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The West Magnolia recreation area is just south of Nederland, east of Eldora, and is relatively new---there is no indication of this trail system on my 1996 trail map.
Late one March, I began at the main trailhead and wound a generally counter-clockwise path through quite a network of sometimes whimsically named trails. Aspen Alley was appropriately descriptive, but where did Pungy Stick Trail, Whoop-Di-Dos, Hobbit 1, 2, and 3, and Root Canal come from?
There was uniformly gray skies above and good views of the Eldora ski trails to the west. The green pines seemed especially bright and angular against the soft white snow. They swayed and shifted in a steady wind, the one sign of life against an otherwise still background. Two robins did make a brief appearance.
In the snow, these trails were not obvious in the open woodland. I watched my compass and the contour lines on my topographic map. I had sketched the trail network off the trailhead kiosk. And there were lots of snowshoe and ski tracks, representing the collective wisdom of previous visitors.
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Another day, I drove down to forest road 355 and walked south. This is a well-established road---it is on my 1996 map, and even on my 1980 map of the area, although in 1980 much of the road was only a trail. It is well marked now and much used by snowshoers and skiers (although I met no one else on that Wednesday in early March). It was a level stroll through aspen and pine with unbroken snow stretching off in undulating mounds on either side. There are many side roads and side trails, all urging us to explore.
After 0.9 miles, I came to a gate and the southern border of the West Magnolia area. At about 1.0 miles, the road turns sharply right as 105 and continues west and then south to Rollinsville. I (as had most hikers and skiers) continued south on trail 929. This trail parallels a Los Lagos Ranch irrigation ditch on the west. There is a viaduct across a creek, and at 2.2 mi. the trail ends at a private-property boundary. That is, most winter travelers had stopped here and returned. According to the map, I could have continued SW and then NW and regained the forest road again.
Instead, I decided to climb something. I left the trail and entered the woods on a due-west compass heading. I climbed to a low ridge. There was a view of James Peak through the trees. On the south-facing slopes much of the snow had melted away exposing ground thick with needles, cones, and a heavy pine smell. I passed several old mine diggings, descended to a small creek, and then climbed to some unnamed height. This route was decidedly untraveled. The snow was heavy but unpacked, and I sank to my knees with each step---slow going. On top, the ground was bare again, and I had a wide view to the northwest of the slopes of Caribou and the Indian Peaks in the background, a perfect lunch spot.
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James Peak in the distance
An unnamed height
On a height
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