There are lots of hikes available for the adventurous and not-so-adventurous in Summit County - enough to test every skill level or need for physical exertion. If you haven't been to Mayflower Gulch, I highly recomend the trip. It's a relatiely easy hike, but a few short miles south of Copper Mountain. A trail rises slowly from a turn-off from the highway through high country willows (high as your head) to a huge mountain ampitheatre. In the winter, you actually cross country ski or snowshoe on top of the willows. The snow is that deep. In the summer, you follow a jeep trail. Unfortunately, it's also a relatively popular four-wheel drive road, so hikers do have to put up with an occasional drived-by. Nevertheless, the hike is worth it. The ampitheatre is made up of mountains of the Ten Mile Range, the west side of which form a semi-circle - hence the ampitheatre. Lots of mining occurred here in the 19th Century and you can see evidence, from old mountain log cabins on the valley floor (generally fallen down), to cables running up to digs and shafts halfway up the sheer cliff walls. I wondered how anyone ever determined the locations to dig - especially with tools and technology one and a half centuries ago that was much more primitive than today. It seems that water carries most everything, including gold dust and flakes. Miners who panned in the valley streams gathered gold, then followed the streams uphill, stopping to pan occasionally. At each stop, if there was still gold, they would go further uphill, testing each tributary, each minor ril, until they saw where the water was coming out of the mountain. Often streams simply poured from the rock on the sides of the cliffs. And that is where they would dig. Can you imagine? With pack mule, old pick axes and strictly hand tools, they made their way up cliffsides and poked into mountains to find their fortune. Some did, and became some of the founders of our towns and cities. Many more did not. There is always a price to pay for progress. But, Colorado is such a great State. And Summit County beckons to all who want to escape the trappings of civilization just to wander for an afternoon through a God-made park. Come on in. __________________________________________ Want to buy or sell a SnowHome in Summit County? Please visit our website. All the property listings are there. When you live or visit here, you will know "Snow Place Like Home". | 
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