Kathy, Tori and I hiked the Ptarmigan near Lake Dillon in Summit County Colorado. The trail is an 8 mile loop with an elevation gain of 2500 feet and I guess we’d rate it as a 3 ½ out of 5 overall.
This was the first hiking trail we took Marcy on and she did great and was off the leash for most of the 8 miles.
The weather we perfect in the 70s with no rain.
The trailhead is very close to I70 in Silverthorne
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The trail begins across the road from a parking area were you have to climb a steep sagebrush mound with some great views of Lake Dillon.
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This was a great time of the year for wild-flowers at this elevation (about 9,000 feet)
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The trail then takes you through some awesome aspen forest with a couple of stream crossings.
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As the trail winds through the aspens there are some cool views of Lake Dillon, Buffalo Mt., Red Peak and the Gore Range to the west.
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Past the aspens the trail ascends quickly and eventually reaches Ptarmigan Peak at an elevation of 12,500'. We stopped close to the top for lunch.
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After descending back down to 10000 feet we hooked back up with the sagebrush mound and then returned to the car.
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