Maryann Gaug - Best Hikes Breckenridge and Vail: The Greatest Views, Adventures, and Forest Trails

KEITH BROWN

A native of Colorado, Maryann Gaug was born in Denver and spent much of her youth dreaming about living in the mountains. While working on a BS degree in mathematics at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, she started backpacking and downhill skiing. Missing the mountains of Colorado, Maryann returned and earned an MS in computer science at the University of Colorado Boulder. The Boulder Group of the Colorado Mountain Club and their mountaineering school provided new friends and a great education on enjoying Colorados mountains. Between the Colorado Mountain Club and the Rocky Flats Mountaineering Group, Maryann continued to hike, backpack, back-country ski, and otherwise love doing mountain-oriented activities.

After twenty years at Rocky Flats, Maryann took a voluntary separation plan and moved to Silverthorne, Colorado. Her initial mountain life included working as a Nordic ski instructor at Copper Mountain Resort, completing a Wilderness Studies Certificate at Colorado Mountain College, and becoming a master of Leave No Trace. Maryann also started following another dream: to write about the mountains and canyons that she loves. Her articlesranging from her outdoor adventures to natural historyhave been published in several Summit County newspapers and the e-zine Cyberwest. Writing Best Hikes Breckenridge and Vail is her latest adventure. Her other books include Hiking Colorado, Best Hikes Near Denver and Boulder, Best Easy Day Hikes Vail, and Hiking Colorados Summit County Area.

Many thanks to all of my contacts in the USDA Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Towns of Dillon, Breckenridge, Vail, and Glenwood Springs for working with me on which trails would be most appropriate for this book. Despite the big brother image that federal and public employees often have, these people love the backcountry and were eager to answer questions, review the chapters, and provide feedback. Thanks to Jaci Spuhler of the Eagle County Library for researching several of my questions. In the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection, I found interesting information on the area in old newspaper articles written between 1859 and 1923 (www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org). I researched the history of the Eagles Nest, Ptarmigan Peak, and Holy Cross Wildernesses in the Denver Public Librarys Western History Collection (history.denverlibrary.org). Several people at the Summit Historical Society and Breckenridge Heritage Alliance answered various questions about Breckenridges mining history.

View of the Gore Range from the Lenawee Trail (hike 5)

Paintbrush and Shrine Ridge Trail (hike 19)

Because I typically hike the trails by myself, thanks to my best friend, Keith Brown, who anxiously awaited my phone calls that I was safe and not lost in the woods. May he rest in peace.

Special gratitude to my mom and my dad for encouraging me to do what I want to do and strive for peace and happiness.

Last but not least, thanks to youreaders and fellow hikersfor buying Best Hikes Breckenridge and Vail. I hope you find it useful and interesting, and may you enjoy many hours hiking the trails described between these covers.

Colorado Mountain Club, State Office, 710 10th St., #200, Golden; (303) 279-3080; www.cmc.org

Gore Range Group (serves Summit County and Vail area); www.cmc.org/Groups/GoreRange.aspx

Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, 1600 Jackson St., Ste. 352, Golden; (303) 278-7650; www.14ers.org

Colorado Trail Foundation, 710 10th St., #210, Golden; (303) 384-3729; www.coloradotrail.org

Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance, PO Box 4504, Frisco 80443; contact Dillon

Ranger District at (970) 468-5400 for the current contact; eaglesummitwilderness.org.

The Forest Conservancy, 1012 Brookie Dr., Carbondale; (970) 963-8071; www.forestconservancy.com

Friends of the Dillon Ranger District, PO Box 1648, Silverthorne 80498; (970) 262-3449; www.fdrd.org

Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers, PO Box 1341, Basalt 81623; (970) 927-8241; www.rfov.org

Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, 600 S. Marion Pkwy., Denver; (303) 715-1010; www.voc.org

For very interesting reading, check out Colorados Historic Newspaper Collection online at www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org. Newspapers published in various Colorado towns and cities between about 1859 and 1923 have been scanned. You can search on a topic, pick an appropriate newspaper(s), and see the world through the writers eyes in the actual format of yesteryear. Information from old newspapers was obtained from this collection for this hiking guide.

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Clarke, Charlotte. The Mines of Frisco: A Self-Guided Tour. Self-published, 2004.

Clawson, Janet Marie. Echoes of the Past: Copper Mountain, Colorado. Denver, CO: Waldo Litho, 1986.

Fiester, Mark. Blasted Beloved Breckenridge. Boulder, CO: Pruett Publishing Co., 1973.

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Mather, Sandra F., PhD, and the Summit Historical Society. Images of America: Summit County. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2008.

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McLean, John N. Fire on the Mountain. New York, NY: Harper Perennial (reprint edition), 2009.

Pritchard, Sandra F. DillonDenver and the Dam. Dillon, CO: Summit Historical Society, 1994.

. Roadside Summit: Part I, The Natural Landscape. Dillon, CO: Summit Historical Society, 1988.

. Roadside Summit: Part II, The Human Landscape. Dillon, CO: Summit Historical Society, 1992.

Roberts, Jack. The Amazing Adventures of Lord Gore: A True Saga from the Old West. Silverton, CO: Sundance, 1977.

Simonton, June B. Beaver Creek: The First One Hundred Years. Publisher unknown, 1984.