[Journal entry for January 8 and 14, 2015; Mesa Cortina Trail, Eagle’s Nest Wilderness, near Silverthorne Colorado].

[January 8, 2015]. In the late afternoon, Dallas and I parked at the Mesa Cortina Trailhead at the end of Royal Redbird Drive up on the hill above the town of Silverthorne Colorado. We walked the Mesa Cortina Trail as far as the Wilderness Boundary sign. This part of the trail follows a contour near the end of the mesa, and affords many nice views of the valley that includes the town of Silverthorne and of Ptarmigan Mountain, on its distant side. The setting sun cast the shadow of Buffalo Mountain onto the flank of Ptarmigan. It grew until all of the central part of Ptarmigan was in shadow. By the time we reached the car, only the very tops of the distant high peaks were still lit orange by the sun, everything nearby was an evening purple. About an hour.

[January 14, 2015]. In the mid afternoon, I parked once again at the Mesa Cortina Trailhead and walked the Mesa Cortina Trail o its terminus, where it joins Trail 60 in the valley of the South Willow Creek. The trail slowly descends in elevation, passing through stands of Lodgepole Pine and Aspen. It follows the edge of the mesa, occasionally crossing open fields that afford a good view of Ptarmigan Mountain, but mostly staying within the trees. It path is quite sinuous, especially as it winds into and out of gullies. I passed several trail intersections. I puzzled at one unmarked intersection the right direction to take, and after consulting my map, made a choice that proved to be correct. I passed several other hikers. The first confirmed that I was still on the Mesa Cortina Trail, heading towards the Trail 60 intersection. The second has two enormous Huskies. I felt their fur, which was very think and stiff. They seemed happy to be in the snow. I had some nice views of Red Mountain, still sunlit, as I approached the valley, but once in it the valley I was in shadow. The air, which had been unseasonably warm earlier in the day, now turned wintery. I crossed a footbridge over South Willow Creek and reached the Trail 60 junction. I walked a few hundred yards up the trail, passing a wetland full of willow bushes in the floodplain of the creek. I did not figure that I had time to reach the part of the trail that I had traversed earlier in the week, so I turned about and retraced my path. As with my earlier hike with Dallas, the setting sun was throwing the shadow of Buffalo Mountain over Ptarmigan. About two and a half hours.