Snow hike aborted, on account of snow

B

Bob W

Joined
Dec 31, 2000
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My intent was to hike to Lake Dorothy, Colorado for some winter photos of the lake. Had I made it, I'd of been the only one since before the snow ten days ago. There are four thousand acres in the Lake Dorothy Wildlife Area, which is attached to the 8,000 acre James John Wildlife Area and the 3,600-acre Sugarite State Park. All of that public land and not a soul out there anywhere...

I did make it across the parking lot through knee-deep snow. Past the gate though the snow deepened to waste-deep in what appeared to be a fifteen-thousand acre snowfield. No thanks!

I did take a few pictures though, from the road. :)

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All of that land available to free wilderness backcountry travel, and no takers. Anyone with snowshoes, it's all yours.
 
Thats just beautiful wilderness right there...How many miles do you have to drive/travel to get there?

You shouldnt have let a little bit of snow get in the way of your trip, especially if you have had the trip planned for a long time. Did you consider making your own snowshoes out of saplings and paracord?
 
PropThePolecat said:
Thats just beautiful wilderness right there...How many miles do you have to drive/travel to get there?

You shouldnt have let a little bit of snow get in the way of your trip, especially if you have had the trip planned for a long time. Did you consider making your own snowshoes out of saplings and paracord?
Click to expand...

Sugarite State Park with Lake Maloya is actually very close to Raton, about ten minutes to drive. The large lake is very popular among local families and fishermen, and campgrounds are very busy during the summers. This day kids and families were sledding the slopes alongside the paved road, which was barely cleared. But No One was out in the backcountry.

The Colorado Wildlife areas are much less visited. There's a single parking lot and all other access is on foot or horseback only. Lake Dorothy is a ten minute hike from the parking and attracts a few fishermen, but the inconvenience and expense keep most folks away; New Mexican residents have to buy a Colorado license. I've never encountered anyone when hiking beyond the lake, although the area is used by hunters in the fall.

To further deter visitors, the entire area was hit by a super-hot full-crown fire last summer. Lake Dorothy was drained to catch the ash runoff and most of the mature forest was lost.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/856548-Forest-Fire

More information:
Sugarite State Park: http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/prd/sugarite.htm
Lake Dorothy Wildlife Area: http://wildlife.state.co.us/Landwater/statewildlifeareas/Pages/swa.aspx
James John Wildlife Area: http://wildlife.state.co.us/Landwater/statewildlifeareas/Pages/swa.aspx

Although each of these properties is rather small, they form a single area of mostly undeveloped backcountry. And they are extremely important to local outdoor enthusiasts, since this is the only public land within a two-hour drive. A local citizen group recently fought off a Texas-based gas company who wanted to develop the area for coalbed-methane gas wells.

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p.s. I hate snow!
 
nice pics! i love hiking in the winter especially with a good layer of snow. however, even with snowshoes, i won't tackle waist-deep snow though - it's just too much work.
 
Sucks that the trip was ruined by the snow. Thanks for the pics though.

You can pass me some of that snow...
 
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