Camping in Lost Creek Wilderness

Hi, friends! I’m so excited to share with you our first little camping adventure in Colorado this past weekend. Like I mentioned here, Allen really got me into camping when we were in Texas, so I’ve been itching to get out into the mountains for a good ‘ol Colorado camping experience since moving here last fall.

For our first camping adventure, we tried out the Lost Park Campground in Pike National Forest. Both of us had Friday off of work, so we took an easy morning and headed out that way a little after 10am. It was the perfect weekend to go too because all the leaves were at their prime of changing for fall. Simply and breathtakingly beautiful!

I loved going through tree tunnels like this one and feeling totally encased by all the beautiful colors. It was magical to say the least.

Since I had been preoccupied with prelim exam studying for the whole month of August and September, I put Allen in charge of finding the perfect first spot for us to try in Colorado. After doing a little research, he settled upon Lost Park Campground in Lost Creek Wilderness because it was on a first-come-first-serve basis. (We were pretty confident all the reserve-able campgrounds would be taken this late in the game.) And I’m happy to say it turned out to be the perfect little spot for our first time camping in Colorado. We actually ended up being only one of two groups there!

It was quite windy this particular day, so we made sure to find a camping spot in between the trees, where our little two person tent would be shielded from the elements. I loved this cozy little spot too because it was tucked perfectly in the trees, making it feel like we were deep in the woods and away from all civilization. Sometimes you just need to get away, and this spot definitely allowed me to escape.

Love this silly, goofy guy of mine! Everything’s always so much more fun with him.

Allen likes teaching me about all things outdoors-y and I love learning from him! We saw this sign warning about bears in the area and he told me demonstrated how to make sure bears always know you’re around. There was lots of loud, boustrous singing involved. 😛 (Thank goodness no one else was around, haha!)

On our walk around the campgrounds, we found lots of great trails to hike on too, which made for a great way to get some exercise and fresh air. We used the afternoon to walk along the Lost Park – Wigwam Trail, and the colors there did not disappoint.

As the name indicates, the Lost Creek Wilderness area had a beautiful creek running throughout the trail. Mix in the beautiful fall colors and country-like wooden fences and we had ourselves the perfect fall setting.

Allen and I were both huge fans of this sign. Is that weird? There’s just something so rustic and cozy about wooden signs like this that we’re both into.

There was an insane amount of flowers and really cool plants that looked like they were straight out of a Dr. Suess book. And if you’ve ever gone exploring with me, you now how much I love that kind of stuff. Naturally, I had to snap pictures of them all. (Luckily Allen was patient with me.)

I loved all the different types of pine cones we found too. How cool is it that there is such great variety in nature!?

I also really loved these cottony plants that lined the footpath we were on. It’s so fuzzy!!

I think Kristin found her happy place. 😛 Love being outdoors so much! Taking a mental note to make it a priority to do more exploring this fall and winter….because why not?!

There was a little cave-like structure just off the trail that we went exploring in. It’s so much fun to find hidden treasures like that in what feels like unexplored territory. Almost like we are Lewis and Clark exploring new lands for the very first time!

Also loved all the unique textures and colors of the trees and leaves and pine cones.

It was really exciting to turn the corner and see this naturally-made yellow brick road of fallen aspen leaves. Couldn’t help but stand here a few moments to take it all in.

Happy feet! How cute are the little Aspen leaf polka dots?! It’s the little things, friends.

We walked a fair ways out on the trail before heading back to camp. The entire trail is something like 22 miles long…so we were never intentionally planning to do the whole thing. But it was a fantastic way to get our legs moving while seeing some beautiful fall scenery.

Once we made it back to the campground, Allen started building the fire for dinner.

While Allen went about chopping more wood and stoaking the fire, I started at setting up the tent so that it was all ready for us when nightfall came.

While I’m not opposed to roughing it while camping, this camping trip was all about relaxing and rejuvintating after weeks and weeks of nothing but studying. For car camping trips like this, we bring a twin air mattress to sleep on (read: so much comfort!!!), lots and lots of fuzzy warm blankets, pillows and two cold weather sleeping bags. It makes for a super cozy night of sleep! So if you’re hesitant to go all out on tent camping, try this and I bet you’ll like it just fine!

After setting up camp and getting the fire going, we had a little time to relax and unwind in the peace and quiet of the forest, where the only sounds you could here were the rustling of leaves by the wind and the crackling of wood in the fire.

Once the fire had died down a bit and reached the perfect intensity for roasting, we pulled out all our favorite dinner supplies to make a great meal. Hot dogs and jalepeno kettle chips have been a special treat for us ever since we started camping together. And as you can see, we opened the chip bag far before cooking dinner (if I’m being honest, probably 5 minutes into the car ride there). We also love bringing fresh grapes with us for a healthy snack food that’s easy to pop into your mouth while relaxing.

Allen’s all about speed when it comes to roasting his hot dogs, while I try my hardest not to burn anything. Needless to say, I think I was still finishing my first hot dog when Allen started on his third!

Around the end of dinner time, the temperature really started to drop. Brrr! So we added a few warmer layers (these and these are my favorite base layers) and huddled in closer to the fire.

The most perfect teeny little snow flakes. Can you believe it was snowing?! We were definitely not prepared for that!

After warming up close to the fire for a bit, we decided it was time to make dark chocolate s’mores!

Allen was on his A-game for smores this night. His rotisserie technique was impeccable. I mean, look at that perfectly golden marshmallow!

Hi eating game was pretty strong too. 😉

Camping in Texas really didn’t require too many cold weather clothes. But I took these boots with me in case it rained on us and figured they would keep my toezies warm too. And I’m so glad I brought them! One thing I wish I would’ve brought was toe/hand warmers though. Those will definitely be on list next time.

The perfect s’more. Mmmmm!

After indulging in far too many s’mores and cozying up by the fire well into the darkness of night, we finally decided to crawl into our cozy little tent for sleep. I won’t lie to you, it was sooooooo cold. Luckily Allen let me use his 20 degree sleeping bag, but I definitely wish we would’ve brought more warm layers. Mental note made.

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The silver lining to a cold, frigid night? We woke up in the morning to a beautiful snow-covered camp!

Look at those cuddly, sleepy heads. And yes, it was most definitely necessary to sleep in every single layer we brought with us! ALL of the layers.

Normally we would’ve made oatmeal for breakfast (we even got this amazing dinosaur egg version!…yes we are 3 years old). But we were beyond freezing so we decided to head into Breckenridge for breakfast instead.

The night before we had talked about what to do the next day…we hadn’t thought much about camping a second night after finding it was so cold! So instead we decided to continue our drive westward toward Aspen where the thickest colors of fall could be found. Luckily, Breckenridge lies along the scenic route we wanted to take and breakfast there was an easy decision to make–not out of our way at all! (I’ll be sharing the rest of our trip to Aspen in the next post….so stay tuned!)

Overall though, we had such a blast camping in Lost Creek Wilderness and I already can’t wait to go on our next camping adventure in Colorado! It was THE perfect way to unwind after some of the most stressful weeks I’ve ever been through. And a great way to start the fall season to boot! Those colors were unreal.

What about you?! Have you been out camping yet this season? (Have any great campground recommendations for us?!)

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Get the Look…

Pull-Over: Under Armour (half-zip, full-zip) | Jacket: North Face | Base Layer: Hot Chillys (top, bottoms) | Jean Shorts: Express (similar) | Socks: J. Crew Factory | Hiking Shoes: Merrell | Boots: Sperry | Hat: Target (similar)