Winter Camping near Crested Butte
- Kristen Hodges
- Oct 23, 2017
- 2 min read
October 22, 2017 - Lost Lake Slough, Somerset, CO 81434
I admit that winter camping is not my favorite, and Austin and I set a lowest temp for ourselves after this adventure. At the end of our first summer here, 2017, we wanted to squeeze one more camping trip in before surrendering our rooftop tent to storage for the winter, so we set out southward towards Crested butte for one last trip. We headed from Denver towards Kebler Pass, which ended up being in pretty bad condition from the snow and rain that the area had gotten recently. Use this pass with caution in late fall or early spring (or even after a big rain storm in summer) as much of it was deep mud and we risked getting stuck, even in our 4WD Subaru Forester. This road is also closed during winter months, so plan your trip accordingly! Alas, we made it to Lost Lake Slough a few hours before dark. Camping past the prime summer season is free, so we just picked a place and set up camp. Most of the other campers in the area were elk hunters; strictly RV’s, car campers and the like.. we were the only ones in a tent (should have taken it as a sign...). We went on a small hike to the upper lake, warned by hunters to wear bright colors and speak occasionally as to be clear of our presence. The snow and cold made the hike even more beautiful, peaceful, and quiet, and the wood floating on the lake’s surface was gracefully coated with snow. We sat for a moment, taking in the beauty and silence before heading back to make dinner. A fire was a must this chilly night, so we made do with the pit provided at the site.
We slept okay through the night, though it got colder than planned so I admit it was a little restless. When we woke in the morning, the tent had a crisp layer of frost... on the inside! It caught us both off guard, so we checked the low overnight to see what it was and were shocked to see 22 degrees Fahrenheit, inside the tent. For reference, tents are typically 5-10 degrees warmed than outside measurements - so it could have been as low at 12 outside! It was worth the cold night however, because once we emerged from the tent, we were blessed with a winter wonderland surrounding us at sunrise. There were huge ice crystals coating everything, the lake was mirror-flat, and there was a thin layer of steam just above its surface. It might have been our coldest tent-camping experience, but I think it was the most beautiful as well.
Lessons learned: tent camping below 30 degrees is probably not acceptable for us, even in our rooftop tent which has a pretty thick canvas shell, unless we got an insulating layer for it (which we recently have acquired).
Pro tips: camping in the off season has it’s pluses such as free sites, peaceful/quiet neighbors, and low trafficked trails.
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