Cougar Ridge // Minturn, Colorado

 I broke trail through knee deep snow three miles up Cougar Ridge during late January, eventually reaching a point 1000 feet above Minturn, CO. I followed numerous animal tracks on the way up, likely being elk, though one set might have been a mountain lion. Sun shining through the forest and onto the fresh snowy forest floor created a surreal atmosphere. And I thoroughly enjoyed basking in bright sunshine at my cliff-top perch, looking down onto highway 24 below, and westward across the Sawatch Range.

Map of Minturn, CO and the Cougar Ridge trail located to the east.