Chinns Lake
Our annual 4th of July BBQ is always a good time, and this year we'd be having it at Chinns Lake. The weather promised to be perfect. It's the one time when we go wheeling but we relax for awhile at lunch to just chat and enjoy the scenery.
We met at the McDonald's in Idaho Springs, but we had a couple people not show up so we waited for them for awhile. That meant a late start, but we weren't running too far behind. It wasn't too far to the trailhead, and we drove a little way in before we aired down.
There was already a lot of traffic on the trail. We saw many cars, ATVs and dirt bikes pass us while we got ready. Loch Lomond, a popular trail right next to Chinns Lake, was not open yet. We figured that meant that all of the traffic for the two trails would be on Chinns Lake.
The skies were blue with puffy white clouds as we climbed up the mellow trail. We decided to come back to Fall River Reservoir on the way back, and we headed straight up to Sherwin Lake. We hoped that we could get a good spot at the lake, and we got lucky. There was a bit of snow on the trail just before the lake, and that probably stopped most of the traffic. We ended up getting the big spot at the end of the trail where we had lots of room to park and spread out.
Mark brought his canopy and a grill, which he started setting up right away. Every person asked him if he needed any help, but he had it down to a science. It wasn't long before the canopy was up and he was cooking burgers.
We all enjoyed the sunshine, and there were a few sunburns to be had. It seemed that everyone brought way too much food, so we were all sharing. Betty brought her brownies, and everyone had at least one.
There was a patch of snow just below the canopy on a hill, and a few of the guys enjoyed "skiing" down it. The dogs all played and wandered around, and it was a great time. We stayed for quite awhile, eventually getting in the canopy for some shade.
A few people hiked up to Slater Lake, and the views were amazing. The clouds threatened us a little bit, and we had a short time of rain. It wasn't too serious, but it brought the hikers back down to the lunch spot in a hurry.
Marcus did his best to catch a fish or two, but he wasn't successful. There were a couple of people fishing in Chinns Lake, but Sherwin Lake just wasn't producing any fish.
It was almost like no one wanted to leave, but eventually we headed out. We took the short detour to Fall River Reservoir, but no one wanted to go explore. There were lots of people there, too.
We were soon off the trail and back on Fall River Road. It was a short distance to Cumberland Gulch where we got off of the pavement again, off to explore more of the area. It was a great BBQ, as always!
Reports from Other Days: 2
Use the arrows or dots to flip through the previews of the other reports for Chinns Lake. Click one of them to read more and see all of the photos from that day.
