosy Finch, Clark's Nutcracker, chickadee, and Northern Flicker. We will become familiar as well with the squeaks, whistles and scurrying of the small alpine marmots and pikas. We may see elk, deer, and short-tailed weasels along the trail pine. Tonight we'll put our new hiking knowledge to the test as we put all our learning together to choose the best route for tomorrow's peak attempt. (B, L, D)

Hiking Distance: approximately 6.1 miles
Elevation Gain/Loss: 722 feet
Overnight: Mountain View Historic Hotel

After a few days of thoughtful hiking preparation, we are ready to attempt Medicine Bow Peak! Standing at a majestic 12,013 feet, Medicine Bow Peak is the highest point in the range and provides a great landmark during most of our trip. The climb up multiple switchbacks is challenging, but the view is so worth the effort! The top portion of the trail is another talus field where we will put our trekking poles to good use, navigating from cairn to cairn (rock pile trail marker) and have a short boulder scramble at the very top. From up here we get a bird's eye view of the plentiful lakes that are home to rainbow, cutthroat, and brook trout. (B, L, D)

Hiking Distance: 6.2 miles Elevation Gain/Loss: 1,522 feet
Overnight: Mountain View Historic Hotel

On our last hiking day, we’ll start at the Brooklyn Lake Trailhead and hike to Lost Lake and to the Glacier Lakes, where research is conducted to determine the effects of atmospheric deposition and climate change on alpine and subalpine aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. This is an out and back so if you’re feeling sore from yesterday’s climb, you can turn around early. Today’s itinerary day also gives us the opportunity to switch our summit attempt day based on weather forecasts. As a reward for our hiking, we finish our trip at the wonderful Vee Bar Ranch (where AGC’s Living the Cowgirl Life is based!). Here we can soak our sore legs in the hot tub or ice our worn out feet in the Little Laramie River that runs through the ranch. There’s even a ‘saloon’ on the property! Tonight we will toast to our accomplishments during the week over a yummy farewell dinner. (B, L, D)

Hiking Distance: 6.6 miles Elevation/Gain: 814 feet
Overnight: Vee Bar Ranch

Farewell high alpine tundra and magnificent sights! After breakfast at the ranch, we’ll have you back to the Denver, Colorado airport in time for flights out after 2PM. (B)