Wet walk up the Mosca Pass and Manitou Springs, CO

Trip Start Jun 03, 2010

Trip End Aug 05, 2010

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Flag of United States Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado
Saturday, June 12, 2010

Today we made an early start. Lots of other campers were up – but largely because they were having problems with their tents in the high winds! We had a choice of two walks today. One was up to a water fall then to an alpine lake high in the mountain. The other was up the Mosca Pass, an old wagon trail up to 9,800 ft. We decided on the later as the weather was cold – such a change from yesterday and did not fancy the river crossings on the first walk – and the ranger had told us it was 'not recommended' as the water levels were up. So, we had a lovely, lonely walk up the pass and were surprised how quickly we arrived at the top. But it was raining and the views were sadly non existent, so we came down and headed off to Manitou Springs.

Manitou Springs is described as a delightful ‘victorian town’. Initially all we could find were the usual chain stores and numerous (out of our price range) motels. A helpful Starbucks employee set us on the right road to the quainter part of town! We treated ourselves to a pizza and stayed in a wood cabin – quite cozy – after searching endlessly for a cheap motel in this area. Much much colder here – in fact only just above freezing!

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