A Weekend in Summit County, Colorado 2021 . Manhattan, Kansas Photographer
Just this past weekend, I took a very brief, long-feeling but short-in-reality girls trip to Summit County, Colorado. Previously, my only memory of the area had been on a road trip while passing through that mountainously dense section of Colorado. This time however, I was given the opportunity to stay and linger for a few days in that gorgeous part of the state.
Sitting at around 9,000 feet above sea level, me and my plains-familiar friends were as awestruck by the beauty as we were our difficulty adjusting to the altitude. Who knew that oxygen deprivation could be a difficult thing on the system? While we had some ambitious hiking and sight seeing plans, we found ourselves having to adjust our pace to our energy and wellness levels.
From the second we got there, we were taken by the beauty, especially that of the sun setting behind the nearby mountain peaks. We didn’t know their names, (ok—one was called Buffalo, another Wichita, and in all reality things felt a little too Kansas as far as that went, so… I’ll pretend I didn’t know their names)—but we were none the less entranced, taking cell phone photos and videos out the car window as we drove to dinner.
For our first evening, we went out to dinner at a Breckenridge restaurant called Cabin Juice, located in the Gravity Haus hotel. It had quintessential ski-town vibes and an incredibly pleasing menu - rack of elk with couscous, leg of lamb with fingerling potatoes, grilled sourdough with whipped butter, not to mention local beer. We left that place happy campers… er… skiers? While I didn’t take my camera to dinner, just let your imagination do the work. It was dang good.
The next day, I snuck out for sunrise over the Dillon Reservoir. Normally, scenic overlooks are not my thing. Rarely do they seem to offer worthwhile views, but this particular spot just off I-70 before the Frisco turnoff was a real winner. I highly recommend it if you’re in the area and looking for a high-reward low-effort sunrise/mountain view. Literally - I parked my car next to semis and RVs and clicked my shutter. It could not have been easier or more beautiful.
We all grabbed coffee then headed out for our first (and incidentally my last) hike of the trip on the Lily Pad Lake Trail in Silverthorne, Colorado. It’s a pretty heavily trafficked trail, and when we got there around 9:00 AM, the parking lot was full, so we parked back at our AirBnB and walked to our hike. Most of the hike was in the forest. Being surrounded by aspens and evergreens felt like something out of a movie. It seemed like everyone and their dog was there too, and I began to feel like I made a mistake leaving mine at home! Not only that, but everyone was just super happy. Blame it on the oxygen deprivation, but everyone seemed pleased to pause and chat for a while amidst taking in the beautiful scenery, forest, and wildflowers.
The trail completes at Lily Pad Lake, not to be confused with the lily pad covered pond just before the lake (not that we were confused (we were definitely confused)). The 1.5 mile trek had a delightful resting point, and we all took in the sunshine as momma duck swam by with her quacking ducklings and the occasional dog took a swim in the cool, high-altitude water.
Exhausted, I pretty much called it a day, and we all spent time exploring the area at our own pace, despite having other hikes planned.
The next day, three of us had planned to hike a 14er. Only one of us had ever hiked one, so we were pretty nervous but excited for the challenge. We awoke at 3:30 AM, and eventually reached an incredibly rocky road—one I bought new tires for, in fact. One mile from our trailhead, I got a low tire pressure warning and got out to discover I’d punctured a tire on a rock.
With the help of kind strangers, we managed to change my flat, put on my donut, and slowly, slowly, slowly make our way back down the mountain and eventually to a mechanic in Frisco, Colorado. Did I forget to bring my camera, because I was so focused on the hike? Yes. I’m sorry to literally everyone for not having any photos of the event.
The entire situation was emotionally and physically exhausting (like I said, the altitude was hard on us). Feeling especially drained, I opted out of an afternoon hike, and spent the time exploring shops in downtown Breckenridge with two of the girls while the other two explored North Ten Mile Creek Trail. They loved it, and if you’re interested, I’m sure they’d be happy to gush about it’s wonderfulness.
For our last day, we all got up for sunrise together before grabbing breakfast and heading out of town. Having a moment to take it all in with the other girls before running back to Kansas might have been my absolute favorite.
With full bellies, happy hearts, and bodies finally adjusted to the altitude, we left Colorado and returned to the sunflower state once again.
Interested in booking photography with me? E-mail me, Emma, at hello [at] emmahighfill [dot] com.
