• Home
  • About

A Runner's Story

A Runner's Story

Tag Archives: Golden Leaf Inn

Sprague Lake

09 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Snowshoe

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Ed's Cantina and Grill, Golden Leaf Inn, RMNP

sprague lake TH

Karen and I wake before dawn to sit in our chairs by the fire and look out over the meadow to watch the sun rise.  The clouds have cleared and we see Twin Sisters, Longs Peak, Mount Meeker and countless other peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park.  I bring up a french press and two coffee cups in time to see two elk mingle with the horses in the meadow.

bridge

We are the only guests this weekend at the Golden Leaf Inn.  Next weekend is booked for a winter festival.  Our exclusivity allows us to get to know our hosts, Dave and Jane, over breakfast.  Dave and Jane are Inn-sitting for Monica, the regular hostess, while she holidays in New Zealand.  They are retired and previously volunteered at the YMCA of the Rockies for five weeks.  By working at least 21 hours per week, they received full room and board.  Karen visited this camp as a child while her father attended medical seminars.  Today it’s more of a resort with 5000 beds and a convention center.

tree

Five miles down Bear Lake Road is Sprague Lake where Karen and I hike this morning in the fresh snow.  There are numerous trails here.  We select a three mile loop.  Once again, we leave our snowshoes in the van, choosing instead to wear our hiking boots over the lightly packed snow.  It’s deeper than yesterday at Bear Lake.  I post-hole occasionally but the boots work well and are much speedier as we complete a 90 minute jaunt in the woods.

rock

We lunch at Ed’s Cantina before leaving Estes Park for home.  We barely make it back in time for our scheduled recovery massages.  Rough weekend.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • More
  • Tumblr
  • Email
  • Print

Like this:

Like Loading...

Bear Lake

08 Friday Jan 2016

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Snowshoe

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Estes Park, Golden Leaf Inn, RMNP, Stanley Hotel

trailheadI take Friday afternoon off from work, arguably early in the year for vacation but I’m finding the transition back from two full weeks away difficult and believe pacing myself is the best path forward.  Karen suggested that we snowshoe in Rocky Mountain National Park over the weekend.  The one sport we do well together.  As you might know, Karen is a little bit dancer and I’m a little bit runner.  Snowshoeing is where we can come together.  So Karen booked a night at the Golden Leaf Inn, and we head up just after noon.

karen

Nine miles from the Beaver Meadows park entrance is Bear Lake.  I’ve always wanted to run here.  The setting is so incredibly stunning, you have to get up here and see it for yourself.  The snow around the lake trail is packed well enough that we hike in our snow boots rather than snowshoe.  The clouds lift a bit to reveal the mountains.  The dull disk of the sun could be mistaken for the moon as it filters through.  It’s about 20° and the air is still, perfect conditions for hiking through the trees.  A soft snow falls.  This is ideal.

ed on lake

We check into the Heavenly Room at the Inn.  We’re sitting now in the two comfortably overstuffed, wingback chairs by a fire, with a southern view out over the valley.  I suspect if the snow stops and the clouds lift, in the morning we’ll be able to view Longs Peak and the Continental Divide.  Next stop is dinner at the Stanley Hotel.

karen at bridge

 

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • More
  • Tumblr
  • Email
  • Print

Like this:

Like Loading...

Search this blog

  • Boulder Marathon
  • Britt&Eric
  • Colorado Trail
  • Covid-19
  • covid-noir
  • cyber war
  • Ellie Rose
  • Geek Horror
  • Marathons
  • Margot
  • Medical Files
  • Novel
  • Other Stories
  • Politics
  • ReBlog
  • Running
  • Snowboard
  • Snowshoe
  • Storytelling
  • training plan
  • Victoria BC

Buy Full Spectrum Cyberwar at Amazon

Buy Cyber War I at Amazon

Buy on Amazon India for ₹99

Buy on Amazon U.K. for £2.27

English Edition on Amazon Germany

Buy on Amazon Brazil for R$11.29

Archives

Blog Stats

  • 136,700 hits

Girlfriend Cult

Recent Comments

Terry Collier on Sunken Garden
georgeschools on I saw a Bear
Terry Collier on The Niwot Loop
Ed Mahoney on ATX Half 2023
georgeschools on ATX Half 2023

Recent Posts

  • May Flowers Under a Runner’s Sky May 13, 2023
  • Sunken Garden May 6, 2023
  • I saw a Bear April 23, 2023
  • The Niwot Loop April 22, 2023
  • PSA April 15, 2023
  • Easter Birthdays, Bunnies and Eggs April 8, 2023
  • Happy Memories March 25, 2023
  • ATX Half 2023 February 22, 2023
  • Adelsverein January 28, 2023
  • A Runner’s Day January 7, 2023
  • Last Run of the Year December 31, 2022
  • Christmas, for me… December 26, 2022
  • Craft Shopping for Christmas December 10, 2022
  • A Slow, Late Fall Run November 25, 2022
  • November Runs November 20, 2022
  • Tech Debt November 19, 2022
  • The Runner’s Field of Battle November 13, 2022
  • Stealin’ from God October 24, 2022
  • A New Start October 23, 2022
  • Baby Margot Birthday October 9, 2022
  • The City of Flowers September 24, 2022
  • Dog Park by the Sea September 19, 2022
  • The Lane of Pain September 17, 2022
  • Run Rabbit Run August 28, 2022
  • Wild Horses August 21, 2022
  • The Day Running Died August 17, 2022
  • Boulder Marathon Training – Week One August 7, 2022
  • Mount Sanitas July 30, 2022
  • The Trail and Me July 23, 2022
  • Mount Zirkel Wilderness July 13, 2022
  • Full Team Hike July 4, 2022
  • Village to Village July 3, 2022
  • Beaver Creek July 2, 2022
  • Summer is Here June 12, 2022
  • Birthdays May 22, 2022
  • Fall River Road March 25, 2022
  • A Tale of Two Gerasimov’s March 11, 2022
  • The Hero February 26, 2022
  • Full Spectrum Cyberwar February 24, 2022
  • Run Nan, Run February 20, 2022
  • Running Sunrise to Sunset February 13, 2022
  • Cyberpunk Runner February 5, 2022
  • A Winter’s Run January 15, 2022
  • Turkmenistan January 2, 2022
  • Counting Families at Christmas December 26, 2021
  • Austin Boardwalk December 23, 2021
  • Like Christmas for the First Time December 19, 2021
  • Restoration November 27, 2021
  • India Kinks November 15, 2021
  • Run a Little, Write a Little November 6, 2021

Colorado=Security

Blogroll

  • Alohawk's Blog
  • Barbie's Blog
  • Boggy Creek Lumpster
  • George Schools Blog
  • I, Cringely
  • Prostate Chronicles
  • Shut Up + Run
  • Sustainable Sunrise
  • The Rogue Botanist

Web Sites

  • Amazon Author Page
  • Austin Marathon
  • Bolder Boulder
  • Brit's YouTube Songs
  • Colorado Marathon
  • Colorado Runner Magazine
  • Colorado Trail
  • Girlfriend Cult
  • Lobo Media Ltd
  • My YouTube Site
  • Race Pace Calculator
  • Shoes & Brews
  • Trail Runner Magazine
  • Zaremba Graphic & Web Solutions

Goodreads

Top Posts & Pages

  • Foot Fetish
  • La Cueva
  • Berthoud Pass
  • Performance Enhancers
  • PSA

Top Clicks

  • None

RSS Feed

  • RSS - Posts
  • RSS - Comments

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • A Runner's Story
    • Join 249 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • A Runner's Story
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: